National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid

Australia and its continental margins are covered by this gravity grid with a cell size of approximately 435 meters. The grid shows de-trended global isostatic residual anomalies derived from nearly 1.4 million gravity stations in the Australian National Gravity Database and supplemented by offshore data. Geoscience Australia produced this compilation from ground observations collected from the 1940s onward and marine data from global sources.

Use Cases

• Modeling subsurface geological structures based on gravity anomaly patterns.
• Resource exploration targeting by interpreting density contrasts in the crust.
• Regional geophysical studies integrating gravity data with other geophysical surveys.
• Validating and calibrating satellite-derived gravity models with ground-based observations.

Strengths

• Derived from nearly 1.4 million gravity stations, indicating a substantial observational foundation.
• Integrates ground data collected from the 1940s to 2019 with offshore global gravity data, providing long-term and spatial coverage.
• Processed and quality-checked by Geoscience Australia geophysicists to be fit-for-purpose.
• Has a defined spatial resolution with a cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m).

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 create inconsistencies in data density.
• The description does not specify the license, which may restrict usage.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data, incorporating data from Commonwealth, State, Territory Governments, industry, universities, and global sources (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA, NGA).

Collection Method

Grid generated from ground observations in the Australian National Gravity Database and offshore data from the Global Gravity grid, processed via standard geophysical methods and isostatic corrections.

Time Range

Ground observations from the 1940s to September 2019.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 15:10:09.980920; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia and its continental margins.