The Origin of Lunar Mascon Basins

Science ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 340 (6140) ◽  
pp. 1552-1555 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Melosh ◽  
Andrew M. Freed ◽  
Brandon C. Johnson ◽  
David M. Blair ◽  
Jeffrey C. Andrews-Hanna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Melt Pool ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Free Air Gravity ◽  
Bull's Eye ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
The Impact

High-resolution gravity data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft have clarified the origin of lunar mass concentrations (mascons). Free-air gravity anomalies over lunar impact basins display bull’s-eye patterns consisting of a central positive (mascon) anomaly, a surrounding negative collar, and a positive outer annulus. We show that this pattern results from impact basin excavation and collapse followed by isostatic adjustment and cooling and contraction of a voluminous melt pool. We used a hydrocode to simulate the impact and a self-consistent finite-element model to simulate the subsequent viscoelastic relaxation and cooling. The primary parameters controlling the modeled gravity signatures of mascon basins are the impactor energy, the lunar thermal gradient at the time of impact, the crustal thickness, and the extent of volcanic fill.

Sea floor topography modeling by cumulating different types of gravity information

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Seoane ◽  
Benjamin Beirens ◽  
Guillaume Ramillien
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Geoid Height ◽  
Extended Kalman Filtering ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Single Beam ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Free Air Gravity ◽  
Great Meteor Seamount

<p>We propose to cumulate complementary gravity data, i.e. geoid height and (radial) free-air gravity anomalies, to evaluate the 3-D shape of the sea floor more precisely. For this purpose, an Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) scheme has been developed to construct the topographic solution by injecting gravity information progressively. The main advantage of this sequential cumulation of data is the reduction of the dimensions of the inverse problem. Non linear Newtonian operators have been re-evaluated from their original forms and elastic compensation of the topography is also taken into account. The efficiency of the method is proved by inversion of simulated gravity observations to converge to a stable topographic solution with an accuracy of only a few meters. Real geoid and gravity data are also inverted to estimate bathymetry around the New England and Great Meteor seamount chains. Error analysis consists of comparing our topographic solutions to accurate single beam ship tracks for validation.</p>

Deriving the ancient lunar pole path from impact induced gravity anomalies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E Smith ◽  
Maria T Zuber ◽  
Sander J Goossens ◽  
Gregory A Neumann ◽  
Erwan Mazarico
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Field ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Pole Position ◽  
Induced Gravity ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Approximate Location ◽  
Free Air Gravity ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lunar Rotation

<p>The large anomalies in the lunar gravity field are in most cases the result of large impacts that occurred more than 3 billion years ago.  Today those anomalies provide the stability of the lunar rotation and if removed would cause a change in the position of the intersection of the spin pole with the lithosphere. Thus, extracting a gravity anomaly from today’s gravity field can provide the approximate location of the pole of rotation prior to the impact that caused the anomaly.  By removing the gravity field of each anomaly in order of age, youngest first, we can estimate the path of the lunar pole back 3 to 4 billion years, to the beginning of the time of heavy bombardment.</p><p>Starting from the GRAIL gravity model we selectively remove large gravity anomalies by first determining the center and dimensions of the anomaly from the Bouguer gravity and then deriving the average free air gravity for the Bouguer location and dimensions. The anomaly field is expanded into spherical harmonics and the degree 2 terms used to derive the change in pole position caused by the anomaly. Removing each anomaly in order of increasing age provides an estimate of the pole path from before the time of the first anomaly, SP-A.  Since the pole path depends on the order of the gravity anomalies being created it is important to know when each impact induced anomaly occurred.  The results suggest the re-constructed motion of the lunar pole of rotation is within approximately 10 dgerees of the present pole.</p>

scholarly journals Usporedba različitih pristupa Bouguer-ove redukcije na temelju satelitskih gravimetrijskih podataka

Geofizika ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-261
Author(s):  
Fan Luo ◽  
Xin Tao ◽  
Guangming Fu ◽  
Chong Zhang ◽  
Kun Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Anomaly ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Gravitational Effect ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Bouguer Gravity ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Satellite Gravity ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Free Air Gravity

Satellite gravity data are widely used in the field of geophysics to study deep structures at the regional and global scales. These data comprise free-air gravity anomaly data, which usually need to be corrected to a Bouguer gravity anomaly for practical application. Bouguer reduction approaches can be divided into two methods based on the coordinate system: the spherical coordinates method (SBG) and the Cartesian coordinates method; the latter is further divided into the CEBG and CBG methods, which do and do not include the Earth’s curvature correction. In this paper, free-air gravity anomaly data from the eastern Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent areas were used as the basic data to compare the CBG, CEBG, and SBG Bouguer gravity correction methods. The comparison of these three Bouguer gravity correction methods shows that the effect of the Earth’s curvature on the gravitational effect increases with increasing elevation in the study area. We want to understand the inversion accuracy for the data obtained by different Bouguer gravity reduction approaches. The depth distributions of the Moho were obtained by the interface inversion of the Bouguer gravity anomalies obtained by the CBG, CEBG, and SBG, and active seismic profiles were used as references for comparison and evaluation. The results show that the depths of the Moho obtained by the SBG inversion are more consistent with the measured seismic profile depths. Therefore, the SBG method is recommended as the most realistic approach in the process of global or regional research employing gravity data.

A discussion on the structure and evolution of the Red Sea and the nature of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Ethiopia rift junction - Seismic and gravity data from afar in relation to surrounding areas

1970 ◽  
Vol 267 (1181) ◽  
pp. 339-358 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Seismic Energy ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Seismic Surface Waves ◽  
Free Air Gravity ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Tectonic Features ◽  
Afar Triangle

The Afar triangle is bordered, to the west, by a seismic belt running along and on top of the escarpment. Seventy-five percent of the seismic energy of the area is released along this belt. The epicentre distribution along the western escarpment coincides either with major north-south marginal tectonic features or with cross-rift faulting. A second epicentre lineation runs at N 15° E through central Afar. To the south-east, in the region of the Gulf of Tadjura, epicentre locations offer no distinct lineation. The sum of the free-air gravity anomalies over Afar is almost zero; Bouguer values are generally negative and strictly proportional to elevation. Absolute Bouguer positive values are found only over volcanic centres and along the northeastern coast; their maximum does not compare with the positive values found over the nearby Red Sea trough. Evidence based on attenuation and dispersion of seismic surface waves and on gravity profiles suggests a continental crustal structure of relatively ‘standard’ thickness under the Afar triangle.

Crustal modeling from spectrally correlated free‐air and terrain gravity data—A case study of Ohio

Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1057-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong Woo Kim ◽  
Ralph R. B. von Frese ◽  
Hyung Rae Kim
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Crustal Thickness ◽  
Earthquake Hazards ◽  
Spectral Correlation ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Correlation Spectrum ◽  
Gravity Effects ◽  
Thickness Variations ◽  
Free Air Gravity

We investigate the use of spectral correlation theory to analyze terrain gravity effects and free‐air gravity anomalies of Ohio for possible constraints on the thickness variations and neotectonics of the crust. Terrain gravity effects are computed from the topography by Gauss‐Legendre quadrature integration and are compared against independent free‐air gravity anomaly observations for their wavenumber correlation spectrum. Spectral correlation filters are designed accordingly to extract terrain‐correlated free‐air gravity anomalies that are subtracted from the terrain gravity effects for estimates of the compensated terrain gravity effects. These effects are used to model the Moho by inversion, assuming they predominantly reflect crustal thickness variations. Our results characterize the middle third of Ohio as a broad zone of thickened Precambrian crust, which also may include rifted regions where the thickness of the prerift crust has been reduced greatly. Furthermore, we find that about 83% of the instrumentally determined earthquake epicenters are located within the inferred thinner regions of Ohio’s crust or at their margins where compressional stresses may dominate. In general, these crustal thickness variations provide new constraints on modeling the tectonic evolution and geotechnical parameters of the crust—constraints that are important for evaluating earthquake hazards, the distribution and extraction of crustal resources, and the storage of hazardous waste and other crustal engineering applications.

Gravity data collection with a CG5 gravitymeter for densification of the gravity data around the AUT1 IHRF station

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios A. Natsiopoulos ◽  
Elisavet G. Mamagiannou ◽  
Eleftherios A. Pitenis ◽  
Georgios S. Vergos ◽  
Ilias N. Tziavos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Absolute Gravity ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Height Determination ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Gravity Measurements ◽  
Gravity Database ◽  
Free Air Gravity ◽  
Geological Complexity

<p>Within the GeoGravGOCE project, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research Innovation, a main goal has been the densification of the available land gravity database around the eastern part of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, where the core International Height Reference Frame (IHRF) station AUT1 is located in order to improve regional geoid and potential determination. Hence it was deemed necessary to densify the available gravity data within radiuses of 10 km, 20 km, 50 km and 100 km from the AUT1 core IHRF site. In that frame, and given the geological complexity of the region surrounding Thessaloniki and the significant variations of the terrain, gravity campaigns were appropriately designed and gravity measurements were carried out in order to densify the database and cover as much as possible traverses of varying altitude. The measurements have been carried out with the CG5 gravity meter of the GravLab group and dual-frequency GNSS receivers in RTK mode for orthometric height determination. In this  study we provide details of the gravity campaigns, the measurement principle and the finally derived gravity and free-air gravity anomalies. The mean measurement accuracy achieved was at the ~20 μGal level for the gravity measurements and ~3 cm for the orthometric heights. In all cases the final derived gravity value was based on the absolute point established by the GravLab team at the AUTH seismological station premises with the A10 (#027) absolute gravity meter.</p>

scholarly journals Evaluation of the BGM-3 sea gravity meter system onboard R/V Conrad

Geophysics ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 1480-1493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin E. Bell ◽  
A. B. Watts
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Anomaly ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Test Range ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Marine Gravity ◽  
Abrupt Changes ◽  
Spring Type ◽  
Free Air Gravity ◽  
Free Air Anomaly

The first Bell Aerospace BGM-3 Marine Gravity Meter System available for academic use was installed on R/V Robert D. Conrad in February, 1984. The BGM-3 system consists of a forced feedback accelerometer mounted on a gyrostabilized platform. Its sensor (requiring no cross‐coupling correction) is a significant improvement over existing beam and spring‐type sea gravimeters such as the GSS-2. A gravity survey over the Wallops Island test range together with the results of subsequent cruises allow evaluation of the precision, accuracy, and capabilities of the new system. Over the test range, the BGM-3 data were compared directly to data obtained by a GSS-2 meter onboard R/V Conrad. The rms discrepancy between free‐air gravity anomaly values at intersecting ship tracks of R/V Conrad was ±0.38 mGal for BGM-3 compared to ±1.60 mGal for the GSS-2. Moreover, BGM-3’s platform recovered from abrupt changes in ship’s heading more rapidly than did the platform of GSS-2. The principal factor limiting the accuracy of sea gravity data is navigation. Over the test range, where navigation was by Loran C and transit satellite, a two‐step filtering of the ship’s velocity and position was required to obtain an optimal Eötvös correction. A spectral analysis of 1 minute values of the Eötvös correction and the reduced free‐air gravity anomaly determined the filter characteristics. To minimize the coherence between the Eötvös and free‐air anomaly, it was necessary to prefilter the ship’s position and velocity. Using this procedure, reduced free‐air gravity anomalies with wavelengths as small as a few kilometers can be resolved.

scholarly journals Validation of GOCE global gravity field models using terrestrial gravity data in Norway

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Šprlák ◽  
C. Gerlach ◽  
B. Pettersen
Keyword(s):  
Harmonic Analysis ◽  
Gravity Field ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Gravity Field Model ◽  
Terrestrial Gravity ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Global Gravity ◽  
Free Air Gravity ◽  
Gravity Field Models

Validation of GOCE global gravity field models using terrestrial gravity data in NorwayThe GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) satellite gravity gradiometry mission maps the Earth's gravity field. Harmonic analysis of GOCE observations provides a global gravity field model (GGFM). Three theoretical strategies, namely the direct, the space-wise and the time-wise approach, have been proposed for GOCE harmonic analysis. Based on these three methods, several GGFMs have been provided to the user community by ESA. Thereby different releases are derived from different periods of GOCE observations and some of the models are based on combinations with other sources of gravity field information. Due to the multitude of GOCE GGFMs, validation against independent data is a crucial task for the quality description of the different models.In this study, GOCE GGFMs from three releases are validated with respect to terrestrial free-air gravity anomalies in Norway. The spectral enhancement method is applied to avoid spectral inconsistency between the terrestrial and the GOCE free-air gravity anomalies.The results indicate that the time-wise approach is a reliable harmonic analysis procedure in all three releases of GOCE models. The space-wise approach, available in two releases, provides similar results as the time-wise approach. The direct approach seems to be highly affected by a-priori information.

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