National Gravity Compilation 2019: First Vertical Derivative Grid of Australia

Nearly 1.4 million gravity stations from the Australian National Gravity Database, supplemented by offshore data, were used to generate this grid. The processed data measures changes in gravity due to rock density beneath the Earth's surface and has been quality-checked by GA geophysicists. The grid, with a cell size of approximately 435 meters, shows the first vertical derivative of de-trended global isostatic residual anomalies over Australia and its continental margins.

Use Cases

• Interpret subsurface geological structure based on processed gravity anomaly data.
• Model rock density variations beneath the Earth's surface based on gravity measurements.
• Analyze continental margin geology based on offshore and ground gravity data integration.
• Apply geophysical inversion techniques based on the first vertical derivative of isostatic residual anomalies.

Strengths

• Derived from nearly 1.4 million gravity stations from a national database.
• Grid cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m) provides a specific spatial resolution.
• Data quality is checked by GA geophysicists to ensure fitness-for-purpose.
• Integrates ground data from 1940s to present and offshore data from global sources.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Station spacing varies from 11 km to less than 1 km, indicating uneven data density.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Processed from ground observations in the Australian National Gravity Database and offshore data from the Global Gravity grid.

Time Range

Ground data acquired from the 1940s to present, database snapshot as of September 2019.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 16:02:56.300623; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia and its continental margins.