Australian Continental Moho Depth Model from Seismic and Gravity Data

A refined model of the Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) depth across Australia, integrating over 25,000 km of full-crustal reflection profiles with portable seismic station data, marine reflection results, and gravity inversions. The dataset provides full continental coverage, though some desert areas have limited sampling, and was published in Geophysical Journal International in January 2023. It is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Modeling crustal thickness variations based on integrated seismic and gravity data.
• Analyzing rapid changes in Moho depth and smaller-scale structural variations.
• Studying continent-ocean transitions using gravity inversion results.
• Comparing crustal thickness in regions like the Lake Eyre Basin with adjacent cratonic zones.

Strengths

• Integrates multiple data sources, including over 25,000 km of interpreted reflection transects.
• Provides full continental coverage for Australia, improving on earlier models.
• Uses a weighted spatial construction approach to handle different data types and sampling densities.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Some desert areas remain with limited sampling, as noted in the description.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Combined analysis of portable seismic station deployments (receiver function/autocorrelation), full-crustal reflection profiles, marine reflection results, earlier refraction studies, and gravity inversion.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 09:21:09.770660; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian continent and surrounding marine regions.