National Gravity Compilation 2019: DGIR 0.5VD Image of Australia

A 2019 compilation of gravity data for Australia and its continental margins, derived from approximately 1.8 million observations. The dataset includes ground measurements from the 1940s onward, supplemented by 345,000 line km of airborne gravity and 106,000 line km of airborne gravity gradiometry data. It is processed by Geoscience Australia to produce a de-trended global isostatic residual (DGIR) grid with a cell size of approximately 435 meters.

Use Cases

• Modeling subsurface geological structures based on gravity anomaly data.
• Enhancing mineral exploration targeting using high-resolution airborne gravity and gradiometry data.
• Integrating ground and offshore gravity data for continental-scale geophysical studies.

Strengths

• Integrates nearly 1.4 million ground stations with extensive airborne surveys totaling 451,000 line km.
• Data quality is checked by GA geophysicists to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.
• Combines historical data from the 1940s with modern airborne acquisitions for broad temporal coverage.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Station spacing for ground observations varies from 11 km to less than 1 km, which may create resolution inconsistencies.
• Freshness should be verified as the underlying gravity database is from September 2019.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, mining industry, universities, and research organisations.

Collection Method

Processed from ground observations, airborne gravity surveys, and offshore global gravity grids using standard geophysical methods and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).

Time Range

1940s to 2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:03:59.129093; underlying data current as of September 2019.

Geography

Australia and its continental margins