National Gravity Compilation 2019: Half Vertical Derivative Image of Australia

A 2019 compilation of approximately 1.8 million gravity observations, including nearly 1.4 million ground stations from the Australian National Gravity Database and offshore data. The grid, with a cell size of approximately 435 meters, shows the half vertical derivative of de-trended global isostatic residual anomalies over Australia and its continental margins. Ground data was acquired by various government, industry, and research entities from the 1940s to the present day.

Use Cases

• Modeling subsurface geological structures based on gravity anomaly data.
• Aiding mineral and resource exploration by interpreting density variations in the crust.
• Conducting geophysical research on isostatic compensation and crustal thickness.
• Integrating gravity data with other geospatial datasets for regional geological studies.

Strengths

• Integrates approximately 1.8 million observations, including nearly 1.4 million ground stations.
• Data quality was checked by GA geophysicists to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.
• Combines decades of data from the 1940s to 2019 from multiple government, industry, and academic sources.
• Provides a continent-wide grid with a consistent resolution of approximately 435 meters.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Station spacing for ground observations is variable, ranging from 11 km to less than 1 km, which may affect local resolution consistency.

Provenance

Source

Australian National Gravity Database (ANGD) and global gravity grids from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA, and NGA.

Collection Method

Ground and marine gravity observations processed via standard methods, with a half vertical derivative calculated via Fast Fourier Transform.

Time Range

Ground data from the 1940s to 2019, compiled as of September 2019.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 06:09:00.195107; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia and its continental margins.