National Gravity Compilation 2019: Airborne DGIR 1VD Image of Australia

A gravity anomaly image of Australia derived from nearly 1.8 million ground and airborne observations. The grid has a cell size of approximately 435 meters and is based on data from the Australian National Gravity Database as of September 2019, supplemented by global offshore data. The image shows the first vertical derivative of de-trended global isostatic residual anomalies, processed by Geoscience Australia.

Use Cases

• Map subsurface geological structures based on gravity anomaly data.
• Model crustal density for tectonic and geodynamic studies based on the derived DGIR grid.
• Enhance mineral exploration targeting by integrating this gravity data with other geophysical surveys.
• Calibrate regional gravity models using the described combination of ground, airborne, and offshore data sources.

Strengths

• Integrates a large volume of observations, including nearly 1.4 million ground stations and over 450,000 line km of airborne surveys.
• Data quality is checked by GA geophysicists to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.
• Combines multiple data sources, including ground observations from the 1940s onward and global offshore grids.
• Provides high-resolution coverage with ground station spacing as low as 1 km in parts of the continent.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The specific file format (NetCDF) may require specialized software for analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data, incorporating data from Commonwealth, State, Territory Governments, industry, universities, and global institutions like Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Collection Method

Data processed from ground and airborne gravity surveys, with standard methods and quality checks applied.

Time Range

Data collected from the 1940s to present, compiled as of September 2019.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:44:09.520421; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia and its continental margins.