National Gravity Compilation 2019: Airborne DGIR Image of Australia

Nearly 1.8 million gravity observations, including 1.4 million ground stations and 451,000 line km of airborne data, were used to create this 2019 grid. Geoscience Australia processed and quality-checked the data, which combines ground, offshore, and airborne measurements collected from the 1940s to 2019. The resulting image shows de-trended global isostatic residual gravity anomalies across Australia and its continental margins at a cell size of approximately 435 meters.

Use Cases

• Model subsurface geological structures based on gravity anomaly data.
• Identify potential mineral resource locations based on density variations in the crust.
• Integrate gravity data with other geophysical surveys for enhanced geological interpretation.
• Study continental margin tectonics based on the isostatic residual anomaly image.

Strengths

• Integrates nearly 1.8 million observations from multiple sources (ground, airborne, offshore).
• Includes 451,000 line kilometers of airborne gravity and gravity gradiometry data for improved resolution.
• Data quality was checked by GA geophysicists to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.
• Provides continent-wide coverage of Australia and its margins with a consistent ~435m grid cell size.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data freshness should be verified as the underlying compilation is from 2019.
• Station and line spacing varies across the continent, which may create resolution inconsistencies.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Processed from ground observations in the Australian National Gravity Database, supplemented by global offshore grids and airborne surveys.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 06:37:25.598861; underlying data compiled as of September 2019.

Geography

Australia and its continental margins.