Seismic refraction surveys in Australia and nearby marine areas provide data on crustal velocities and layer thicknesses. The averages of these at various places have been used to estimate a density-depth structure. By applying corrections for average elevation and free-air gravity, a crustal mass deficiency (CMD) is calculated for each site; this characterizes a standard crustal column with zero elevation and zero free-air anomaly, which is considered to be in isostatic equilibrium over a mantle of uniform density 3.32 t/m^3.
Use Cases
- Modeling crustal density-depth structures based on seismic refraction survey averages.
- Analyzing regional isostatic equilibrium based on calculated crustal mass deficiency (CMD) values.
- Investigating mantle compensation mechanisms based on gravity field and CMD variations.
Strengths
- CMD values range from about 13 kt/m^2 in the south-west of the continent to about 21 in parts of Queensland.
- Marine CMD values range from 15 to 17 kt/m^2.
- Data is derived from seismic refraction surveys, a direct measurement method.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data files are in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction for analysis.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Calculated from averages of seismic refraction survey data.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-05 02:07:35.431684; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Australia and nearby marine areas.