GRAIL Gravity Field of the Moon

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-12-05

This map shows the gravity field of the moon as measured by NASA GRAIL mission. The viewing perspective, known as a Mercator projection, shows the far side of the moon in the center and the nearside as viewed from Earth at either side.

Geodynamics and temporal variations in the gravity field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcadoo, D. C.; Wagner, C. A.

1989-01-01

Just as the Earth's surface deforms tectonically, so too does the gravity field evolve with time. Now that precise geodesy is yielding observations of these deformations it is important that concomitant, temporal changes in the gravity field be monitored. Although these temporal changes are minute they are observable: changes in the J2 component of the gravity field were inferred from satellite (LAGEOS) tracking data; changes in other components of the gravity field would likely be detected by Geopotential Research Mission (GRM), a proposed but unapproved NASA gravity field mission. Satellite gradiometers were also proposed for high-precision gravity field mapping. Using simple models of geodynamic processes such as viscous postglacial rebound of the solid Earth, great subduction zone earthquakes and seasonal glacial mass fluctuations, we predict temporal changes in gravity gradients at spacecraft altitudes. It was found that these proposed gravity gradient satellite missions should have sensitivities equal to or better than 10(exp -4) E in order to reliably detect these changes. It was also found that satellite altimetry yields little promise of useful detection of time variations in gravity.

High-resolution gravity model of Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reasenberg, R. D.; Goldberg, Z. M.

1992-01-01

The anomalous gravity field of Venus shows high correlation with surface features revealed by radar. We extract gravity models from the Doppler tracking data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter by means of a two-step process. In the first step, we solve the nonlinear spacecraft state estimation problem using a Kalman filter-smoother. The Kalman filter has been evaluated through simulations. This evaluation and some unusual features of the filter are discussed. In the second step, we perform a geophysical inversion using a linear Bayesian estimator. To allow an unbiased comparison between gravity and topography, we use a simulation technique to smooth and distort the radar topographic data so as to yield maps having the same characteristics as our gravity maps. The maps presented cover 2/3 of the surface of Venus and display the strong topography-gravity correlation previously reported. The topography-gravity scatter plots show two distinct trends.

Gravity field of the Western Weddell Sea: Comparison of airborne gravity and Geosat derived gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, R. E.; Brozena, J. M.; Haxby, W. F.; Labrecque, J. L.

1989-01-01

Marine gravity surveying in polar regions was typically difficult and costly, requiring expensive long range research vessels and ice-breakers. Satellite altimetry can recover the gravity field in these regions where it is feasible to survey with a surface vessel. Unfortunately, the data collected by the first global altimetry mission, Seasat, was collected only during the austral winter, producing a very poor quality gravitational filed for the southern oceans, particularly in the circum-Antarctic regions. The advent of high quality airborne gravity (Brozena, 1984; Brozena and Peters, 1988; Bell, 1988) and the availability of satellite altimetry data during the austral summer (Sandwell and McAdoo, 1988) has allowed the recovery of a free air gravity field for most of the Weddell Sea. The derivation of the gravity field from both aircraft and satellite measurements are briefly reviewed, before presenting along track comparisons and shaded relief maps of the Weddell Sea gravity field based on these two data sets.

The Geopotential Research Mission - Mapping the near earth gravity and magnetic fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, P. T.; Keating, T.; Smith, D. E.; Langel, R. A.; Schnetzler, C. C.; Kahn, W. D.

1983-01-01

The Geopotential Research Mission (GRM), NASA's low-level satellite system designed to measure the gravity and magnetic fields of the earth, and its objectives are described. The GRM will consist of two, Shuttle launched, satellite systems (300 km apart) that will operate simultaneously at a 160 km circular-polar orbit for six months. Current mission goals include mapping the global geoid to 10 cm, measuring gravity-field anomalies to 2 mgal with a spatial resolution of 100 km, detecting crustal magnetic anomalies of 100 km wavelength with 1 nT accuracy, measuring the vectors components to + or - 5 arc sec and 5 nT, and computing the main dipole or core field to 5 nT with a 2 nT/year secular variation detection. Resource analysis and exploration geology are additional applications considered.

Complete Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the state of Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Abrams, Gerda A.

1993-01-01

The Bouguer gravity anomaly map is part of a folio of maps of Colorado cosponsored by the National Mineral Resources Assessment Program (NAMRAP) and the National Geologic Mapping Program (COGEOMAP) and was produced to assist in studies of the mineral resource potential and tectonic setting of the State. Previous compilations of about 12,000 gravity stations by Behrendt and Bajwa (1974a,b) are updated by this map. The data was reduced at a 2.67 g/cm3 and the grid contoured at 3 mGal intervals. This map will aid in the mineral resource assessment by indicating buried intrusive complexes, volcanic fields, major faults and shear zones, and sedimentary basins; helping to identify concealed geologic units; and identifying localities that might be hydrothermically altered or mineralized.

Computer Programs to Display and Modify Data in Geographic Coordinates and Methods to Transfer Positions to and from Maps, with Applications to Gravity Data Processing, Global Positioning Systems, and 30-Meter Digital Elevation Models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plouff, Donald

1998-01-01

Computer programs were written in the Fortran language to process and display gravity data with locations expressed in geographic coordinates. The programs and associated processes have been tested for gravity data in an area of about 125,000 square kilometers in northwest Nevada, southeast Oregon, and northeast California. This report discusses the geographic aspects of data processing. Utilization of the programs begins with application of a template (printed in PostScript format) to transfer locations obtained with Global Positioning Systems to and from field maps and includes a 5-digit geographic-based map naming convention for field maps. Computer programs, with source codes that can be copied, are used to display data values (printed in PostScript format) and data coverage, insert data into files, extract data from files, shift locations, test for redundancy, and organize data by map quadrangles. It is suggested that 30-meter Digital Elevation Models needed for gravity terrain corrections and other applications should be accessed in a file search by using the USGS 7.5-minute map name as a file name, for example, file '40117_B8.DEM' contains elevation data for the map with a southeast corner at lat 40? 07' 30' N. and lon 117? 52' 30' W.

Mapping the gravity field in coastal areas: feasibility and interest of a new airborne planar gradiometer concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douch, Karim; Panet, Isabelle; Foulon, Bernard; Christophe, Bruno; Pajot-Métivier, Gwendoline; Diament, Michel

2014-05-01

Satellite missions such as CHAMP, GRACE and GOCE have led to an unprecedented improvement of global gravity field models during the past decade. However, for many applications these global models are not sufficiently accurate when dealing with wavelengths shorter than 100 km. This is all the more true in areas where gravity data are scarce and uneven as for instance in the poorly covered land-sea transition area. We suggest here, in line with spatial gravity gradiometry, airborne gravity gradiometry as a convenient way to amplify the sensitivity to short wavelengths and to cover homogeneously coastal region. Moreover, the directionality of the gravity gradients gives new information on the geometry of the gravity field and therefore of the causative bodies. In this respect, we analyze here the performances of a new airborne electrostatic acceleration gradiometer, GREMLIT, which permits along with ancillary measurements to determine the horizontal gradients of the horizontal components of the gravitational field in the instrumental frame. GREMLIT is composed of a compact assembly of 4 planar electrostatic accelerometers inheriting from technologies developed by ONERA for spatial accelerometers. After an overview of the functionals of the gravity field that are of interest for coastal oceanography, passive navigation and hydrocarbon exploration, we present the corresponding required precision and resolution. Then, we investigate the influence of the different parameters of the survey, such as altitude or cross-track distance, on the resolution and precision of the final measurements. To do so, we design numerical simulations of airborne survey performed with GREMLIT and compute the total error budget on the gravity gradients. Based on this error analysis, we infer by a method of error propagation the uncertainty on the different functionals of the gravity potential used for each application. This finally enables us to conclude on the requirements for a high resolution mapping of the gravity field in coastal areas.

Altimeter measurements for the determination of the Earth's gravity field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tapley, B. D.; Schutz, B. E.; Shum, C. K.

1987-01-01

The ability of satellite-borne radar altimeter data to measure the global ocean surface with high precision and dense spatial coverage provides a unique tool for the mapping of the Earth's gravity field and its geoid. The altimeter crossover measurements, created by differencing direct altimeter measurements at the subsatellite points where the orbit ground tracks intersect, have the distinct advantage of eliminating geoid error and other nontemporal or long period oceanographic features. In the 1990's, the joint U.S./French TOPEX/POSEIDON mission and the European Space Agency's ERS-1 mission will carry radar altimeter instruments capable of global ocean mapping with high precision. This investigation aims at the development and application of dynamically consistent direct altimeter and altimeter crossover measurement models to the simultaneous mapping of the Earth's gravity field and its geoid, the ocean tides and the quasi-stationary component of the dynamic sea surface topography. Altimeter data collected by SEASAT, GEOS-3, and GEOSAT are used for the investigation.

Integrating gravity and magnetic field data to delineate structurally controlled gold mineralization in the Sefwi Belt of Ghana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konadu Amoah, Bernard; Dadzie, Isaac; Takyi-Kyeremeh, Kwaku

2018-08-01

Gravity and magnetic surveys were used to delineate potential gold mineralization zones in the Sefwi belt of Ghana. The study area is an intrusive dominated area that hosts pockets of small scale mining operations locally referred to as Galamsey. These Galamsey operations are not guided by a scientific approach to back the trend of gold mineralization which is conventionally mined. The study aimed at mapping lithological units, structural setting and relating Galamsey sites to delineate potential zones of gold mineralization. A Scintrex CG5 gravimeter and GEM’s Overhauser magnetometer were used for gravity and magnetic data acquisition respectively. The magnetic data were corrected and enhancing filters such as reduction to the pole (RTP), analytical signal and first vertical derivative were applied using Oasis montaj 7.1. Gravity data were also reduced to the geoid using the Oasis montaj software to produce a complete Bouguer anomaly map. The regional/residual separation technique produced a residual gravity map. The RTP and analytical signal filters from the magnetic data and residual gravity anomaly map from the gravity data helped in mapping belt type (Dixcove) Birimian granitoids and mafic intrusive unit, interpreted as gabbro. The first vertical derivative filter was useful in mapping NE/SW minor faults and crosscutting dykes largely concentrated in the belt type Birimian granitoids. All the three mapped Galamsey sites fell on a minor fault and are associated with the belt type granitoids which were used in delineating four potential zones of gold mineralization.

African Plate Seismicity and Gravity Field Anomalies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryzhii, B. P.; Nachapkin, N. I.; Milanovsky, Svet

The analysis of connection plate of earthquakes of the African continent with Bouguer gravity anomalies is carried out. As input dataSs were used the catalog of earthquakes and numeral map of Bouguer gravity field. The catalog contains geographical coor- dinates of epicenters and magnitudes of 8027 earthquakes recorded on continent and adjacent oceanic areas for the period from 1904 to 1988 years. The values of a gravity field preset in knots of a grid with a step 1 grade. For the analysis of plate seismicity from the catalog the parameters of 6408 earthquakes were chosen, which one have taken place in the field of restricted shore line. The earthquakes fixed in a band of a concatenation of continent with the Arabian plate were excluded from the analysis. On the basis of a numeral gravity map for everyone epicenter the value of Bouguer anomaly was calculated. The allocation of epicenters of earthquakes with magnitude M is obtained depending on value of a gravity Bouguer field. The outcomes of a sta- tistical analysis testify that practically all earthquakes are associated with the areas with negative values of Bouguer gravity field. Thus in areas with values of a field -160 mgal to -100 mgal there was 80 % of all earthquakes. It is necessary to note, that the mean value of the field for the African continent is -70 mgal. Obtained result gives us the possibility to make a conclusion about connection of plate earthquakes of Africa predominantly with structural complexes of earth crust with lower density. These out- comes are in the consent with a hypothesis of one of the authors (Ryzhii B.P.) about connection of plate earthquakes hypocenters on the territory of Russia with negative values of a gravity field and heightened silica content in the Earth crust. This work was supported with RFFI grant N 00-05-65067

High-resolution gravity field modeling using GRAIL mission data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemoine, F. G.; Goossens, S. J.; Sabaka, T. J.; Nicholas, J. B.; Mazarico, E.; Rowlands, D. D.; Neumann, G. A.; Loomis, B.; Chinn, D. S.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

2015-12-01

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft were designed to map the structure of the Moon through high-precision global gravity mapping. The mission consisted of two spacecraft with Ka-band inter-satellite tracking complemented by tracking from Earth. The mission had two phases: a primary mapping mission from March 1 until May 29, 2012 at an average altitude of 50 km, and an extended mission from August 30 until December 14, 2012, with an average altitude of 23 km before November 18, and 20 and 11 km after. High-resolution gravity field models using both these data sets have been estimated, with the current resolution being degree and order 1080 in spherical harmonics. Here, we focus on aspects of the analysis of the GRAIL data: we investigate eclipse modeling, the influence of empirical accelerations on the results, and we discuss the inversion of large-scale systems. In addition to global models we also estimated local gravity adjustments in areas of particular interest such as Mare Orientale, the south pole area, and the farside. We investigate the use of Ka-band Range Rate (KBRR) data versus numerical derivatives of KBRR data, and show that the latter have the capability to locally improve correlations with topography.

Gravity field of Venus at constant altitude and comparison with earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowin, C.; Abers, G.; Shure, L.

1985-01-01

The gravity field of Venus is characterized in gravity-anomaly and geoid-undulation maps produced by applying the harmonic-spline technique (Shure et al., 1982 and 1983; Parker and Shure, 1982) to Pioneer Venus Orbiter line-of-sight data. A positive correlation between Venusian topographic features and gravity anomalies is observed, in contrast to the noncorrelation seen on earth, and attributed to the thicker crust of Venus (70-80 vs 5-40 km for earth), crustal loading by recent volcanism, and possible regional elevation due to deep heating and thermal expansion.

Lunar Prospector: overview.

PubMed

Binder, A B

1998-09-04

Lunar Prospector is providing a global map of the composition of the moon and analyzing the moon's gravity and magnetic fields. It has been in a polar orbit around the moon since 16 January 1998. Neutron flux data show that there is abundant H, and hence probably abundant water ice, in the lunar polar regions. Gamma-ray and neutron data reveal the distribution of Fe, Ti, and other major and trace elements on the moon. The data delineate the global distributions of a key trace element-rich component of lunar materials called KREEP and of the major rock types. Magnetic mapping shows that the lunar magnetic fields are strong antipodal to Mare Imbrium and Mare Serenitatis and has discovered the smallest known magnetosphere, magnetosheath, and bow shock complex in the solar system. Gravity mapping has delineated seven new gravity anomalies and shown that the moon has a small Fe-rich core of about 300 km radius.

Mars Gravity Field and Upper Atmosphere from MGS, Mars Odyssey, and MRO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genova, A.; Goossens, S. J.; Lemoine, F. G.; Mazarico, E.; Neumann, G. A.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

2015-12-01

The NASA orbital missions Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have been exploring and monitoring the planet Mars since 1997. MGS executed its mapping mission between 1999 and 2006 in a frozen sun-synchronous, near-circular, polar orbit with the periapsis altitude at ~370 km and the dayside equatorial crossing at 2 pm Local Solar Time (LST). The spacecraft was equipped with onboard instrumentation to acquire radio science data and to measure spacecraft ranges to the Martian surface (Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter). These measurements resulted in static and time-varying gravity field and high-resolution global topography of the planet. ODY and MRO are still orbiting about Mars in two different sun-synchronous orbits, providing radio tracking data that indirectly measure both the static and time-varying gravity field and the atmospheric density. The orbit of ODY has its periapsis at ~390 km altitude and descending node at 4-5 pm LST. However, the spacecraft also collected measurements at lower altitudes (~220 km) in 2002 prior to the mapping phase. Since November 2006, MRO is in a low-altitude orbit with a periapsis altitude of 255 km and descending node at 3 pm LST. Radio data from MRO help improve the resolution of the static gravity field and measure the mass distribution of the polar caps, but the atmospheric drag at those altitudes may limit the benefits of these radio tracking observations. We present a combined solution of the Martian gravity field to degree and order 110 and atmospheric density profiles with radio tracking data from MGS, ODY and MRO. The gravity field solution is combined with the MOLA topography yielding an updated map of Mars crustal thickness. We also show our solution of the Love number k2 and time-variable gravity zonal harmonics (C20 and C30, in particular). The recovered atmospheric density profiles may be used in atmospheric models to constrain the long-term variability of the constituents in the upper atmosphere.

Expression of terrain and surface geology in high-resolution helicopter-borne gravity gradient (AGG) data: examples from Great Sand Dunes National Park, Rio Grande Rift, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drenth, Benjamin J.

2013-01-01

Airborne gravity gradient (AGG) data are rapidly becoming standard components of geophysical mapping programs, due to their advantages in cost, access, and resolution advantages over measurements of the gravity field on the ground. Unlike conventional techniques that measure the gravity field, AGG methods measure derivatives of the gravity field. This means that effects of terrain and near-surface geology are amplified in AGG data, and that proper terrain corrections are critically important for AGG data processing. However, terrain corrections require reasonable estimates of density for the rocks and sediments that make up the terrain. A recommended philosophical approach is to use the terrain and surface geology, with their strong expression in AGG data, to the interpreter’s advantage. An example of such an approach is presented here for an area with very difficult ground access and little ground gravity data. Nettleton-style profiling is used with AGG data to estimate the densities of the sand dunefield and adjacent Precambrian rocks from the area of Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. Processing of the AGG data using the density estimate for the dunefield allows buried structures, including a hypothesized buried basement bench, to be mapped beneath the sand dunes.

KSC-2011-6804

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission is readied for liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA

KSC-2011-6871

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket lifted off at 9:08 a.m. EDT Sept. 10 from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6869

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Surrounded by an early morning sky, the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it waits to launch NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6807

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media representatives prepare to photograph the launch of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission at Press Site 1 near Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6812

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The countdown to launch of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission nears T-0 at Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6802

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Launch preparations are under way as dawn breaks at Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA

KSC-2011-6867

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Surrounded by an early morning sky, the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it waits to launch NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6868

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Bathed in light against an early morning sky, the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it waits to launch NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6870

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A U.S. Air Force helicopter flies overhead as the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida waiting to launch NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6805

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The countdown to launch of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission is winding down at Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

Principal facts and an approach to collecting gravity data using near-real-time observations in the vicinity of Barstow, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Phelps, G.; Cronkite-Ratcliff, C.; Klofas, L.

2013-01-01

A gravity survey was done in the vicinity of Barstow, California, in which data were processed and analyzed in the field. The purpose of the data collection was to investigate possible changes in gravity across mapped Quaternary faults and to improve regional gravity coverage, adding to the existing national gravity database. Data were collected, processed, analyzed, and interpreted in the field in order to make decisions about where to collect data for the remainder of the survey. Geological targets in the Barstow area included the Cady Fault, the Manix Fault, and the Yermo Hills. Upon interpreting initial results, additional data were collected to more completely define the fault targets, rather than collecting data to improve the regional gravity coverage in an adjacent area. Both the Manix and Cady Faults showed gravitational expression of the subsurface in the form of steep gravitational gradients that we interpret to represent down-dropped blocks. The gravitational expression of the Cady Fault is on trend with the linear projection of the mapped fault, and the gravitational expression of the Manix Fault is north of the current northernmost mapped strand of the fault. The relative gravitational low over the Yermo Hills was confirmed and better constrained, indicating a significant thickness of sediments at the junction of the Calico, Manix, and Tin Can Alley Faults.

Isostatic Gravity Map with Geology of the Santa Ana 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, V.E.; Lee, Tien-Chang; Biehler, Shawn; Jachens, R.C.; Morton, D.M.

2006-01-01

This report presents an updated isostatic gravity map, with an accompanying discussion of the geologic significance of gravity anomalies in the Santa Ana 30 by 60 minute quadrangle, southern California. Comparison and analysis of the gravity field with mapped geology indicates the configuration of structures bounding the Los Angeles Basin, geometry of basins developed within the Elsinore and San Jacinto Fault zones, and a probable Pliocene drainage network carved into the bedrock of the Perris block. Total cumulative horizontal displacement on the Elsinore Fault derived from analysis of the length of strike-slip basins within the fault zone is about 5-12 km and is consistent with previously published estimates derived from other sources of information. This report also presents a map of density variations within pre-Cenozoic metamorphic and igneous basement rocks. Analysis of basement gravity patterns across the Elsinore Fault zone suggests 6-10 km of right-lateral displacement. A high-amplitude basement gravity high is present over the San Joaquin Hills and is most likely caused by Peninsular Ranges gabbro and/or Tertiary mafic intrusion. A major basement gravity gradient coincides with the San Jacinto Fault zone and marked magnetic, seismic-velocity, and isotopic gradients that reflect a discontinuity within the Peninsular Ranges batholith in the northeast corner of the quadrangle.

New Views of Earth's Gravity Field from GRACE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Map 1Map 2

Gravity and the Earth's Shape Gravity is the force that is responsible for the weight of an object and is determined by how the material that makes up the Earth is distributed throughout the Earth. Because gravity changes over the surface of the Earth, the weight of an object changes along with it. One can define standard gravity as the value of gravity for an perfectly smooth 'idealized' Earth, and the gravity 'anomaly' is a measure of how actual gravity deviates from this standard. Gravity reflects the Earth's surface topography to a high degree and is associated with features that most people are familiar with such as large mountains and deep ocean trenches.

Progress in Measuring the Earth's Gravity Field Through GRACE Prior to GRACE, the Earth's gravity field was determined using measurements of varying quality from different satellites and of incomplete coverage. Consequently the accuracy and resolution of the gravity field were limited. As is shown in Figure 1, the long wavelength components of the gravity field determined from satellite tracking were limited to a resolution of approximately 700 km. At shorter wavelengths, the errors were too large to be useful. Only broad geophysical features of the Earth's structure could be detected (see map 1).

In contrast, GRACE, by itself, has provided accurate gravity information with a resolution of 200 km. Now, much more detail is clearly evident in the Earth's geophysical features (see map 2). High resolution features detected by GRACE that are representative of geophysical phenomena include the Tonga/Kermadec region (a zone where one tectonic plate slides under another), the Himalayan/Tibetan Plateau region (an area of uplift due to colliding plates), and the mid-Atlantic ridge (an active spreading center in the middle of the Atlantic ocean where new crust is being created). Future GRACE gravity models are expected to increase the resolution further. The second figure confirms that the Grace data is global, homogeneous and highly accurate. These are all properties that have been sought for gravity model development.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Ocean Circulation Measurements from Grace The arrows in the three data sets in Figure 3 depict ocean currents off the East Coast of the United States, 1,000 meters (approximately 3,280 feet) beneath the surface. The top panel is obtained from the GRACE geoid, satellite altimetry and ship measurements of temperature and salt. The bottom panel is computed in the same manner as the top one, except that the best geoid prior to GRACE is used instead of the GRACE geoid. The middle panel shows direct measurement of those currents by floats deployed from ships. Notice that the current arrows in the Gulf Stream extension, East and slightly South of Washington DC, point eastward, toward Europe, in the two upper panels, but in the opposite direction in the lower panel. Colors indicate the strength of the ocean current, with red being strongest and blue-green weakest. Areas in white have no available data.

The Gulf Stream region of the North Atlantic is among the best studied in the world's oceans, with a significant quantity of high-quality data available on it as a result of shipborne instrument measurements. In less well studied regions, the new information provided by GRACE, together with satellite altimetry, will increase our knowledge of ocean circulation.

Venus - Global gravity and topography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcnamee, J. B.; Borderies, N. J.; Sjogren, W. L.

1993-01-01

A new gravity field determination that has been produced combines both the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) and the Magellan Doppler radio data. Comparisonsbetween this estimate, a spherical harmonic model of degree and order 21, and previous models show that significant improvements have been made. Results are displayed as gravity contours overlaying a topographic map. We also calculate a new spherical harmonic model of topography based on Magellan altimetry, with PVO altimetry included where gaps exist in the Magellan data. This model is also of degree and order 21, so in conjunction with the gravity model, Bouguer and isostatic anomaly maps can be produced. These results are very consistent with previous results, but reveal more spatial resolution in the higher latitudes.

Global and Local Gravity Field Models of the Moon Using GRAIL Primary and Extended Mission Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goossens, Sander; Lemoine, Frank G.; Sabaka, Terence J.; Nicholas, Joseph B.; Mazarico, Erwan; Rowlands, David D.; Loomis, Bryant D.; Chinn, Douglas S.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Smith, David E.;

The Grace Mission: The Challenges of Using Micron-Level Satellite-to-Satellite Ranging to Measure the Earth's Gravity Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watkins, M.; Bettadpur, S.

2000-01-01

The GRACE Mission, to be launched in mid-2001, will provide an unprecedented map of the Earth's gravity field every month. In this paper, we outline the challenges associated with this micron-level satellite-to-satellite ranging, the solutions used by the GRACE project, and the expected science applications of the data.

Time-variable and static gravity field of Mars from MGS, Mars Odyssey, and MRO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genova, Antonio; Goossens, Sander; Lemoine, Frank G.; Mazarico, Erwan; Neumann, Gregory A.; Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.

2016-04-01

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) missions have significantly contributed to the determination of global high-resolution global gravity fields of Mars for the last 16 years. All three spacecraft were located in sun-synchronous, near-circular polar mapping orbits for their primary mission phases at different altitudes and Local Solar Time (LST). X-Band tracking data have been acquired from the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) providing information on the time-variable and static gravity field of Mars. MGS operated between 1999 and 2006 at 390 km altitude. ODY and MRO are still orbiting Mars with periapsis altitudes of 400 km and 255 km, respectively. Before entering these mapping phases, all three spacecraft collected radio tracking data at lower altitudes (˜170-200 km) that help improve the resolution of the gravity field of Mars in specific regions. We analyzed the entire MGS radio tracking data set, and ODY and MRO radio data until 2015. These observations were processed using a batch least-squares filter through the NASA GSFC GEODYN II software. We combined all 2- and 3-way range rate data to estimate the global gravity field of Mars to degree and order 120, the seasonal variations of gravity harmonic coefficients C20, C30, C40 and C50 and the Love number k2. The gravity contribution of Mars atmospheric pressures on the surface of the planet has been discerned from the time-varying and static gravity harmonic coefficients. Surface pressure grids computed using the Mars-GRAM 2010 atmospheric model, with 2.5° x2.5° spatial and 2-h resolution, are converted into gravity spherical harmonic coefficients. Consequently, the estimated gravity and tides provide direct information on the solid planet. We will present the new Goddard Mars Model (GMM-3) of Mars gravity field in spherical harmonics to degree and order 120. The solution includes the Love number k2 and the 3-frequencies (annual, semi-annual, and tri-annual) time-variable coefficients of the gravity zonal harmonics C20, C30, C40 and C50. The seasonal gravity coefficients led us to determine the inter-annual mass exchange between the polar caps over ˜11 years from October 2002 to November 2014.

Preliminary isostatic gravity map of the Sonoma volcanic field and vicinity, Sonoma and Napa Counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, V.E.; Roberts, C.W.; McCabe, C.A.; McPhee, D.K.; Tilden, J.E.; Jachens, R.C.

2006-01-01

This isostatic residual gravity map is part of a three-dimensional mapping effort focused on the subsurface distribution of rocks of the Sonoma volcanic field in Napa and Sonoma counties, northern California. This map will serve as a basis for modeling the shapes of basins beneath the Santa Rosa Plain and Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and for determining the location and geometry of faults within the area. Local spatial variations in the Earth's gravity field (after accounting for variations caused by elevation, terrain, and deep crustal structure explained below) reflect the distribution of densities in the mid to upper crust. Densities often can be related to rock type, and abrupt spatial changes in density commonly mark lithologic boundaries. High-density basement rocks exposed within the northern San Francisco Bay area include those of the Mesozoic Franciscan Complex and Great Valley Sequence present in the mountainous areas of the quadrangle. Alluvial sediment and Tertiary sedimentary rocks are characterized by low densities. However, with increasing depth of burial and age, the densities of these rocks may become indistinguishable from those of basement rocks. Tertiary volcanic rocks are characterized by a wide range in densities, but, on average, are less dense than the Mesozoic basement rocks. Isostatic residual gravity values within the map area range from about -41 mGal over San Pablo Bay to about 11 mGal near Greeg Mountain 10 km east of St. Helena. Steep linear gravity gradients are coincident with the traces of several Quaternary strike-slip faults, most notably along the West Napa fault bounding the west side of Napa Valley, the projection of the Hayward fault in San Pablo Bay, the Maacama Fault, and the Rodgers Creek fault in the vicinity of Santa Rosa. These gradients result from juxtaposing dense basement rocks against thick Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks.

Field estimates of gravity terrain corrections and Y2K-compatible method to convert from gravity readings with multiple base stations to tide- and long-term drift-corrected observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plouff, Donald

2000-01-01

Gravity observations are directly made or are obtained from other sources by the U.S. Geological Survey in order to prepare maps of the anomalous gravity field and consequently to interpret the subsurface distribution of rock densities and associated lithologic or geologic units. Observations are made in the field with gravity meters at new locations and at reoccupations of previously established gravity "stations." This report illustrates an interactively-prompted series of steps needed to convert gravity "readings" to values that are tied to established gravity datums and includes computer programs to implement those steps. Inasmuch as individual gravity readings have small variations, gravity-meter (instrument) drift may not be smoothly variable, and acommodations may be needed for ties to previously established stations, the reduction process is iterative. Decision-making by the program user is prompted by lists of best values and graphical displays. Notes about irregularities of topography, which affect the value of observed gravity but are not shown in sufficient detail on topographic maps, must be recorded in the field. This report illustrates ways to record field notes (distances, heights, and slope angles) and includes computer programs to convert field notes to gravity terrain corrections. This report includes approaches that may serve as models for other applications, for example: portrayal of system flow; style of quality control to document and validate computer applications; lack of dependence on proprietary software except source code compilation; method of file-searching with a dwindling list; interactive prompting; computer code to write directly in the PostScript (Adobe Systems Incorporated) printer language; and high-lighting the four-digit year on the first line of time-dependent data sets for assured Y2K compatibility. Computer source codes provided are written in the Fortran scientific language. In order for the programs to operate, they first must be converted (compiled) into an executable form on the user's computer. Although program testing was done in a UNIX (tradename of American Telephone and Telegraph Company) computer environment, it is anticipated that only a system-dependent date-and-time function may need to be changed for adaptation to other computer platforms that accept standard Fortran code.d del iliscipit volorer sequi ting etue feum zzriliquatum zzriustrud esenibh ex esto esequat.

The non-Gaussian joint probability density function of slope and elevation for a nonlinear gravity wave field. [in ocean surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, N. E.; Long, S. R.; Bliven, L. F.; Tung, C.-C.

1984-01-01

On the basis of the mapping method developed by Huang et al. (1983), an analytic expression for the non-Gaussian joint probability density function of slope and elevation for nonlinear gravity waves is derived. Various conditional and marginal density functions are also obtained through the joint density function. The analytic results are compared with a series of carefully controlled laboratory observations, and good agreement is noted. Furthermore, the laboratory wind wave field observations indicate that the capillary or capillary-gravity waves may not be the dominant components in determining the total roughness of the wave field. Thus, the analytic results, though derived specifically for the gravity waves, may have more general applications.

A spaceborne superconducting gravity gradiometer for mapping the earth's gravity field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paik, H. J.

1981-01-01

The principles of a satellite gravity gradiometer system which measures all five independent components of the gravity gradient tensor with a sensitivity of 0.001 E/Hz to the 1/2 power or better, are analyzed, and the status of development of the system is reviewed. The superconducting gravity gradiometer uses sensitive superconducting accelerometers, each of which are composed of a weakly suspended superconducting proof mass, a superconducting magnetic transducer, and a low-noise superconducting magnetometer. The magnetic field produced by the transducer coils is modulated by the motion of the proof mass and detected by the magnetometer. A combination of two or four of such accelerometers with proper relative orientation of sensitive axes results in an in-line or a cross component gravity gradiometer.

Analyzing the Broken Ridge area of the Indian Ocean using magnetic and gravity anomaly maps and geoid undulation and bathymetry data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lazarewicz, A. R.; Sailor, R. V. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

A higher resolution anomaly map of the Broken Ridge area (2 degree dipole spacing) was produced and reduced to the pole using quiet time data for this area. The map was compared with equally scaled maps of gravity anomaly, geoid undulation, and bathymetry. The ESMAP results were compared with a NASA MAGSAT map derived by averaging data in two-degree bins. A survey simulation was developed to model the accuracy of MAGSAT anomaly maps as a function of satellite altitude, instrument noise level, external noise model, and crustal anomaly field model. A preliminary analysis of the geophysical structure of Broken Ridge is presented and unresolved questions are listed.

Preliminary Correlations of Gravity and Topography from Mars Global Surveyor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuber, M. T.; Tyler, G. L.; Smith, D. E.; Balmino, G. S.; Johnson, G. L.; Lemoine, F. G.; Neumann, G. A.; Phillips, R. J.; Sjogren, W. L.; Solomon, S. C.

1999-01-01

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft is currently in a 400-km altitude polar mapping orbit and scheduled to begin global mapping of Mars in March of 1999. Doppler tracking data collected in this Gravity Calibration Orbit prior to the nominal mapping mission combined with observations from the MGS Science Phasing Orbit in Spring - Summer 1999 and the Viking and mariner 9 orbiters has led to preliminary high resolution gravity fields. Spherical harmonic expansions have been performed to degree and order 70 and are characterized by the first high spatial resolution coverage of high latitudes. Topographic mapping by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on MGS is providing measurements of the height of the martian surface with sub-meter vertical resolution and 5-30 m absolute accuracy. Data obtained during the circular mapping phase are expected to provide the first high resolution measurements of surface heights in the southern hemisphere. The combination of gravity and topography measurements provides information on the structure of the planetary interior, i.e. the rigidity and distribution of internal density. The observations can also be used to address the mechanisms of support of surface topography. Preliminary results of correlations of gravity and topography at long planetary wavelengths will be presented and the implications for internal structure will be addressed.

Proceedings of the Annual Gravity Gradiometer Conference (17th) Held in Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts on 12-13 October 1989

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-28

D’IC FILE COpY G---90-0067 ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PAPERS , NO. 1059 AD-A223 568 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL GRAVITY GRADIOICET CONFERENCE 12...AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (Maximu&m 200 words)/ Fourteen papers were...instrumentation * and applications. The technical papers covered test program results, applications to gravity field mapping, gravity signal processing

Gravity Field Characterization around Small Bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Yu

A small body rendezvous mission requires accurate gravity field characterization for safe, accurate navigation purposes. However, the current techniques of gravity field modeling around small bodies are not achieved to the level of satisfaction. This thesis will address how the process of current gravity field characterization can be made more robust for future small body missions. First we perform the covariance analysis around small bodies via multiple slow flybys. Flyby characterization requires less laborious scheduling than its orbit counterpart, simultaneously reducing the risk of impact into the asteroid's surface. It will be shown that the level of initial characterization that can occur with this approach is no less than the orbit approach. Next, we apply the same technique of gravity field characterization to estimate the spin state of 4179 Touatis, which is a near-Earth asteroid in close to 4:1 resonance with the Earth. The data accumulated from 1992-2008 are processed in a least-squares filter to predict Toutatis' orientation during the 2012 apparition. The center-of-mass offset and the moments of inertia estimated thereof can be used to constrain the internal density distribution within the body. Then, the spin state estimation is developed to a generalized method to estimate the internal density distribution within a small body. The density distribution is estimated from the orbit determination solution of the gravitational coefficients. It will be shown that the surface gravity field reconstructed from the estimated density distribution yields higher accuracy than the conventional gravity field models. Finally, we will investigate two types of relatively unknown gravity fields, namely the interior gravity field and interior spherical Bessel gravity field, in order to investigate how accurately the surface gravity field can be mapped out for proximity operations purposes. It will be shown that these formulations compute the surface gravity field with unprecedented accuracy for a well-chosen set of parametric settings, both regionally and globally.

KSC-2011-6765

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – – Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, participates in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission science briefing in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

A terracing operator for physical property mapping with potential field data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cordell, L.; McCafferty, A.E.

1989-01-01

The terracing operator works iteratively on gravity or magnetic data, using the sense of the measured field's local curvature, to produce a field comprised of uniform domains separated by abrupt domain boundaries. The result is crudely proportional to a physical-property function defined in one (profile case) or two (map case) horizontal dimensions. This result can be extended to a physical-property model if its behavior in the third (vertical) dimension is defined, either arbitrarily or on the basis of the local geologic situation. The terracing algorithm is computationally fast and appropriate to use with very large digital data sets. The terracing operator was applied separately to aeromagnetic and gravity data from a 136km x 123km area in eastern Kansas. Results provide a reasonable good physical representation of both the gravity and the aeromagnetic data. Superposition of the results from the two data sets shows many areas of agreement that can be referenced to geologic features within the buried Precambrian crystalline basement. -from Authors

KSC-2011-6746

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Tim Dunn, NASA launch director for the agency’s Launch Services Program, participates in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) prelaunch news conference in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6771

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission is ready for launch. Preparations are under way to roll the mobile service tower away from the rocket. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6779

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, view of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission is unobstructed as the mobile service tower rolls away. The "rollback" began at about 11:20 p.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6810

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media representatives check the lighting at Press Site 1 near Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during preparations to photograph the launch of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6750

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Joel Tumbiolo, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., participates in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) prelaunch news conference in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6748

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – David Lehman, GRAIL project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, participates in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) prelaunch news conference in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6786

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission undergoes final preparations for launch. The "rollback" of the mobile service tower began at about 11:20 p.m. EDT Sept. 7. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6764

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Robert Fogel, NASA’s GRAIL program scientist, participates in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission science briefing in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6751

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – John Henk, GRAIL program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colo., participates in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) prelaunch news conference in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6770

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, preparations are under way to roll the mobile service tower away from the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6878

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – An early morning sky illuminates the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket that will launch NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept.10. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/ Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6749

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, participates in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) prelaunch news conference in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6875

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – With a clear blue sky for a background, the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket is propelled skyward after lifting off at 9:08 a.m. EDT Sept. 10 from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Delta II is carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6809

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Television satellite trucks raise their antennas at Press Site 1 near Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during preparations to broadcast the launch of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

Glacier mass balance in high-arctic areas with anomalous gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharov, A.; Rieser, D.; Nikolskiy, D.

2012-04-01

All known glaciological models describing the evolution of Arctic land- and sea-ice masses in changing climate treat the Earth's gravity as horizontally constant, but it isn't. In the High Arctic, the strength of the gravitational field varies considerably across even short distances under the influence of a density gradient, and the magnitude of free air gravity anomalies attains 100 mGal and more. On long-term base, instantaneous deviations of gravity can have a noticeable effect on the regime and mass budget of glaciological objects. At best, the gravity-induced component of ice mass variations can be determined on topographically smooth, open and steady surfaces, like those of arctic planes, regular ice caps and landfast sea ice. The present research is devoted to studying gravity-driven impacts on glacier mass balance in the outer periphery of four Eurasian shelf seas with a very cold, dry climate and rather episodic character of winter precipitation. As main study objects we had chosen a dozen Russia's northernmost insular ice caps, tens to hundreds of square kilometres in extent, situated in a close vicinity of strong gravity anomalies and surrounded with extensive fields of fast and/or drift ice for most of the year. The supposition about gravitational forcing on glacioclimatic settings in the study region is based on the results of quantitative comparison and joint interpretation of existing glacier change maps and available data on the Arctic gravity field and solid precipitation. The overall mapping of medium-term (from decadal to half-centennial) changes in glacier volumes and quantification of mass balance characteristics in the study region was performed by comparing reference elevation models of study glaciers derived from Russian topographic maps 1:200,000 (CI = 20 or 40 m) representing the glacier state as in the 1950s-1980s with modern elevation data obtained from satellite radar interferometry and lidar altimetry. Free-air gravity anomalies were graphically represented in the reference model geometry using Russian gravimetric maps 1:1000000 (1980s), ArcGP grid (2008) and GOCE gravity field data (Release 3, 2009-2011). 25-year long records of daily precipitation obtained from 38 coastal stations were involved in the causality analysis. Strong positive distance-weighted correlation was discovered between the magnitude of geopotential and gravity gradient on one hand and the precipitation amount, annual number of precipitation "events" and glacier elevation changes on the other, while it was noted that the correlation decreases in humid and mountainous areas. Relevant analytical and geophysical explanations were provided and tested using the basic concepts of hydrostatic stress, lapse rate and non-orographic gradient precipitation. It was concluded that the gravitational impact on the mass balance of arctic maritime ice caps is threefold. 1) Lateral variations of gravity influence directly the ambient lapse rate thereby modulating the atmospheric stability and leading to the increased intensity and frequency of heavy snowfalls over the areas with positive gravity anomalies. 2) Glacier ice deformation, flow, calving and meltwater runoff are gravity-driven phenomena, and the removal of glacier ice is closely interrelated with geopotential variations nearby. 3) Gravity anomalies affect processes of sea ice grow, drift and consolidation resulting in generally lower concentration and lesser thickness of the sea ice found in the aquatories with positive gravity. The advection of moist air to insular ice caps facilitates sea-effect snow events and makes glacier mass balance more positive. The effect is enhanced when the air mass advects toward the centre of positive anomaly. The idea about gradient (deviatoric) precipitation and related cryogravic processes does not contradict to the concept of gravity waves and has some analogy with the hypothesis on "ice lichens" devised by E.Gernet 80 years ago. Further analogies can be learned from another industry, e.g. technical chemistry. Several questions associated with the variability of evaporation, ice nucleation, aerosol deposition and snow redistribution in the heterogeneous field of gravity remain open.

Data reduction and tying in regional gravity surveys—results from a new gravity base station network and the Bouguer gravity anomaly map for northeastern Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurtado-Cardador, Manuel; Urrutia-Fucugauchi, Jaime

2006-12-01

Since 1947 Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has conducted oil exploration projects using potential field methods. Geophysical exploration companies under contracts with Pemex carried out gravity anomaly surveys that were referred to different floating data. Each survey comprises observations of gravity stations along highways, roads and trails at intervals of about 500 m. At present, 265 separate gravimeter surveys that cover 60% of the Mexican territory (mainly in the oil producing regions of Mexico) are available. This gravity database represents the largest, highest spatial resolution information, and consequently has been used in the geophysical data compilations for the Mexico and North America gravity anomaly maps. Regional integration of gravimeter surveys generates gradients and spurious anomalies in the Bouguer anomaly maps at the boundaries of the connected surveys due to the different gravity base stations utilized. The main objective of this study is to refer all gravimeter surveys from Pemex to a single new first-order gravity base station network, in order to eliminate problems of gradients and spurious anomalies. A second objective is to establish a network of permanent gravity base stations (BGP), referred to a single base from the World Gravity System. Four regional loops of BGP covering eight States of Mexico were established to support the tie of local gravity base stations from each of the gravimeter surveys located in the vicinity of these loops. The third objective is to add the gravity constants, measured and calculated, for each of the 265 gravimeter surveys to their corresponding files in the Pemex and Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo database. The gravity base used as the common datum is the station SILAG 9135-49 (Latin American System of Gravity) located in the National Observatory of Tacubaya in Mexico City. We present the results of the installation of a new gravity base network in northeastern Mexico, reference of the 43 gravimeter surveys to the new network, the regional compilation of Bouguer gravity data and a new updated Bouguer gravity anomaly map for northeastern Mexico.

An enhanced trend surface analysis equation for regional-residual separation of gravity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obasi, A. I.; Onwuemesi, A. G.; Romanus, O. M.

2016-12-01

Trend surface analysis is a geological term for a mathematical technique which separates a given map set into a regional component and a local component. This work has extended the steps for the derivation of the constants in the trend surface analysis equation from the popularly known matrix and simultaneous form to a more simplified and easily achievable format. To achieve this, matrix inversion was applied to the existing equations and the outcome was tested for suitability using a large volume of gravity data set acquired from the Anambra Basin, south-eastern Nigeria. Tabulation of the field data set was done using the Microsoft Excel spread sheet, while gravity maps were generated from the data set using Oasis Montaj software. A comparison of the residual gravity map produced using the new equations with its software derived counterpart has shown that the former has a higher enhancing capacity than the latter. This equation has shown strong suitability for application in the separation of gravity data sets into their regional and residual components.

Development of a Transportable Gravity Gradiometer Based on Atom Interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, N.; Kohel, J. M.; Aveline, D. C.; Kellogg, J. R.; Thompson, R. J.; Maleki, L.

2007-12-01

JPL is developing a transportable gravity gradiometer based on light-pulse atom interferometers for NASA's Earth Science Technology Office's Instrument Incubator Program. The inertial sensors in this instrument employ a quantum interference measurement technique, analogous to the precise phase measurements in atomic clocks, which offers increased sensitivity and improved long-term stability over traditional mechanical devices. We report on the implementation of this technique in JPL's gravity gradiometer, and on the current performance of the mobile instrument. We also discuss the prospects for satellite-based gravity field mapping, including high-resolution monitoring of time-varying fields from a single satellite platform and multi-component measurements of the gravitational gradient tensor, using atom interferometer-based instruments.

Lunar Prospector Orbit Determination Uncertainties Using the High Resolution Lunar Gravity Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carranza, Eric; Konopliv, Alex; Ryne, Mark

1999-01-01

The Lunar Prospector (LP) mission began on January 6, 1998, when the LP spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The objectives of the mission were to determine whether water ice exists at the lunar poles, generate a global compositional map of the lunar surface, detect lunar outgassing, and improve knowledge of the lunar magnetic and gravity fields. Orbit determination of LP performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is conducted as part of the principal science investigation of the lunar gravity field. This paper will describe the JPL effort in support of the LP Gravity Investigation. This support includes high precision orbit determination, gravity model validation, and data editing. A description of the mission and its trajectory will be provided first, followed by a discussion of the orbit determination estimation procedure and models. Accuracies will be examined in terms of orbit-to-orbit solution differences, as a function of oblateness model truncation, and inclination in the plane-of-sky. Long term predictions for several gravity fields will be compared to the reconstructed orbits to demonstrate the accuracy of the orbit determination and oblateness fields developed by the Principal Gravity Investigator.

Identification of active fault using analysis of derivatives with vertical second based on gravity anomaly data (Case study: Seulimeum fault in Sumatera fault system)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hududillah, Teuku Hafid; Simanjuntak, Andrean V. H.; Husni, Muhammad

2017-07-01

Gravity is a non-destructive geophysical technique that has numerous application in engineering and environmental field like locating a fault zone. The purpose of this study is to spot the Seulimeum fault system in Iejue, Aceh Besar (Indonesia) by using a gravity technique and correlate the result with geologic map and conjointly to grasp a trend pattern of fault system. An estimation of subsurface geological structure of Seulimeum fault has been done by using gravity field anomaly data. Gravity anomaly data which used in this study is from Topex that is processed up to Free Air Correction. The step in the Next data processing is applying Bouger correction and Terrin Correction to obtain complete Bouger anomaly that is topographically dependent. Subsurface modeling is done using the Gav2DC for windows software. The result showed a low residual gravity value at a north half compared to south a part of study space that indicated a pattern of fault zone. Gravity residual was successfully correlate with the geologic map that show the existence of the Seulimeum fault in this study space. The study of earthquake records can be used for differentiating the active and non active fault elements, this gives an indication that the delineated fault elements are active.

Exact solutions in 3D new massive gravity.

PubMed

Ahmedov, Haji; Aliev, Alikram N

2011-01-14

We show that the field equations of new massive gravity (NMG) consist of a massive (tensorial) Klein-Gordon-type equation with a curvature-squared source term and a constraint equation. We also show that, for algebraic type D and N spacetimes, the field equations of topologically massive gravity (TMG) can be thought of as the "square root" of the massive Klein-Gordon-type equation. Using this fact, we establish a simple framework for mapping all types D and N solutions of TMG into NMG. Finally, we present new examples of types D and N solutions to NMG.

Exact Solutions in 3D New Massive Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmedov, Haji; Aliev, Alikram N.

2011-01-01

We show that the field equations of new massive gravity (NMG) consist of a massive (tensorial) Klein-Gordon-type equation with a curvature-squared source term and a constraint equation. We also show that, for algebraic type D and N spacetimes, the field equations of topologically massive gravity (TMG) can be thought of as the “square root” of the massive Klein-Gordon-type equation. Using this fact, we establish a simple framework for mapping all types D and N solutions of TMG into NMG. Finally, we present new examples of types D and N solutions to NMG.

Internal gravity wave contributions to global sea surface variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savage, A.; Arbic, B. K.; Richman, J. G.; Shriver, J. F.; Buijsman, M. C.; Zamudio, L.; Wallcraft, A. J.; Sharma, H.

2016-02-01

High-resolution (1/12th and 1/25th degree) 41-layer simulations of the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), forced by both atmospheric fields and the astronomical tidal potential, are used to construct global maps of sea-surface height (SSH). The HYCOM output has been separated into steric, non-steric, and total sea-surface height and the maps display variance in subtidal, tidal, and supertidal bands. Two of the global maps are of particular interest in planning for the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) wide-swath satellite altimeter mission; (1) a map of the nonstationary tidal signal (estimated after removing the stationary tidal signal via harmonic analysis), and (2) a map of the steric supertidal contributions, which are dominated by the internal gravity wave continuum. Both of these maps display signals of order 1 cm2, the target accuracy for the SWOT mission. Therefore, both non-stationary internal tides and non-tidal internal gravity waves are likely to be important sources of "noise" that must be accurately removed before examination of lower-frequency phenomena can take place.

Detection and characterization of buried lunar craters with GRAIL data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sood, Rohan; Chappaz, Loic; Melosh, Henry J.; Howell, Kathleen C.; Milbury, Colleen; Blair, David M.; Zuber, Maria T.

2017-06-01

We used gravity mapping observations from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) to detect, characterize and validate the presence of large impact craters buried beneath the lunar maria. In this paper we focus on two prominent anomalies detected in the GRAIL data using the gravity gradiometry technique. Our detection strategy is applied to both free-air and Bouguer gravity field observations to identify gravitational signatures that are similar to those observed over buried craters. The presence of buried craters is further supported by individual analysis of regional free-air gravity anomalies, Bouguer gravity anomaly maps, and forward modeling. Our best candidate, for which we propose the informal name of Earhart Crater, is approximately 200 km in diameter and forms part of the northwestern rim of Lacus Somniorum, The other candidate, for which we propose the informal name of Ashoka Anomaly, is approximately 160 km in diameter and lies completely buried beneath Mare Tranquillitatis. Other large, still unrecognized, craters undoubtedly underlie other portions of the Moon's vast mare lavas.

Mapping the earth's magnetic and gravity fields from space Current status and future prospects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Settle, M.; Taranik, J. V.

1983-01-01

The principal magnetic fields encountered by earth orbiting spacecraft include the main (core) field, external fields produced by electrical currents within the ionosphere and magnetosphere, and the crustal (anomaly) field generated by variations in the magnetization of the outermost portions of the earth. The first orbital field measurements which proved to be of use for global studies of crustal magnetization were obtained by a series of three satellites launched and operated from 1965 to 1971. Each of the satellites, known as a Polar Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (POGO), carried a rubidium vapor magnetometer. Attention is also given to Magsat launched in 1979, the scalar anomaly field derived from the Magsat measurements, satellite tracking studies in connection with gravity field surveys, radar altimetry, the belt of positive free air gravity anomalies situated along the edge of the Pacific Ocean basin, future technological capabilities, and information concerning data availability.

CryoSat-2 altimetry derived Arctic bathymetry map: first results and validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersen, O. B.; Abulaitijiang, A.; Cancet, M.; Knudsen, P.

2017-12-01

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU), DTU Space has been developing high quality high resolution gravity fields including the new highly accurate CryoSat-2 radar altimetry satellite data which extends the global coverage of altimetry data up to latitude 88°. With its exceptional Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mode being operating throughout the Arctic Ocean, leads, i.e., the ocean surface heights, is used to retrieve the sea surface height with centimeter-level range precision. Combined with the long repeat cycle ( 369 days), i.e., dense cross-track coverage, the high-resolution Arctic marine gravity can be modelled using the CryoSat-2 altimetry. Further, the polar gap can be filled by the available ArcGP product, thus yielding the complete map of the Arctic bathymetry map. In this presentation, we will make use of the most recent DTU17 marine gravity, to derive the arctic bathymetry map using inversion based on best available hydrographic maps. Through the support of ESA a recent evaluation of existing hydrographic models of the Arctic Ocean Bathymetry models (RTOPO, GEBCO, IBCAO etc) and various inconsistencies have been identified and means to rectify these inconsistencies have been taken prior to perform the inversion using altimetry. Simultaneously DTU Space has been placing great effort on the Arctic data screening, filtering, and de-noising using various altimetry retracking solutions and classifications. All the pre-processing contributed to the fine modelling of Actic gravity map. Thereafter, the arctic marine gravity grids will eventually be translated (downward continuation operation) to a new altimetry enhanced Arctic bathymetry map using appropriate band-pass filtering.

Numerical modeling of marine Gravity data for tsunami hazard zone mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porwal, Nipun

2012-07-01

Tsunami is a series of ocean wave with very high wavelengths ranges from 10 to 500 km. Therefore tsunamis act as shallow water waves and hard to predict from various methods. Bottom Pressure Recorders of Poseidon class considered as a preeminent method to detect tsunami waves but Acoustic Modem in Ocean Bottom Pressure (OBP) sensors placed in the vicinity of trenches having depth of more than 6000m fails to propel OBP data to Surface Buoys. Therefore this paper is developed for numerical modeling of Gravity field coefficients from Bureau Gravimetric International (BGI) which do not play a central role in the study of geodesy, satellite orbit computation, & geophysics but by mathematical transformation of gravity field coefficients using Normalized Legendre Polynomial high resolution ocean bottom pressure (OBP) data is generated. Real time sea level monitored OBP data of 0.3° by 1° spatial resolution using Kalman filter (kf080) for past 10 years by Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) has been correlated with OBP data from gravity field coefficients which attribute a feasible study on future tsunami detection system from space and in identification of most suitable sites to place OBP sensors near deep trenches. The Levitus Climatological temperature and salinity are assimilated into the version of the MITGCM using the ad-joint method to obtain the sea height segment. Then TOPEX/Poseidon satellite altimeter, surface momentum, heat, and freshwater fluxes from NCEP reanalysis product and the dynamic ocean topography DOT_DNSCMSS08_EGM08 is used to interpret sea-bottom elevation. Then all datasets are associated under raster calculator in ArcGIS 9.3 using Boolean Intersection Algebra Method and proximal analysis tools with high resolution sea floor topographic map. Afterward tsunami prone area and suitable sites for set up of BPR as analyzed in this research is authenticated by using Passive microwave radiometry system for Tsunami Hazard Zone Mapping by network of seismometers. Thus using such methodology for early Tsunami Hazard Zone Mapping also increase accuracy and reduce time period for tsunami predictions. KEYWORDS:, Tsunami, Gravity Field Coefficients, Ocean Bottom Pressure, ECCO, BGI, Sea Bottom Temperature, Sea Floor Topography.

A Bottom Gravity Survey of the Continental Shelf Between Point Lobos and Point Sur, California.

DTIC Science & Technology

From an occupation of 68 ocean bottom and 38 land gravity stations between Pt. Lobos and Pt. Sur, California, a complete Bouguer anomaly map was...produced and analyzed. The steps in data reduction leading to the complete Bouguer anomaly field are presented, unique features of which are associated

Structure of the Dichotomy Boundary at 50-90E Revealed by Geologic Mapping and Gravity and Magnetic Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smrekar, S. E.; Raymond, C. A.; McGill, G. E.

2002-01-01

In the 50-90E section of the dichotomy, the gravity and magnetic fields correlate with a buried fault. These data will be used to infer fault slip and thickness of the magnetic layer. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Recalculation of regional and detailed gravity database from Slovak Republic and qualitative interpretation of new generation Bouguer anomaly map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasteka, Roman; Zahorec, Pavol; Mikuska, Jan; Szalaiova, Viktoria; Papco, Juraj; Krajnak, Martin; Kusnirak, David; Panisova, Jaroslava; Vajda, Peter; Bielik, Miroslav

2014-05-01

In this contribution results of the running project "Bouguer anomalies of new generation and the gravimetrical model of Western Carpathians (APVV-0194-10)" are presented. The existing homogenized regional database (212478 points) was enlarged by approximately 107 500 archive detailed gravity measurements. These added gravity values were measured since the year 1976 to the present, therefore they need to be unified and reprocessed. The improved positions of more than 8500 measured points were acquired by digitizing of archive maps (we recognized some local errors within particular data sets). Besides the local errors (due to the wrong positions, heights or gravity of measured points) we have found some areas of systematic errors probably due to the gravity measurement or processing errors. Some of them were confirmed and consequently corrected by field measurements within the frame of current project. Special attention is paid to the recalculation of the terrain corrections - we have used a new developed software as well as the latest version of digital terrain model of Slovakia DMR-3. Main improvement of the new terrain corrections evaluation algorithm is the possibility to calculate it in the real gravimeter position and involving of 3D polyhedral bodies approximation (accepting the spherical approximation of Earth's curvature). We have realized several tests by means of the introduction of non-standard distant relief effects introduction. A new complete Bouguer anomalies map was constructed and transformed by means of higher derivatives operators (tilt derivatives, TDX, theta-derivatives and the new TDXAS transformation), using the regularization approach. A new interesting regional lineament of probably neotectonic character was recognized in the new map of complete Bouguer anomalies and it was confirmed also by realized in-situ field measurements.

Preliminary Results on Lunar Interior Properties from the GRAIL Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, James G.; Konopliv, Alexander S.; Asmar, Sami W.; Lemoine, H. Jay; Melosh, H. Jay; Neumann, Gregory A.; Phillips, Roger J.; Smith, David E.; Solomon, Sean C.; Watkins, Michael M.;

Rossby-gravity waves in tropical total ozone data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanford, J. L.; Ziemke, J. R.

1993-01-01

Evidence for Rossby-gravity waves in tropical data fields produced by the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) was recently reported. Similar features are observable in fields of total column ozone from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite instrument. The observed features are episodic, have zonal (east-west) wavelengths of 6,000-10,000 km, and oscillate with periods of 5-10 days. In accord with simple linear theory, the modes exhibit westward phase progression and eastward group velocity. The significance of finding Rossby-gravity waves in total ozone fields is that (1) the report of similar features in ECMWF tropical fields is corroborated with an independent data set and (2) the TOMS data set is demonstrated to possess surprising versatility and sensitivity to relatively smaller scale tropical phenomena.

KSC-2011-6853

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Actress Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura on Star Trek) signs autographs for a guest at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during activities for the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission (GRAIL). Nichols was on hand to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the first airing of the Star Trek television series. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is hosting “Star Trek: The Exhibition” to show visitors where “science fiction meets science fact.” GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

Non-Gaussian microwave background fluctuations from nonlinear gravitational effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salopek, D. S.; Kunstatter, G. (Editor)

1991-01-01

Whether the statistics of primordial fluctuations for structure formation are Gaussian or otherwise may be determined if the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Satellite makes a detection of the cosmic microwave-background temperature anisotropy delta T(sub CMB)/T(sub CMB). Non-Gaussian fluctuations may be generated in the chaotic inflationary model if two scalar fields interact nonlinearly with gravity. Theoretical contour maps are calculated for the resulting Sachs-Wolfe temperature fluctuations at large angular scales (greater than 3 degrees). In the long-wavelength approximation, one can confidently determine the nonlinear evolution of quantum noise with gravity during the inflationary epoch because: (1) different spatial points are no longer in causal contact; and (2) quantum gravity corrections are typically small-- it is sufficient to model the system using classical random fields. If the potential for two scalar fields V(phi sub 1, phi sub 2) possesses a sharp feature, then non-Gaussian fluctuations may arise. An explicit model is given where cold spots in delta T(sub CMB)/T(sub CMB) maps are suppressed as compared to the Gaussian case. The fluctuations are essentially scale-invariant.

KSC-2011-6782

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission towers over the U.S. flag painted on the pad's structure. The mobile service tower has been rolled away from the vehicle for launch. The "rollback" began at about 11:20 p.m. EDT Sept. 7. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6846

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6851

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6799

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Tweetup participants ask questions during prelaunch activities for NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Participants toured NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and got a close-up view of Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon’s gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon’s crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon’s internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon’s gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

KSC-2011-6884

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At KARS Park 1 on Merritt Island in Florida, a group of Tweetup participants take pictures and watch excitedly as a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket lifts off at 9:08 a.m. EDT Sept. 10 from Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2011-6844

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – News media photograph the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft at Launch Complex 17B as the mobile service tower is rolled back around to the vehicle after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT. at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6775

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, evening showers create the right conditions for the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission to be reflected on the surface of the pad. Preparations are under way to roll the mobile service tower away from the rocket. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6850

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6845

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

KSC-2011-6882

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At KARS Park 1 on Merritt Island in Florida, a group of Tweetup participants watch as a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket lifts off at 9:08 a.m. EDT Sept. 10 from Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to the moon. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2011-6847

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A worker stands nearby as the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket at Space Launch Complex 17B, carrying NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft, is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

Spinning particles, axion radiation, and the classical double copy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberger, Walter D.; Li, Jingping; Prabhu, Siddharth G.

2018-05-01

We extend the perturbative double copy between radiating classical sources in gauge theory and gravity to the case of spinning particles. We construct, to linear order in spins, perturbative radiating solutions to the classical Yang-Mills equations sourced by a set of interacting color charges with chromomagnetic dipole spin couplings. Using a color-to-kinematics replacement rule proposed earlier by one of the authors, these solutions map onto radiation in a theory of interacting particles coupled to massless fields that include the graviton, a scalar (dilaton) ϕ and the Kalb-Ramond axion field Bμ ν. Consistency of the double copy imposes constraints on the parameters of the theory on both the gauge and gravity sides of the correspondence. In particular, the color charges carry a chromomagnetic interaction which, in d =4 , corresponds to a gyromagnetic ratio equal to Dirac's value g =2 . The color-to-kinematics map implies that on the gravity side, the bulk theory of the fields (ϕ ,gμ ν,Bμ ν) has interactions which match those of d -dimensional "string gravity," as is the case both in the BCJ double copy of pure gauge theory scattering amplitudes and the KLT relations between the tree-level S -matrix elements of open and closed string theory.

Mars Observer Mission: Mapping the Martian World

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The 1992 Mars Observer Mission is highlighted in this video overview of the mission objectives and planning. Using previous photography and computer graphics and simulation, the main objectives of the 687 day (one Martian year) consecutive orbit by the Mars Observer Satellite around Mars are explained. Dr. Arden Albee, the project scientist, speaks about the pole-to-pole mapping of the Martian surface topography, the planned relief maps, the chemical and mineral composition analysis, the gravity fields analysis, and the proposed search for any Mars magnetic fields.

Gravity changes, soil moisture and data assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, J.; Grayson, R.; Rodell, M.; Ellet, K.

2003-04-01

Remote sensing holds promise for near-surface soil moisture and snow mapping, but current techniques do not directly resolve the deeper soil moisture or groundwater. The benefits that would arise from improved monitoring of variations in terrestrial water storage are numerous. The year 2002 saw the launch of NASA's Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, which are mapping the Earth's gravity field at such a high level of precision that we expect to be able to infer changes in terrestrial water storage (soil moisture, groundwater, snow, ice, lake, river and vegetation). The project described here has three distinct yet inter-linked components that all leverage off the same ground-based monitoring and land surface modelling framework. These components are: (i) field validation of a relationship between soil moisture and changes in the Earth's gravity field, from ground- and satellite-based measurements of changes in gravity; (ii) development of a modelling framework for the assimilation of gravity data to constrain land surface model predictions of soil moisture content (such a framework enables the downscaling and disaggregation of low spatial (500 km) and temporal (monthly) resolution measurements of gravity change to finer spatial and temporal resolutions); and (iii) further refining the downscaling and disaggregation of space-borne gravity measurements by making use of other remotely sensed information, such as the higher spatial (25 km) and temporal (daily) resolution remotely sensed near-surface soil moisture measurements from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) instruments on Aqua and ADEOS II. The important field work required by this project will be in the Murrumbidgee Catchment, Australia, where an extensive soil moisture monitoring program by the University of Melbourne is already in place. We will further enhance the current monitoring network by the addition of groundwater wells and additional soil moisture sites. Ground-based gravity measurements will also be made on a monthly basis at each monitoring site. There will be two levels of modelling and monitoring; regional across the entire Murrumbidgee Catchment (100,000 km2), and local across a small sub-catchment (150 km2).

Mapping experiment with space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, S. S. C.

1986-01-01

Mapping of the Earth from space stations can be approached in two areas. One is to collect gravity data for defining topographic datum using Earth's gravity field in terms of spherical harmonics. The other is to search and explore techniques of mapping topography using either optical or radar images with or without reference to ground central points. Without ground control points, an integrated camera system can be designed. With ground control points, the position of the space station (camera station) can be precisely determined at any instant. Therefore, terrestrial topography can be precisely mapped either by conventional photogrammetric methods or by current digital technology of image correlation. For the mapping experiment, it is proposed to establish four ground points either in North America or Africa (including the Sahara desert). If this experiment should be successfully accomplished, it may also be applied to the defense charting systems.

Picture of the global field of quasi-monochromatic gravity waves observed by stratospheric balloons and MST radars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yamanaka, M. D.

1989-01-01

In MAP observations, it was found that: (1) gravity waves in selected or filtered portions of data are fit for monochromatic structures, whereas (2) those in fully continuous and resolved observations take universal continuous spectra. It is possible to explain (2) by dispersion of quasi-monochromatic (or slowly varying) wave packets observed locally as (1), since the medium atmosphere is unsteady and nonuniform. Complete verification of the wave-mean flow interactions by tracking individual wave packets seems hopeless, because the wave induced flow cannot be distinguished from the basic flow independent of the waves. Instead, the primitive picture is looked at before MAP, that is, the atmosphere is just like an entertainment stage illuminated by cocktail lights of quasi-monochromatic gravity waves. The wave parameters are regarded as functions of time and spatial coordinates. The observational evidences (1) and (2) suggest that the wave parameter field is rather homogeneous, which can be explained by interference of quasi-monochromatic wave packets.

Topographic gravity modeling for global Bouguer maps to degree 2160: Validation of spectral and spatial domain forward modeling techniques at the 10 microGal level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirt, Christian; Reußner, Elisabeth; Rexer, Moritz; Kuhn, Michael

2016-09-01

Over the past years, spectral techniques have become a standard to model Earth's global gravity field to 10 km scales, with the EGM2008 geopotential model being a prominent example. For some geophysical applications of EGM2008, particularly Bouguer gravity computation with spectral techniques, a topographic potential model of adequate resolution is required. However, current topographic potential models have not yet been successfully validated to degree 2160, and notable discrepancies between spectral modeling and Newtonian (numerical) integration well beyond the 10 mGal level have been reported. Here we accurately compute and validate gravity implied by a degree 2160 model of Earth's topographic masses. Our experiments are based on two key strategies, both of which require advanced computational resources. First, we construct a spectrally complete model of the gravity field which is generated by the degree 2160 Earth topography model. This involves expansion of the topographic potential to the 15th integer power of the topography and modeling of short-scale gravity signals to ultrahigh degree of 21,600, translating into unprecedented fine scales of 1 km. Second, we apply Newtonian integration in the space domain with high spatial resolution to reduce discretization errors. Our numerical study demonstrates excellent agreement (8 μGgal RMS) between gravity from both forward modeling techniques and provides insight into the convergence process associated with spectral modeling of gravity signals at very short scales (few km). As key conclusion, our work successfully validates the spectral domain forward modeling technique for degree 2160 topography and increases the confidence in new high-resolution global Bouguer gravity maps.

Properties of the Lunar Interior: Preliminary Results from the GRAIL Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, James G.; Konopliv, Alexander S.; Asmar, Sami W.; Lemoine, Frank G.; Melosh, H. Jay; Neumann, Gregory A.; Phillips, Roger J.; Smith, David E.; Solomon, Sean C.; Watkins, Michael M.;

Tackling non-linearities with the effective field theory of dark energy and modified gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frusciante, Noemi; Papadomanolakis, Georgios

2017-12-01

We present the extension of the effective field theory framework to the mildly non-linear scales. The effective field theory approach has been successfully applied to the late time cosmic acceleration phenomenon and it has been shown to be a powerful method to obtain predictions about cosmological observables on linear scales. However, mildly non-linear scales need to be consistently considered when testing gravity theories because a large part of the data comes from those scales. Thus, non-linear corrections to predictions on observables coming from the linear analysis can help in discriminating among different gravity theories. We proceed firstly by identifying the necessary operators which need to be included in the effective field theory Lagrangian in order to go beyond the linear order in perturbations and then we construct the corresponding non-linear action. Moreover, we present the complete recipe to map any single field dark energy and modified gravity models into the non-linear effective field theory framework by considering a general action in the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner formalism. In order to illustrate this recipe we proceed to map the beyond-Horndeski theory and low-energy Hořava gravity into the effective field theory formalism. As a final step we derived the 4th order action in term of the curvature perturbation. This allowed us to identify the non-linear contributions coming from the linear order perturbations which at the next order act like source terms. Moreover, we confirm that the stability requirements, ensuring the positivity of the kinetic term and the speed of propagation for scalar mode, are automatically satisfied once the viability of the theory is demanded at linear level. The approach we present here will allow to construct, in a model independent way, all the relevant predictions on observables at mildly non-linear scales.

Synthesis of regional crust and upper-mantle structure from seismic and gravity data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, S. S.; Lavin, P. M.

1979-01-01

Available seismic and ground based gravity data are combined to infer the three dimensional crust and upper mantle structure in selected regions. This synthesis and interpretation proceeds from large-scale average models suitable for early comparison with high-altitude satellite potential field data to more detailed delineation of structural boundaries and other variations that may be significant in natural resource assessment. Seismic and ground based gravity data are the primary focal point, but other relevant information (e.g. magnetic field, heat flow, Landsat imagery, geodetic leveling, and natural resources maps) is used to constrain the structure inferred and to assist in defining structural domains and boundaries. The seismic data consists of regional refraction lines, limited reflection coverage, surface wave dispersion, teleseismic P and S wave delay times, anelastic absorption, and regional seismicity patterns. The gravity data base consists of available point gravity determinations for the areas considered.

Integrated study of basins in the Four Corners region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fagbola, Olamide Olawumi

2007-12-01

This dissertation is an integrated study of basins in the four corners area of the central part of the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is a structurally unique part of the Rocky Mountain region because it has only been moderately deformed when compared to the more intensely deformed areas around it. The Colorado Plateau covers a portion of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The study area extends from latitude 34°N-40°N to longitude 106°W-111W° encompassing a series of major basins and uplifts: the San Juan, Black Mesa, Paradox, and the Blanding basins; and the Zuni, Defiance, Four Corners, Monument uplifts and the San Juan dome and volcanic field. An analysis of gravity anomalies, basement and crustal structure for basins in the four corners region was carried out. This involved using gravity, magnetic, well, outcrop, seismic estimates of crustal thickness, and geologic data in an integrated fashion. Six filtered gravity and three filtered magnetic maps were generated to aid in the interpretation of the gravity and magnetic anomalies in the study area. A detailed comparison of these maps was carried out. The results show a deep seated mafic structure in the basement acting as a crustal boundary separating the high gravity anomalies from the low. These maps also show that the sources of these anomalies are quite shallow resulting from the upper crust in the study area. The structures in the study area are characterized by northwest and northeast trends which correspond to the Precambrian and the Late Paleozoic structures, respectively. A crustal thickness map of the area was also constructed from seismic estimates of crustal thickness. A comparison was done between the crustal thickness map and the 45 km upward continuation Bouguer anomaly map. The result of this comparison shows that areas of thicker ix crust corresponded to low gravity while areas of thinner crust means mantle material is closer to the surface, thereby producing a high gravity anomaly. The thinnest crust encountered is about 32 km while the thickest crust is about 50 km. Seven gravity models were constructed and these include three crustal-scale profiles crisscrossing the study area and four local profiles. The gravity profiles were modeled using well data, structural thickness maps, cross section data, geologic maps and previous gravity models as constraints. Basement inhomogeneities beneath the basins and the uplifts were delineated by the gravity modeling. One of results from this study reveals that the basement beneath the Four Corners area is highly inhomogeneous. This study reveals that there is a high density deep seated mafic intrusion present in the basement which is responsible for the high gravity and magnetic anomaly in A. This dissertation has also shown that the Four Corners region does not possess a single crustal signature as shown by the different crustal trends in San Juan basin trending northeast and the east-west trending Uncompahgre uplift. The 45 km upward continuation gravity map was also found to correlate with seismic estimates of crustal thickness. The Precambrian basement in this region is also not homogeneous as shown by the necessity of inserting exotic bodies into the basement to compensate for high gravity anomalies and lastly an attempt was made to better define Tweto's (1980) outline of geologic features in the study area. On integrating gravity, magnetics, well and outcrop data, the relief of the Defiance uplift is not as high as delineated by Tweto's (1980) outline.

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Mars Geophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

The titles in this section include: 1) An Extraordinary Magnetic Field Map of Mars; 2) Mapping Weak Crustal Magnetic Fields on Mars with Electron Reflectometry; 3) Analytic Signal in the Interpretation of Mars Southern Highlands Magnetic Field; 4) Modeling of Major Martian Magnetic Anomalies: Further Evidence for Polar Reorientations During the Noachian; 5) An Improved Model of the Crustal Structure of Mars; 6) Geologic Evolution of the Martian Dichotomy and Plains Magnetization in the Ismenius Area of Mars; 7) Relaxation of the Martian Crustal Dichotomy Boundary in the Ismenius Region; 8) Localized Tharsis Loading on Mars: Testing the Membrane Surface Hypothesis; 9) Thermal Stresses and Tharsis Loading: Implications for Wrinkle Ridge Formation on Mars; 10) What Can be Learned about the Martian Lithosphere from Gravity and Topography Data? 11) A Gravity Analysis of the Subsurface Structure of the Utopia Impact Basin; 12) Mechanics of Utopia Basin on Mars; 13) Burying the 'Buried Channels' on Mars: An Alternative Explanation.

Gravity from entanglement and RG flow in a top-down approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, O.-Kab; Jang, Dongmin; Kim, Yoonbai; Tolla, D. D.

2018-05-01

The duality between a d-dimensional conformal field theory with relevant deformation and a gravity theory on an asymptotically AdS d+1 geometry, has become a suitable tool in the investigation of the emergence of gravity from quantum entanglement in field theory. Recently, we have tested the duality between the mass-deformed ABJM theory and asymptotically AdS4 gravity theory, which is obtained from the KK reduction of the 11-dimensional supergravity on the LLM geometry. In this paper, we extend the KK reduction procedure beyond the linear order and establish non-trivial KK maps between 4-dimensional fields and 11-dimensional fluctuations. We rely on this gauge/gravity duality to calculate the entanglement entropy by using the Ryu-Takayanagi holographic formula and the path integral method developed by Faulkner. We show that the entanglement entropies obtained using these two methods agree when the asymptotically AdS4 metric satisfies the linearized Einstein equation with nonvanishing energy-momentum tensor for two scalar fields. These scalar fields encode the information of the relevant deformation of the ABJM theory. This confirms that the asymptotic limit of LLM geometry is the emergent gravity of the quantum entanglement in the mass-deformed ABJM theory with a small mass parameter. We also comment on the issue of the relative entropy and the Fisher information in our setup.

KSC-2011-6854

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Actress Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura on Star Trek) signs autographs for a guest at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during activities for the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission (GRAIL). Nichols was on hand to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the first airing of the Star Trek television series. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is hosting “Star Trek: The Exhibition” to show visitors where “science fiction meets science fact.” GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2011-6794

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, speaks to a group of Tweetup participants at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during prelaunch activities for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Participants toured NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and got a close-up view of Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon’s gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon’s crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon’s internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon’s gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

KSC-2011-6769

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – – A Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission science briefing is held in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are DC Agle, NASA Public Affairs; Robert Fogel, NASA’s GRAIL program scientist; Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Sami Asmar, GRAIL deputy project scientist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Leesa Hubbard, teacher in residence, Sally Ride Science, San Diego. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6767

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – – A Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission science briefing is held in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are Robert Fogel, NASA’s GRAIL program scientist; Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Sami Asmar, GRAIL deputy project scientist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Leesa Hubbard, teacher in residence, Sally Ride Science, San Diego. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6925

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Over a group of trees and bushes, the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission launches off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/George Roberts

KSC-2011-6891

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At ignition, flames from the engines begin liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Don Kight

KSC-2011-6899

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Plumes of smoke surround of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station In Florida. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Don Kight

KSC-2011-6889

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Overlooking the Central Florida coast, engine ignition begins liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Don Kight

KSC-2011-6789

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden shares a humorous moment with a group of Tweetup participants at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Participants toured NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and got a close-up view of Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon’s gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon’s crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon’s internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon’s gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

KSC-2011-6893

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Flames and smoke from the engines surround the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at liftoff carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Don Kight

KSC-2011-6864

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fire and smoke light up the sky as a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket propels NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission into space. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida was at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept.10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Darrell McCall

KSC-2011-6813

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Tweetup participant searches for the right photo angle along the NASA Causeway launch viewing area at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Participants toured the center and got a close-up view of Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon’s gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon’s crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon’s internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon’s gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Relation of the lunar volcano complexes lying on the identical linear gravity anomaly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, K.; Haruyama, J.; Ohtake, M.; Iwata, T.; Ishihara, Y.

2015-12-01

There are several large-scale volcanic complexes, e.g., Marius Hills, Aristarchus Plateau, Rumker Hills, and Flamsteed area in western Oceanus Procellarum of the lunar nearside. For better understanding of the lunar thermal history, it is important to study these areas intensively. The magmatisms and volcanic eruption mechanisms of these volcanic complexes have been discussed from geophysical and geochemical perspectives using data sets acquired by lunar explorers. In these data sets, precise gravity field data obtained by Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) gives information on mass anomalies below the lunar surface, and useful to estimate location and mass of the embedded magmas. Using GRAIL data, Andrews-Hanna et al. (2014) prepared gravity gradient map of the Moon. They discussed the origin of the quasi-rectangular pattern of narrow linear gravity gradient anomalies located along the border of Oceanus Procellarum and suggested that the underlying dikes played important roles in magma plumbing system. In the gravity gradient map, we found that there are also several small linear gravity gradient anomaly patterns in the inside of the large quasi-rectangular pattern, and that one of the linear anomalies runs through multiple gravity anomalies in the vicinity of Aristarchus, Marius and Flamstead volcano complexes. Our concern is whether the volcanisms of these complexes are caused by common factors or not. To clarify this, we firstly estimated the mass and depth of the embedded magmas as well as the directions of the linear gravity anomalies. The results were interpreted by comparing with the chronological and KREEP distribution maps on the lunar surface. We suggested providing mechanisms of the magma to these regions and finally discussed whether the volcanisms of these multiple volcano complex regions are related with each other or not.

Time Changes of the European Gravity Field from GRACE: A Comparison with Ground Measurements from Superconducting Gravimeters and with Hydrology Model Predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinderer, J.; Lemoine, Frank G.; Crossley, D.; Boy, J.-P.

2004-01-01

We investigate the time-variable gravity changes in Europe retrieved from the initial GRACE monthly solutions spanning a 18 month duration from April 2002 to October 2003. Gravity anomaly maps are retrieved in Central Europe from the monthly satellite solutions we compare the fields according to various truncation levels (typically between degree 10 and 20) of the initial fields (expressed in spherical harmonics to degree 120). For these different degrees, an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decomposition of the time-variable gravity field leads us to its main spatial and temporal characteristics. We show that the dominant signal is found to be annual with an amplitude and a phase both in agreement with predictions in Europe modeled using snow and soil-moisture variations from recent hydrology models. We compare these GRACE gravity field changes to surface gravity observations from 6 superconducting gravimeters of the GGP (Global Geodynamics Project) European sub-network, with a special attention to loading corrections. Initial results suggest that all 3 data sets (GRACE, hydrology and GGP) are responding to annual changes in near-surface water in Europe of a few microGal (at length scales of approx.1000 km) that show a high value in winter and a summer minimum. We also point out that the GRACE gravity field evolution seems to indicate that there is a trend in gravity between summer 2002 and summer 2003 which can be related to the 2003 heatwave in Europe and its hydrological consequences (drought). Despite the limited time span of our analysis and the uncertainties in retrieving a regional solution from the network of gravimeters, the calibration and validation aspects of the GRACE data processing based on the annual hydrology cycle in Europe are in progress.

Effect of Numerical Error on Gravity Field Estimation for GRACE and Future Gravity Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCullough, Christopher; Bettadpur, Srinivas

2015-04-01

In recent decades, gravity field determination from low Earth orbiting satellites, such as the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), has become increasingly more effective due to the incorporation of high accuracy measurement devices. Since instrumentation quality will only increase in the near future and the gravity field determination process is computationally and numerically intensive, numerical error from the use of double precision arithmetic will eventually become a prominent error source. While using double-extended or quadruple precision arithmetic will reduce these errors, the numerical limitations of current orbit determination algorithms and processes must be accurately identified and quantified in order to adequately inform the science data processing techniques of future gravity missions. The most obvious numerical limitation in the orbit determination process is evident in the comparison of measured observables with computed values, derived from mathematical models relating the satellites' numerically integrated state to the observable. Significant error in the computed trajectory will corrupt this comparison and induce error in the least squares solution of the gravitational field. In addition, errors in the numerically computed trajectory propagate into the evaluation of the mathematical measurement model's partial derivatives. These errors amalgamate in turn with numerical error from the computation of the state transition matrix, computed using the variational equations of motion, in the least squares mapping matrix. Finally, the solution of the linearized least squares system, computed using a QR factorization, is also susceptible to numerical error. Certain interesting combinations of each of these numerical errors are examined in the framework of GRACE gravity field determination to analyze and quantify their effects on gravity field recovery.

High Degree and Order Gravity Fields of the Moon Derived from GRAIL Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lemoine, F. G.; Goossens, S. J.; Sabaka, T. J.; Nicholas, J. B.; Mazarico, E.; Rowlands, D. D.; Loomis, B. D.; Chinn, D. S.; Caprette, D. S.; McCarthy, J. J.;

Gravity Anomalies

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-04-15

Analysis of radio tracking data have enabled maps of the gravity field of Mercury to be derived. In this image, overlain on a mosaic obtained by MESSENGER's Mercury Dual Imaging System and illuminated with a shape model determined from stereo-photoclinometry, Mercury's gravity anomalies are depicted in colors. Red tones indicate mass concentrations, centered on the Caloris basin (center) and the Sobkou region (right limb). Such large-scale gravitational anomalies are signatures of subsurface structure and evolution. The north pole is near the top of the sunlit area in this view. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19285

String duality transformations in f(R) gravity from Noether symmetry approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Capozziello, Salvatore; Gionti, Gabriele S.J.; Vernieri, Daniele, E-mail: capozziello@na.inf.it, E-mail: ggionti@as.arizona.edu, E-mail: vernieri@iap.fr

2016-01-01

We select f(R) gravity models that undergo scale factor duality transformations. As a starting point, we consider the tree-level effective gravitational action of bosonic String Theory coupled with the dilaton field. This theory inherits the Busher's duality of its parent String Theory. Using conformal transformations of the metric tensor, it is possible to map the tree-level dilaton-graviton string effective action into f(R) gravity, relating the dilaton field to the Ricci scalar curvature. Furthermore, the duality can be framed under the standard of Noether symmetries and exact cosmological solutions are derived. Using suitable changes of variables, the string-based f(R) Lagrangians aremore » shown in cases where the duality transformation becomes a parity inversion.« less

Gravity Maps of Antarctic Lithospheric Structure from Remote-Sensing and Seismic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenzer, Robert; Chen, Wenjin; Baranov, Alexey; Bagherbandi, Mohammad

2018-02-01

Remote-sensing data from altimetry and gravity satellite missions combined with seismic information have been used to investigate the Earth's interior, particularly focusing on the lithospheric structure. In this study, we use the subglacial bedrock relief BEDMAP2, the global gravitational model GOCO05S, and the ETOPO1 topographic/bathymetric data, together with a newly developed (continental-scale) seismic crustal model for Antarctica to compile the free-air, Bouguer, and mantle gravity maps over this continent and surrounding oceanic areas. We then use these gravity maps to interpret the Antarctic crustal and uppermost mantle structure. We demonstrate that most of the gravity features seen in gravity maps could be explained by known lithospheric structures. The Bouguer gravity map reveals a contrast between the oceanic and continental crust which marks the extension of the Antarctic continental margins. The isostatic signature in this gravity map confirms deep and compact orogenic roots under the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains and more complex orogenic structures under Dronning Maud Land in East Antarctica. Whereas the Bouguer gravity map exhibits features which are closely spatially correlated with the crustal thickness, the mantle gravity map reveals mainly the gravitational signature of the uppermost mantle, which is superposed over a weaker (long-wavelength) signature of density heterogeneities distributed deeper in the mantle. In contrast to a relatively complex and segmented uppermost mantle structure of West Antarctica, the mantle gravity map confirmed a more uniform structure of the East Antarctic Craton. The most pronounced features in this gravity map are divergent tectonic margins along mid-oceanic ridges and continental rifts. Gravity lows at these locations indicate that a broad region of the West Antarctic Rift System continuously extends between the Atlantic-Indian and Pacific-Antarctic mid-oceanic ridges and it is possibly formed by two major fault segments. Gravity lows over the Transantarctic Mountains confirms their non-collisional origin. Additionally, more localized gravity lows closely coincide with known locations of hotspots and volcanic regions (Marie Byrd Land, Balleny Islands, Mt. Erebus). Gravity lows also suggest a possible hotspot under the South Orkney Islands. However, this finding has to be further verified.

On gravity from SST, geoid from SEASAT, and plate age and fracture zones in the Pacific

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marsh, B. D.; Marsh, J. G.; Williamson, R. G.

1983-01-01

Data from an additional 50 satellite-to-satellite tracking (SST) passes were combined with earlier measurements of the high degree and order (n, m, 12) gravity in the central Pacific. A composite map was produced which shows good agreement with conventional GEM models. Data from the SEASAT altimeter was reduced and found to agree well with both the SST and the GEM fields. The maps are dominated especially in the east, by a pattern of roughly east-west anomalies with a transverse wavelength of about 2000 km. Further comparison with regional bathymetric data shows a remarkably close correlation with plate age. Each anomaly band is framed by those major fracture zones having large offsets. The regular spacing of these fractures seems to account for the fabric in the gravity fields. Other anomalies are accounted for by hot spots. The source of part of these anomalies is in the lithosphere itself. The possible plume size and ascent velocity necessary to supply deep mantle material to the upper mantel without complete thermal equilibration is considered.

GOCE, Satellite Gravimetry and Antarctic Mass Transports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rummel, Reiner; Horwath, Martin; Yi, Weiyong; Albertella, Alberta; Bosch, Wolfgang; Haagmans, Roger

2011-09-01

In 2009 the European Space Agency satellite mission GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer) was launched. Its objectives are the precise and detailed determination of the Earth's gravity field and geoid. Its core instrument, a three axis gravitational gradiometer, measures the gravity gradient components V xx , V yy , V zz and V xz (second-order derivatives of the gravity potential V) with high precision and V xy , V yz with low precision, all in the instrument reference frame. The long wavelength gravity field is recovered from the orbit, measured by GPS (Global Positioning System). Characteristic elements of the mission are precise star tracking, a Sun-synchronous and very low (260 km) orbit, angular control by magnetic torquing and an extremely stiff and thermally stable instrument environment. GOCE is complementary to GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), another satellite gravity mission, launched in 2002. While GRACE is designed to measure temporal gravity variations, albeit with limited spatial resolution, GOCE is aiming at maximum spatial resolution, at the expense of accuracy at large spatial scales. Thus, GOCE will not provide temporal variations but is tailored to the recovery of the fine scales of the stationary field. GRACE is very successful in delivering time series of large-scale mass changes of the Antarctic ice sheet, among other things. Currently, emphasis of respective GRACE analyses is on regional refinement and on changes of temporal trends. One of the challenges is the separation of ice mass changes from glacial isostatic adjustment. Already from a few months of GOCE data, detailed gravity gradients can be recovered. They are presented here for the area of Antarctica. As one application, GOCE gravity gradients are an important addition to the sparse gravity data of Antarctica. They will help studies of the crustal and lithospheric field. A second area of application is ocean circulation. The geoid surface from the gravity field model GOCO01S allows us now to generate rather detailed maps of the mean dynamic ocean topography and of geostrophic flow velocities in the region of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

Integration of Full Tensor Gravity and Z-Axis Tipper Electromagnetic Passive Low Frequency EM Instruments for Simultaneous Data Acquisition - Final Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wieberg, Scott

Ground gravity is a common and useful tool for geothermal exploration. Gravity surveys map density changes in the subsurface that may be caused by tectonic deformation such as faulting, fracturing, plutonism, volcanism, hydrothermal alteration, etc. Full Tensor Gravity Gradient (FTG) data has been used for over a decade in both petroleum and mining exploration to map changes in density associated with geologic structure. Measuring the gravity gradient, rather than the gravity field, provides significantly higher resolution data. Modeling studies have shown FTG data to be a viable tool for geothermal exploration, but no FTG data had been acquired for geothermalmore » applications to date. Electromagnetic methods have been used for geothermal exploration for some time. The Z-Axis Tipper Electromagnetic (ZTEM) was a newer technology that had found success in mapping deep conductivity changes for mining applications. ZTEM had also been used in limited tests for geothermal exploration. This newer technology provided the ability to cost effectively map large areas whilst detailing the electrical properties of the geological structures at depths. The ZTEM is passive and it uses naturally occurring audio frequency magnetic (AFMAG) signals as the electromagnetic triggering source. These geophysical methods were to be tested over a known geothermal site to determine whether or not the data provided the information required for accurately interpreting the subsurface geologic structure associated with a geothermal deposit. After successful acquisition and analysis of the known source area, an additional survey of a “greenfield” area was to be completed. The final step was to develop a combined interpretation model and determine if the combination produced a higher confident geophysical model compared to models developed using each of the technologies individually.« less

Lifting SU(2) spin networks to projected spin networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dupuis, Maiete; Livine, Etera R.

2010-09-15

Projected spin network states are the canonical basis of quantum states of geometry for the recent EPRL-FK spinfoam models for quantum gravity introduced by Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine and Freidel-Krasnov. They are functionals of both the Lorentz connection and the time-normal field. We analyze in detail the map from these projected spin networks to the standard SU(2) spin networks of loop quantum gravity. We show that this map is not one to one and that the corresponding ambiguity is parameterized by the Immirzi parameter. We conclude with a comparison of the scalar products between projected spin networks and SU(2) spin network states.

Gravity, aeromagnetic and rock-property data of the central California Coast Ranges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, V.E.

2014-01-01

Gravity, aeromagnetic, and rock-property data were collected to support geologic-mapping, water-resource, and seismic-hazard studies for the central California Coast Ranges. These data are combined with existing data to provide gravity, aeromagnetic, and physical-property datasets for this region. The gravity dataset consists of approximately 18,000 measurements. The aeromagnetic dataset consists of total-field anomaly values from several detailed surveys that have been merged and gridded at an interval of 200 m. The physical property dataset consists of approximately 800 density measurements and 1,100 magnetic-susceptibility measurements from rock samples, in addition to previously published borehole gravity surveys from Santa Maria Basin, density logs from Salinas Valley, and intensities of natural remanent magnetization.

Discrete gravity on random tensor network and holographic Rényi entropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Muxin; Huang, Shilin

2017-11-01

In this paper we apply the discrete gravity and Regge calculus to tensor networks and Anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence. We construct the boundary many-body quantum state |Ψ〉 using random tensor networks as the holographic mapping, applied to the Wheeler-deWitt wave function of bulk Euclidean discrete gravity in 3 dimensions. The entanglement Rényi entropy of |Ψ〉 is shown to holographically relate to the on-shell action of Einstein gravity on a branch cover bulk manifold. The resulting Rényi entropy S n of |Ψ〉 approximates with high precision the Rényi entropy of ground state in 2-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). In particular it reproduces the correct n dependence. Our results develop the framework of realizing the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence on random tensor networks, and provide a new proposal to approximate the CFT ground state.

Detailed gravity survey to help seismic microzonation: Mapping the thickness of unconsolidated deposits in Ottawa, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamontagne, M.; Thomas, M.; Silliker, J.; Jobin, D.

2011-11-01

In this study, measurements of gravity were made to map and model the thickness of Quaternary deposits (sand and clay) overlying Ordovician limestones in a suburb of Ottawa (Orléans, Ontario). Because ground motion amplification is partly related to the thickness of unconsolidated deposits, this work helps refine the assessment of the earthquake damage potential of the area. It also helps the mapping of clay basins, which can locally exceed 100 m in thickness, where ground motion amplification can occur. Previous work, including well log data and seismic methods, have yielded a wealth of information on near-surface geology in Orléans, thereby providing the necessary constraints to test the applicability of gravity modeling in other locations where other methods cannot always be used. Some 104 gravity stations were occupied in an 8 × 12 km test area in the Orléans. Stations were accurately located with differential GPS that provided centimetric accuracy in elevation. Densities of the unconsolidated Quaternary deposits (Champlain Sea clay) determined on core samples and densities determined on limestone samples from outcrops were used to constrain models of the clay layer overlying the higher density bedrock formations (limestone). The gravity anomaly map delineates areas where clay basins attain > 100 m depth. Assuming a realistic density for the Champlain Sea clays (1.9-2.1 g/cm 3), the thickness over the higher density bedrock formations (Ordovician carbonate rocks) was modeled and compared with well logs and two seismic reflection profiles. The models match quite well with the information determined from well logs and seismic methods. It was found that gravity and the thickness of unconsolidated deposits are correlated but the uncertainties in both data sets preclude the definition of a direct correlation between the two. We propose that gravity measurements at a local scale be used as an inexpensive means of mapping the thickness of unconsolidated deposits in low-density urban areas. To obtain meaningful results, three conditions must exist. Firstly, elevations of gravity stations must be measured accurately using differential GPS; secondly, that the regional gravity field must be well defined, and thirdly, that the local geology be simple enough to be realistically represented with a two-layer model.

KSC-2011-6815

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson with the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium in New York, speaks to a group of Tweetup participants at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s NASA Causeway launch viewing site in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Participants toured the center and got a close-up view of Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon’s gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon’s crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon’s internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon’s gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6814

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson with the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium in New York, speaks to a group of Tweetup participants at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s NASA Causeway launch viewing site in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Participants toured the center and got a close-up view of Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter.GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon’s gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon’s crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon’s internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon’s gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6800

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson with the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium in New York, speaks to a group of Tweetup participants at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Participants toured NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and got a close-up view of Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon’s gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon’s crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon’s internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon’s gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

KSC-2011-6928

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Over a group of trees and bushes, the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission launches off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. At left is the pad’s mobile service tower. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kenny Allen

KSC-2011-6924

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A group of trees and bushes provides a frame for the launch of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/George Roberts

KSC-2011-6927

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Over a group of trees and bushes, the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission launches off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. At left is the pad’s mobile service tower. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kenny Allen

KSC-2011-6901

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engine ignition begins liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. At right is the pad’s mobile service tower. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Farrar and Tony Gray

KSC-2011-6897

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At ignition, flames and smoke from the engines begin liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Don Kight

The Study of Fault Lineament Pattern of the Lamongan Volcanic Field Using Gravity Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, K. N.; Hartantyo, E.; Niasari, S. W.

2018-04-01

Lamongan Volcano located in Tiris, East Java, possesses geothermal potential energy. The geothermal potential was indicated by the presence of geothermal manifestations such as hot springs. We usedsecondary gravity data from GGMplus. The result of gravity anomaly map shows that there is the lowest gravity anomaly in the center of the study area coinciding with the hot spring location. Gravity data were analyzed using SVD method to identify fault structures. It controls the geothermal fluid pathways. The result of this research shows thatthe type of fault in hot springsisanormal fault with direction NW-SE. The fault lineament pattern along maaris NW-SE.Maar indicates anormal fault. As the result we know that gravity data from GGMplus which analyzed with SVD can be used to determine the type and trend of fault.

A simple Bouguer gravity anomaly map of southwestern Saudi Arabia and an initial interpretation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gettings, M.E.

1983-01-01

Approximately 2,200 gravity stations on a 10-km2 grid were used to construct a simple Bouguer gravity anomaly map at 1:2,000,000 scale along a 150-km-wide by 850-km-long strip of the Arabian Peninsula from Sanam, southwest of Ar Riyad, through the Farasan Islands and including offshore islands, the coastal plain, and the Hijaz-Asir escarpment from Jiddah to the Yemen border. On the Precambrian Arabian Shield, local positive gravity anomalies are associated with greenstone belts, gneiss domes, and the Najd fault zones. Local negative gravity anomalies correlate with granitic plutonic rocks. A steep gravity gradient of as much as 4 mgal-km-1 marks the continental margin on the coastal plain near the southwestern end of the strip. Bouguer gravity anomaly values range from -10 to +40 mgal southwest of this gradient and from -170 to -100 mgal in a 300-km-wide gravity minimum northeast of the gradient. Farther northeast, the minimum is terminated by a regional gradient of about 0.1 mgal-km-1 that increases toward the Arabian Gulf. The regional gravity anomaly pattern has been modeled by using seismic refraction and Raleigh wave studies, heat-flow measurements, and isostatic considerations as constraints. The model is consistent with the hypothesis of upwelling of hot mantle material beneath the Red Sea and lateral mantle flow beneath the Arabian plate. The model yields best-fitting average crustal densities of 2.80 g-cm-3 (0-20 km depth) and 3.00 g-cm-3 (20-40 km depth) southwest of the Nabitah suture zone and 2.74 g-cm-3 (0-20 km depth) and 2.94 g-cm-3 (20-40 km depth) northeast of the suture zone. The gravity model requires that the crust be about 20 km thick at the continental margin and that the lower crust between the margin and Bishah (lat 20? N., long 42.5? E.) be somewhat denser than the lower crust to the northeast. Detailed correlations between 1:250,000- and 1:500,000-scale geologic maps and the gravity anomaly map suggest that the greenstone belts associated with gravity highs contain a large proportion of gabbroic and dioritic intrusive rocks and that the bulk density of the upper crust associated with some of the batholithic complexes has been lowered by the large-scale intrusion of granitic material at depth, as well as by that exposed at the surface. A comparison of known base and precious metals occurrences with the Bouguer gravity anomaly field shows, in some cases, a correlation between such occurrences and the features of the gravity anomaly map. Several areas were identified between known mineral occurrences along gravity-defined structures that may contain mineral deposits if the lithologic environment is favorable.

The Lunar Crustal Thickness from Analysis of the Lunar Prospector Gravity and Clementine Topography Datasets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asmar, S.; Schubert, G.; Konopliv, A.; Moore, W.

1999-01-01

The Lunar Prospector spacecraft has mapped the gravity field of the Moon to a level of resolution never achieved before, and a spherical harmonic representation to degree and order 100 is available. When combined with the topography dataset produced by the Clementine mission, the resulting Bouguer anomaly map is interpreted to model the thickness of the lunar crust. Such models are crucial to understanding the lunar thermal history and the formation of geological features such as mascon basins, several more of which have been newly discovered from this dataset. A two-layer planetary model was used to compute the variations of the depth to the lunar Moho. The thickness values ranged from near 0 to 120 km. There is significant agreement with previous work using the Clementine gravitational field data with differences in specific locations such as South Pole-Aitken Basin, for example.

Study of gravity and magnetic anomalies using MAGSAT data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braile, L. W.; Hinze, W. J.; Vonfrese, R. R. B. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The results of modeling satellite-elevation magnetic and gravity data using the constraints imposed by near surface data and seismic evidence shows that the magnetic minimum can be accounted for by either an intracrustal lithologic variation or by an upwarp of the Curie point isotherm. The long wavelength anomalies of the NOO's-vector magnetic survey of the conterminous U.S. were contoured and processed by various frequency filters to enhance particular characteristics. A preliminary inversion of the data was completed and the anomaly field calculated at 450 km from the equivalent magnet sources to compare with the POGO satellite data. Considerable progress was made in studing the satellite magnetic data of South America and adjacent marine areas. Preliminary versions of the 1 deg free-air gravity anomaly map (20 m gal contour interval) and the high cut (lambda approximately 8 deg) filtered anomaly maps are included.

Interpretation of recent gravity profiles over the ophiolite belt, Northern Oman Mountains, United Arab Emirates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khattab, M. M.

1993-04-01

The compiled Bouguer gravity anomaly map over parts of the ophiolite rocks of the Northern Oman Mountains suggests the existence of three partially serpentinized nappes: two along the Gulf of Oman coast with axes near Dadnah, near Fujira and the third 17 km SSE of Masafi. Modeling of the subsurface geology, beneath two gravity profiles (Diba-Kalba and Masafi-Fujira), is based on the occurrence (field evidence) of multiphase low-angle thrusting of the members of the Tethyan lithosphere in northern and Oman Mountains. An assumed crustal model at the Arabian continental margin, beneath the Masafi-Fujira profile, is made to explain an intense gravity gradient. Gravity interpretation is not inconsistent with a gliding mechanism for obduction of the ophiolite on this part of the Arabian continental margin.

Density Of The Continental Roots: Compositional And Thermal Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaban, M. K.; Schwintzer, P.; Artemieva, I.; Mooney, W. D.

We use gravity, thermal, and seismic data to examine how the density and composi- tion of lithospheric roots vary beneath the cratons. Our interpretation is based on the gravity anomalies calculated by subtracting the gravitational effects of bathymetry, to- pography, and the crust from the observed gravity field, and the residual topography that characterizes the isostatic state of the lithosphere. We distinguish the effects of temperature and compositional variations in producing lithospheric density anomalies using two independent temperature constrains: based on interpretation of the surface heat flow data and estimated from global seismic tomography data. We find that in situ lithospheric density differs significantly between individual cratons, with the most dense values found beneath Eurasia and the least dense values beneath South Africa. This demonstrates that there is not a simple compensation of thermal and composition effects. We present a new gravity anomaly map that was corrected for crustal density structure and lithospheric temperatures. This map reveals differences in lithospheric composition, that are the result of the petrologic processes that have formed and mod- ified the lithosphere. All significant negative gravity anomalies are found in cratonic regions. In contrast, positive gravity anomalies are found in two distinct regions: near ocean-continent and continent-continent subduction zones, and within some continen- tal interiors. The origin of the latter positive anomalies is uncertain.

New Mars free-air and Bouguer gravity: Correlation with topography, geology and large impact basins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frey, Herbert; Bills, Bruce G.; Kiefer, Walter S.; Nerem, R. Steven; Roark, James H.; Zuber, Maria T.

1993-01-01

Free-air and Bouguer gravity anomalies from a 50x50 field (MGM635), derived at the Goddard Space Flight Center, with global topography, geology, and the distribution of large impact basins was compared. The free-air gravity anomalies were derived from re-analysis of Viking Orbiter and Mariner 9 tracking data and have a spatial resolution of 250-300 km. Bouguer anomalies were calculated using a 50x50 expansion of the current Mars topography and the GSFC degree 50 geoid as the equipotential reference surface. Rotational flattening was removed using a moment of inertia of 0.365 and the corrections from Table B2 of Sleep and Phillips. Crustal density and mean density were assumed to be 2.9 and 3.93 gm/cm(sup 3). The spherical harmonic topography used has zero mean elevation, and differs from the USGS maps by about 2 km. Comparisons with global geology use a simplified map with about 1/3 the number of units on the current maps. For correlation with impact basins, the recent compilation by Schultz and Frey was used.

Gravity field error analysis: Applications of GPS receivers and gradiometers on low orbiting platforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schrama, E.

1990-01-01

The concept of a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver as a tracking facility and a gradiometer as a separate instrument on a low orbiting platform offers a unique tool to map the Earth's gravitational field with unprecedented accuracies. The former technique allows determination of the spacecraft's ephemeris at any epoch to within 3 to 10 cm, the latter permits the measurement of the tensor of second order derivatives of the gravity field to within 0.01 to 0.0001 Eotvos units depending on the type of gradiometer. First, a variety of error sources in gradiometry where emphasis is placed on the rotational problem pursuing as well a static as a dynamic approach is described. Next, an analytical technique is described and applied for an error analysis of gravity field parameters from gradiometer and GPS observation types. Results are discussed for various configurations proposed on Topex/Poseidon, Gravity Probe-B, and Aristoteles, indicating that GPS only solutions may be computed up to degree and order 35, 55, and 85 respectively, whereas a combined GPS/gradiometer experiment on Aristoteles may result in an acceptable solution up to degree and order 240.

Aeromagnetic and Gravity Maps of the Central Marysvale Volcanic Field, Southwestern Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Campbell, David L.; Steven, Thomas A.; Cunningham, Charles G.; Rowley, Peter D.

1999-01-01

Gravity and aeromagnetic features in the Marysvale volcanic field result from the composite effects of many factors, including rock composition, style of magmatic emplacement, type and intensity of rock alteration, and effects of structural evolution. Densities and magnetic properties measured on a suite of rock samples from the Marysvale volcanic field differ in systematic ways. Generally, the measured densities, magnetic susceptibilities, and natural remanent magnetizations all increase with mafic index, but decrease with degree of alteration, and for tuffs, with degree of welding. Koenigsberger Q indices show no such systematic trends. The study area is divided into three geophysical domains. The northern domain is dominated by aeromagnetic lows that probably reflect reversed-polarity volcanic flows. There are no intermediate-sized magnetic highs in the northern domain that might reflect plutons. The northern domain has a decreasing-to-the-south gravity gradient that reflects the Pavant Range homocline. The central domain has gravity lows that reflect altered rocks in calderas and low-density plutons of the Marysvale volcanic field. Its aeromagnetic signatures consist of rounded highs that reflect plutons and birdseye patterns that reflect volcanic flows. In many places the birdseyes are attenuated, indicating that the flows there have been hydrothermally altered. We interpret the central domain to reflect an east-trending locus of plutons in the Marysvale volcanic field. The southern domain has intermediate gravity fields, indicating somewhat denser rocks there than in the central domain, and high-amplitude aeromagnetic birdseyes that reflect unaltered volcanic units. The southern domain contains no magnetic signatures that we interpret to reflect plutons. Basin-and-range tectonism has overprinted additional gravity features on the three domains. A deep gravity low follows the Sevier and Marysvale Valleys, reflecting grabens there. The gravity gradient in the north reflects the southern flank of a structural dome that led to the Pavant Range homocline and whose southern edge lies along the Clear Creek downwarp.

Observations of high manganese layers by the Curiosity rover at the Kimberley, Gale crater, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanza, N.; Wiens, R. C.; Fischer, W. W.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Cousin, A.; Rice, M. S.; Clark, B. C.; Arvidson, R. E.; Hurowitz, J.; Gellert, R.; McLennan, S. M.; Maurice, S.; Mangold, N.; Le Mouelic, S.; Anderson, R. B.; Nachon, M.; Ollila, A.; Schmidt, M. E.; Berger, J. A.; Blank, J. G.; Clegg, S. M.; Forni, O.; Hardgrove, C. J.; Hardy, K.; Johnson, J. R.; Melikechi, N.; Newsom, H. E.; Sautter, V.; Martín-Torres, J.; Zorzano, M. P.

2014-12-01

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft were designed to map the structure of the Moon through high-precision global gravity mapping. The mission consisted of two spacecraft with Ka-band inter-satellite tracking complemented by tracking from Earth. The mission had two phases: a primary mapping mission from March 1 until May 29, 2012 at an average altitude of 50 km, and an extended mission from August 30 until December 14, 2012, with an average altitude of 23 km before November 18, and 20 and 11 km after. High-resolution gravity field models using both these data sets have been estimated, with the current resolution being degree and order 1080 in spherical harmonics. Here, we focus on aspects of the analysis of the GRAIL data: we investigate eclipse modeling, the influence of empirical accelerations on the results, and we discuss the inversion of large-scale systems. In addition to global models we also estimated local gravity adjustments in areas of particular interest such as Mare Orientale, the south pole area, and the farside. We investigate the use of Ka-band Range Rate (KBRR) data versus numerical derivatives of KBRR data, and show that the latter have the capability to locally improve correlations with topography.

Structure and Dynamics of the Polar Regions of Mars from MGS Topography and Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuber, Maria T.; Smith, David E.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Lemoine, Frank G.

2000-01-01

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft has been engaged in systematic mapping of Mars since insertion into Mars orbit in September, 1997. The objectives of the MGS mission are to globally map Mars as well as to quantify seasonal changes on the planet. MGS geophysical/geodetic observations of topography from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and gravity from the Radio Science investigation are providing significant new insights on both static and time-varying aspects of the polar regions of Mars. These observations have implications for polar processes on diurnal seasonal and climatic timescales. Thus far, MOLA has collected over 300 million precise measurements of Martian topography and cloud heights. The instrument has also provided measurements of the width of the backscattered optical pulse and of the 1064 nm reflectivity of the Martian surface and atmosphere. The along-track resolution of MOLA ground shots is approx. 300 m and the across-track spacing in the polar regions is a maximum of about four kilometers. The vertical accuracy of the topography is determined by the precision recovery of spacecraft orbits from the Radio Science investigation, which includes MOLA altimetry in the form of crossovers. This accuracy is currently approx. one meter. The gravity field is derived from X-band Doppler tracking with typical accuracy of 0.03 to 0.05 mm/s averaged over ten seconds. Current Mars gravity fields are to approximately degree and order 80 but are interpretable to the approximate degree and order 60 (spatial resolution < 180 km), which represents an estimate of the approximate coefficient limit of a field that can be produced without a power law constraint on the gravitational field inversion, which is commonly imposed for solution stability. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Geologic and geophysical maps of the eastern three-fourths of the Cambria 30' x 60' quadrangle, central California Coast Ranges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Graymer, R.W.; Langenheim, V.E.; Roberts, M.A.; McDougall, Kristin

2014-01-01

The Cambria 30´ x 60´ quadrangle comprises southwestern Monterey County and northwestern San Luis Obispo County. The land area includes rugged mountains of the Santa Lucia Range extending from the northwest to the southeast part of the map; the southern part of the Big Sur coast in the northwest; broad marine terraces along the southwest coast; and broadvalleys, rolling hills, and modest mountains in the northeast. This report contains geologic, gravity anomaly, and aeromagnetic anomaly maps of the eastern three-fourths of the 1:100,000-scale Cambria quadrangle and the associated geologic and geophysical databases (ArcMap databases), as well as complete descriptions of the geologic map units and the structural relations in the mapped area. A cross section is based on both the geologic map and potential-field geophysical data. The maps are presented as an interactive, multilayer PDF, rather than more traditional pre-formatted map-sheet PDFs. Various geologic, geophysical, paleontological, and base map elements are placed on separate layers, which allows the user to combine elements interactively to create map views beyond the traditional map sheets. Four traditional map sheets (geologic map, gravity map, aeromagnetic map, paleontological locality map) are easily compiled by choosing the associated data layers or by choosing the desired map under Bookmarks.

Polarization Properties and Magnetic Field Structures in the High-mass Star-forming Region W51 Observed with ALMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, Patrick M.; Tang, Ya-Wen; Ho, Paul T. P.; Yen, Hsi-Wei; Su, Yu-Nung; Takakuwa, Shigehisa

2018-03-01

We present the first ALMA dust polarization observations toward the high-mass star-forming regions W51 e2, e8, and W51 North in Band 6 (230 GHz) with a resolution of about 0\\buildrel{\\prime\\prime}\\over{.} 26 (∼5 mpc). Polarized emission in all three sources is clearly detected and resolved. Measured relative polarization levels are between 0.1% and 10%. While the absolute polarization shows complicated structures, the relative polarization displays the typical anticorrelation with Stokes I, although with a large scatter. Inferred magnetic (B) field morphologies are organized and connected. Detailed substructures are resolved, revealing new features such as comet-shaped B-field morphologies in satellite cores, symmetrically converging B-field zones, and possibly streamlined morphologies. The local B-field dispersion shows some anticorrelation with the relative polarization. Moreover, the lowest polarization percentages together with largest dispersions coincide with B-field convergence zones. We put forward \\sin ω , where ω is the measurable angle between a local B-field orientation and local gravity, as a measure of how effectively the B field can oppose gravity. Maps of \\sin ω for all three sources show organized structures that suggest a locally varying role of the B field, with some regions where gravity can largely act unaffectedly, possibly in a network of narrow magnetic channels, and other regions where the B field can work maximally against gravity.

Gravity field over the Sea of Galilee: Evidence for a composite basin along a transform fault

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ben-Avraham, Z.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Bell, R.; Reznikov, M.

1996-01-01

The Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) is located at the northern portion of the Kinneret-Bet Shean basin, in the northern Dead Sea transform. Three hundred kilometers of continuous marine gravity data were collected in the lake and integrated with land gravity data to a distance of more than 20 km around the lake. Analyses of the gravity data resulted in a free-air anomaly map, a variable density Bouguer anomaly map, and a horizontal first derivative map of the Bouguer anomaly. These maps, together with gravity models of profiles across the lake and the area south of it, were used to infer the geometry of the basins in this region and the main faults of the transform system. The Sea of Galilee can be divided into two units. The southern half is a pull-apart that extends to the Kinarot Valley, south of the lake, whereas the northern half was formed by rotational opening and transverse normal faults. The deepest part of the basinal area is located well south of the deepest bathymetric depression. This implies that the northeastern part of the lake, where the bathymetry is the deepest, is a young feature that is actively subsiding now. The pull-apart basin is almost symmetrical in the southern part of the lake and in the Kinarot Valley south of the lake. This suggests that the basin here is bounded by strike-slip faults on both sides. The eastern boundary fault extends to the northern part of the lake, while the western fault does not cross the northern part. The main factor controlling the structural complexity of this area is the interaction of the Dead Sea transform with a subperpendicular fault system and rotated blocks.

Grace-Fo satellites

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-09

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on (GRACE-FO) mission is a partnership between NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). GRACE-FO is a successor to the original GRACE mission, which began orbiting Earth on March 17, 2002. GRACE-FO will carry on the extremely successful work of its predecessor while testing a new technology designed to dramatically improve the already remarkable precision of its measurement system. The GRACE missions measure variations in gravity over Earth's surface, producing a new map of the gravity field every 30 days. Thus, GRACE shows how the planet's gravity differs not only from one location to another, but also from one period of time to another. Airbus Defence and Space (Friedrichshafen/Germany) is the industrial prime contractor to build the satellites.

Recovery and reprocessing of legacy geophysical data from the archives of the State Company of Geology and Mining (GEOSURV) of Iraq and Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, D.V.; Drenth, B.R.; Fairhead, J.D.; Lei, K.; Dark, J.A.; Al-Bassam, K.

2011-01-01

Aeromagnetic data belonging to the State Company of Geology and Mining of Iraq (GEOSURV) have been recovered from magnetic tapes and early paper maps. In 1974 a national airborne survey was flown by the French firm Compagnie General de Geophysique (CGG). Following the survey the magnetic data were stored on magnetic tapes within an air conditioned archive run by GEOSURV. In 1990, the power supply to the archive was cut resulting in the present-day poor condition of the tapes. Frontier Processing Company and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have been able to recover over 99 percent of the original digital data from the CGG tapes. Preliminary reprocessing of the data yielded a total magnetic field anomaly map that reveals fine structures not evident in available published maps. Successful restoration of these comprehensive, high quality digital datasets obviates the need to resurvey the entire country, thereby saving considerable time and money. These data were delivered to GEOSURV in a standard format for further analysis and interpretation. A parallel effort by GETECH concentrated on recovering the legacy gravity data from the original field data sheets archived by IPC (Iraq Petroleum Company). These data have been compiled with more recent GEOSURV sponsored surveys thus allowing for the first time a comprehensive digital and unified national gravity database to be constructed with full principal facts. Figure 1 shows the final aeromagnetic and gravity data coverage of Iraq. The only part of Iraq lacking gravity and aeromagnetic data coverage is the mountainous areas of the Kurdish region of northeastern Iraq. Joint interpretation of the magnetic and gravity data will help guide future geophysical investigations by GEOSURV, whose ultimate aim is to discover economical mineral and energy resources. ?? 2011 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

Ground Magnetic Data for West-Central Colorado

DOE Data Explorer

Richard Zehner

2012-03-08

Modeled ground magnetic data was extracted from the Pan American Center for Earth and Environmental Studies database at http://irpsrvgis08.utep.edu/viewers/Flex/GravityMagnetic/GravityMagnetic_CyberShare/ on 2/29/2012. The downloaded text file was then imported into an Excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet data was converted into an ESRI point shapefile in UTM Zone 13 NAD27 projection, showing location and magnetic field strength in nano-Teslas. This point shapefile was then interpolated to an ESRI grid using an inverse-distance weighting method, using ESRI Spatial Analyst. The grid was used to create a contour map of magnetic field strength.

Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Data From Potential Field Studies

DOE Data Explorer

Anderson, Megan; Ritzinger, Brent; Glen, Jonathan; Schermerhorn, William

2017-12-20

A recent study which adapts play fairway analysis (PFA) methodology to assess geothermal potential was conducted at three locations (Mount Baker, Mount St. Helens seismic zone, and Wind River valley) along the Washington Cascade Range (Forson et al. 2017). Potential field (gravity and magnetic) methods which can detect subsurface contrasts in physical properties, provides a means for mapping and modeling subsurface geology and structure. As part of the WA-Cascade PFA project, we performed potential field studies by collecting high-resolution gravity and ground-magnetic data, and rock property measurements to (1) identify and constrain fault geometries (2) constrain subsurface lithologic distribution (3) study fault interactions (4) identify areas favorable to hydrothermal flow, and ultimately (5) guide future geothermal exploration at each location.

The delineation and interpretation of the Earth's gravity field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marsh, B. D.

1983-01-01

The observed changes in velocity with time are reduced relative to the well-determined low degree and order GEM field model and accelerations are found by analytical differentiation of the range rates. This new map is essentially identical to the first map and we have produced a composite map by combining all 90 passes of SST data. The resolution of the map is at worst about 5 deg and much better in most places. A comparison of this map with conventional GEM models shows very good agreement. A reduction of the SEASAT altimeter data has also been carried out for an additional comparison. Although the SEASAT geoid contains much more high frequency information, it agrees very well with both the SST and GEM fields. The maps are dominated (especially in the east) by a pattern of roughly east-west anomalies with a transverse wavelength of about 2000 km. A further comparison with regional bathymetric data shows a remarkably close correlation with plate age.

Geophysical parameters from the analysis of laser ranging to starlette

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schutz, B. E.; Shum, C. K.

1987-01-01

Starlette Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data were used, along with several other satellite data sets, for the solution of a preliminary gravity field model for TOPEX, PTGF1. A further improvement in the earth gravity model was accomplished using data collected by 12 satellites to solve another preliminary gravity model for TOPEX, designated PTGF2. The solution for the Earth Rotation Parameter (ERP) was derived from the analysis of SLR data to Starlette during the MERIT Campaign. Starlette orbits in 1976 and 1983 were analyzed for the mapping of the tidal response of the earth. Publications and conference presentations pertinent to research are listed.

Constraining mass anomalies in the interior of spherical bodies using Trans-dimensional Bayesian Hierarchical inference.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izquierdo, K.; Lekic, V.; Montesi, L.

2017-12-01

Gravity inversions are especially important for planetary applications since measurements of the variations in gravitational acceleration are often the only constraint available to map out lateral density variations in the interiors of planets and other Solar system objects. Currently, global gravity data is available for the terrestrial planets and the Moon. Although several methods for inverting these data have been developed and applied, the non-uniqueness of global density models that fit the data has not yet been fully characterized. We make use of Bayesian inference and a Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJMCMC) approach to develop a Trans-dimensional Hierarchical Bayesian (THB) inversion algorithm that yields a large sample of models that fit a gravity field. From this group of models, we can determine the most likely value of parameters of a global density model and a measure of the non-uniqueness of each parameter when the number of anomalies describing the gravity field is not fixed a priori. We explore the use of a parallel tempering algorithm and fast multipole method to reduce the number of iterations and computing time needed. We applied this method to a synthetic gravity field of the Moon and a long wavelength synthetic model of density anomalies in the Earth's lower mantle. We obtained a good match between the given gravity field and the gravity field produced by the most likely model in each inversion. The number of anomalies of the models showed parsimony of the algorithm, the value of the noise variance of the input data was retrieved, and the non-uniqueness of the models was quantified. Our results show that the ability to constrain the latitude and longitude of density anomalies, which is excellent at shallow locations (<200 km), decreases with increasing depth. With higher computational resources, this THB method for gravity inversion could give new information about the overall density distribution of celestial bodies even when there is no other geophysical data available.

KSC-2011-6752

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) prelaunch news conference is held in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are George Diller, NASA Public Affairs; Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate; Tim Dunn, NASA launch director for the agency’s Launch Services Program; Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions, United Launch Alliance; David Lehman, GRAIL project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; John Henk, GRAIL program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colo.; and Joel Tumbiolo, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6753

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – News media participate in the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) prelaunch news conference held in the NASA Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On the dais, panelist from left are Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate; Tim Dunn, NASA launch director for the agency’s Launch Services Program; Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions, United Launch Alliance; David Lehman, GRAIL project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; John Henk, GRAIL program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colo.; and Joel Tumbiolo, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Bouguer gravity anomaly and isostatic residual gravity maps of the Tonopah 1 degree by 2 degrees Quadrangle, central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plouff, Donald

1992-01-01

A residual isostatic gravity map (sheet 2) was prepared so that the regional effect of isostatic compensation present on the Bouguer gravity anomaly map (sheet 1) would be minimized. Isostatic corrections based on the Airy-Heiskanen system (Heiskanen and Vening Meinesz, 1958, p. 135-137) were estimated by using 3-minute topographic digitization and applying the method of Jachens and Roberts (1981). Parameters selected for the isostatic model were 25 km for the normal crustal thickness at sea level, 2.67 g/cm3 for the density of the crust, and 0.4 g/cm3 for the contrast in density between the crust and the upper mantle. These parameters were selected so that the isostatic residual gravity map would be consistent with isostatic residual gravity maps of the adjacent Walker Lake quadrangle (Plouff, 1987) and the state of Nevada (Saltus, 1988c).

Magnetic and gravity anomalies in the Americas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braile, L. W.; Hinze, W. J.; Vonfrese, R. R. B. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The cleaning and magnetic tape storage of spherical Earth processing programs are reported. These programs include: NVERTSM which inverts total or vector magnetic anomaly data on a distribution of point dipoles in spherical coordinates; SMFLD which utilizes output from NVERTSM to compute total or vector magnetic anomaly fields for a distribution of point dipoles in spherical coordinates; NVERTG; and GFLD. Abstracts are presented for papers dealing with the mapping and modeling of magnetic and gravity anomalies, and with the verification of crustal components in satellite data.

Preliminary Isostatic Gravity Map of Joshua Tree National Park and Vicinity, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, V.E.; Biehler, Shawn; McPhee, D.K.; McCabe, C.A.; Watt, J.T.; Anderson, M.L.; Chuchel, B.A.; Stoffer, P.

2007-01-01

This isostatic residual gravity map is part of an effort to map the three-dimensional distribution of rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, southern California. This map will serve as a basis for modeling the shape of basins beneath the Park and in adjacent valleys and also for determining the location and geometry of faults within the area. Local spatial variations in the Earth's gravity field, after accounting for variations caused by elevation, terrain, and deep crustal structure, reflect the distribution of densities in the mid- to upper crust. Densities often can be related to rock type, and abrupt spatial changes in density commonly mark lithologic or structural boundaries. High-density basement rocks exposed within the Eastern Transverse Ranges include crystalline rocks that range in age from Proterozoic to Mesozoic and these rocks are generally present in the mountainous areas of the quadrangle. Alluvial sediments, usually located in the valleys, and Tertiary sedimentary rocks are characterized by low densities. However, with increasing depth of burial and age, the densities of these rocks may become indistinguishable from those of basement rocks. Tertiary volcanic rocks are characterized by a wide range of densities, but, on average, are less dense than the pre-Cenozoic basement rocks. Basalt within the Park is as dense as crystalline basement, but is generally thin (less than 100 m thick; e.g., Powell, 2003). Isostatic residual gravity values within the map area range from about 44 mGal over Coachella Valley to about 8 mGal between the Mecca Hills and the Orocopia Mountains. Steep linear gravity gradients are coincident with the traces of several Quaternary strike-slip faults, most notably along the San Andreas Fault bounding the east side of Coachella Valley and east-west-striking, left-lateral faults, such as the Pinto Mountain, Blue Cut, and Chiriaco Faults (Fig. 1). Gravity gradients also define concealed basin-bounding faults, such as those beneath the Chuckwalla Valley (e.g. Rotstein and others, 1976). These gradients result from juxtaposing dense basement rocks against thick Cenozoic sedimentary rocks.

Free-Air Gravity Map of the Moon

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-27

This still image features a free-air gravity map of the Moon's southern latitudes developed by S. Goossens et al. from data returned by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. If the Moon were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity map would be a single, featureless color, indicating that the force of gravity at a given elevation was the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. Spacecraft in orbit around the Moon experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities. The free-air gravity map shows deviations from the mean gravity that a cueball Moon would have. The deviations are measured in milliGals, a unit of acceleration. On the map, purple is at the low end of the range, at around -400 mGals, and red is at the high end near +400 mGals. Yellow denotes the mean. The map shown here extends from the south pole of the Moon up to 50°S and reveals the gravity for that region in even finer detail than the global gravity maps published previously. The image illustrates the very good correlation between the gravity map and topographic features such as peaks and craters, as well as the mass concentration lying beneath the large Schrödinger basin in the center of the frame. The terrain in the image is based on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) altimeter and camera data. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Characteristics of Marine Gravity Anomaly Reference Maps and Accuracy Analysis of Gravity Matching-Aided Navigation.

PubMed

Wang, Hubiao; Wu, Lin; Chai, Hua; Xiao, Yaofei; Hsu, Houtse; Wang, Yong

2017-08-10

The variation of a marine gravity anomaly reference map is one of the important factors that affect the location accuracy of INS/Gravity integrated navigation systems in underwater navigation. In this study, based on marine gravity anomaly reference maps, new characteristic parameters of the gravity anomaly were constructed. Those characteristic values were calculated for 13 zones (105°-145° E, 0°-40° N) in the Western Pacific area, and simulation experiments of gravity matching-aided navigation were run. The influence of gravity variations on the accuracy of gravity matching-aided navigation was analyzed, and location accuracy of gravity matching in different zones was determined. Studies indicate that the new parameters may better characterize the marine gravity anomaly. Given the precision of current gravimeters and the resolution and accuracy of reference maps, the location accuracy of gravity matching in China's Western Pacific area is ~1.0-4.0 nautical miles (n miles). In particular, accuracy in regions around the South China Sea and Sulu Sea was the highest, better than 1.5 n miles. The gravity characteristic parameters identified herein and characteristic values calculated in various zones provide a reference for the selection of navigation area and planning of sailing routes under conditions requiring certain navigational accuracy.

Characteristics of Marine Gravity Anomaly Reference Maps and Accuracy Analysis of Gravity Matching-Aided Navigation

PubMed Central

Wang, Hubiao; Chai, Hua; Xiao, Yaofei; Hsu, Houtse; Wang, Yong

2017-01-01

The variation of a marine gravity anomaly reference map is one of the important factors that affect the location accuracy of INS/Gravity integrated navigation systems in underwater navigation. In this study, based on marine gravity anomaly reference maps, new characteristic parameters of the gravity anomaly were constructed. Those characteristic values were calculated for 13 zones (105°–145° E, 0°–40° N) in the Western Pacific area, and simulation experiments of gravity matching-aided navigation were run. The influence of gravity variations on the accuracy of gravity matching-aided navigation was analyzed, and location accuracy of gravity matching in different zones was determined. Studies indicate that the new parameters may better characterize the marine gravity anomaly. Given the precision of current gravimeters and the resolution and accuracy of reference maps, the location accuracy of gravity matching in China’s Western Pacific area is ~1.0–4.0 nautical miles (n miles). In particular, accuracy in regions around the South China Sea and Sulu Sea was the highest, better than 1.5 n miles. The gravity characteristic parameters identified herein and characteristic values calculated in various zones provide a reference for the selection of navigation area and planning of sailing routes under conditions requiring certain navigational accuracy. PMID:28796158

Exploring the Geological Structure of the Continental Crust.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Jack

1983-01-01

Discusses exploration and mapping of the continental basement using the seismic reflection profiling technique as well as drilling methods. Also discusses computer analysis of gravity and magnetic fields. Points out the need for data that can be correlated to surface information. (JM)

The Earth Gravitational Observatory (EGO): Nanosat Constellations For Advanced Gravity Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yunck, T.; Saltman, A.; Bettadpur, S. V.; Nerem, R. S.; Abel, J.

2017-12-01

The trend to nanosats for space-based remote sensing is transforming system architectures: fleets of "cellular" craft scanning Earth with exceptional precision and economy. GeoOptics Inc has been selected by NASA to develop a vision for that transition with an initial focus on advanced gravity field mapping. Building on our spaceborne GNSS technology we introduce innovations that will improve gravity mapping roughly tenfold over previous missions at a fraction of the cost. The power of EGO is realized in its N-satellite form where all satellites in a cluster receive dual-frequency crosslinks from all other satellites, yielding N(N-1)/2 independent measurements. Twelve "cells" thus yield 66 independent links. Because the cells form a 2D arc with spacings ranging from 200 km to 3,000 km, EGO senses a wider range of gravity wavelengths and offers greater geometrical observing strength. The benefits are two-fold: Improved time resolution enables observation of sub-seasonal processes, as from hydro-meteorological phenomena; improved measurement quality enhances all gravity solutions. For the GRACE mission, key limitations arise from such spacecraft factors as long-term accelerometer error, attitude knowledge and thermal stability, which are largely independent from cell to cell. Data from a dozen cells reduces their impact by 3x, by the "root-n" averaging effect. Multi-cell closures improve on this further. The many closure paths among 12 cells provide strong constraints to correct for observed range changes not compatible with a gravity source, including accelerometer errors in measuring non-conservative forces. Perhaps more significantly from a science standpoint, system-level estimates with data from diverse orbits can attack the many scientifically limiting sources of temporal aliasing.

Investigations of conjugate MSTIDS over the Brazilian sector during daytime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonah, O. F.; Kherani, E. A.; De Paula, E. R.

2017-09-01

This study focuses on the daytime medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) observed at conjugate hemispheres. It is the first time that the geomagnetical conjugate daytime MSTIDs are observed over the South America sector. To observe the MSTID characteristics, we used detrended total electron content (TEC) derived from Global Navigation Satellite Systems receivers located at Brazilian sector covering the Northern and Southern Hemispheres along the same magnetic meridian. The geographic grid of 1°N to 14°S in latitude and 60°S to 50°S in longitude was selected for this study. The cross-correlation method between two latitudes and longitudes in time was used to observe the propagation of the MSTID waves. The following features are noted: (a) MSTIDs are well developed at both hemispheres; (b) the peak MSTIDs amplitudes vary from one hemisphere to another; hence, we suppose that MSTIDs generated in Southern Hemisphere or Northern Hemisphere mirrored in the conjugate hemisphere; (c) the gravity wave-induced electric fields from one hemisphere map along the field lines and generate the mirrored MSTIDs in the conjugate region. To investigate the hemispheric mapping mechanism, a rough approximation for the integrated field line conductivity ratio of E and F regions is calculated using digisonde E and F region parameters. We noted that during the period of mapping the decrease in E region conductivity results in an increase in total conductivity. This shows that the E region was partially short circuited; hence, electric field generated at F region could map to the conjugate hemisphere during daytime: daytime MSTIDs at conjugate regions; mechanisms responsible for daytime electrified MSTIDs; gravity wave-induced electric field role in daytime MSTIDs.

Mass Tracking with a MEMS-based Gravity Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pike, W. T.; Mukherjee, A.; Warren, T.; Charalambous, C.; Calcutt, S. B.; Standley, I.

2017-12-01

We achieve the first demonstration of the dynamic location of a moving mass using a MEMS sensor to detect gravity. The sensor is based on a microseismometer developed for planetary geophysics. In an updated version of the original Cavendish experiment the noise floor of the sensor, at 0.25 µgal/rtHz, allows the determination of the dynamic gravitational field from the motion of the mass of an oscillating pendulum. Using the determined noise floor we show that this performance should be sufficient for practical subsurface gravity surveying, in particular detection of 50-cm diameter pipes up to 10 m below the surface. Beyond this specific application, this sensor with a mass of less than 250 g per axis represents a new technology that opens up the possibility of drone deloyments for gravity mapping.

GRACE-FO Spacecraft Artist Rendering

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-05-04

This artist's rendering shows the twin spacecraft of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, a partnership between NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). GRACE-FO is a successor to the original GRACE mission, which began orbiting Earth on March 17, 2002. GRACE-FO will carry on the extremely successful work of its predecessor while testing a new technology designed to dramatically improve the already remarkable precision of its measurement system. The GRACE missions measure variations in gravity over Earth's surface, producing a new map of the gravity field every 30 days. Thus, GRACE shows how the planet's gravity differs not only from one location to another, but also from one period of time to another. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21607

Preliminary isostatic residual gravity anomaly map of Paso Robles 30 x 60 minute quadrangle, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

McPhee, D.K.; Langenheim, V.E.; Watt, J.T.

2011-01-01

This isostatic residual gravity map is part of an effort to map the three-dimensional distribution of rocks in the central California Coast Ranges and will serve as a basis for modeling the shape of basins and for determining the location and geometry of faults within the Paso Robles quadrangle. Local spatial variations in the Earth\\'s gravity field, after accounting for variations caused by elevation, terrain, and deep crustal structure reflect the distribution of densities in the mid- to upper crust. Densities often can be related to rock type, and abrupt spatial changes in density commonly mark lithological or structural boundaries. High-density rocks exposed within the central Coast Ranges include Mesozoic granitic rocks (exposed northwest of Paso Robles), Jurassic to Cretaceous marine strata of the Great Valley Sequence (exposed primarily northeast of the San Andreas fault), and Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Franciscan Complex [exposed in the Santa Lucia Range and northeast of the San Andreas fault (SAF) near Parkfield, California]. Alluvial sediments and Tertiary sedimentary rocks are characterized by low densities; however, with increasing depth of burial and age, the densities of these rocks may become indistinguishable from those of older basement rocks.

Inversion of Gravity and Magnetic Field Data for Tyrrhena Patera

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milbury, C.; Schubert, G.; Raymond, C. A.; Smrekar, S. E.

2011-01-01

Tyrrhena Patera is located to the southeast/northeast of the Isidis/Hellas impact basin. It was geologically active into the Late Amazonian, although the main edifice was formed in the Noachian(approximately 3.7-4.0 Ga). Tyrrhena Patera and the surrounding area contain gravity and magnetic anomalies that appear to be correlated. The results presented here are for the anomalies 1a and 1b (closest to Tyrrhena Patera), however other anomalies in this region have been modeled and will be presented at the conference.The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) free-air gravity signature of Tyrrhena Patera has been studied by Kiefer, who inferred the existence of an extinct magma chamber below it. The magnetic signature has been mapped by Lillis R. J. et al., who compared electron reflectometer data, analogous to the total magnetic field, for Syrtis Major and Tyrrhena Patera and argued for demagnetization of both volcanoes.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frusciante, Noemi; Papadomanolakis, Georgios; Silvestri, Alessandra, E-mail: fruscian@iap.fr, E-mail: papadomanolakis@lorentz.leidenuniv.nl, E-mail: silvestri@lorentz.leidenuniv.nl

We present a generalization of the effective field theory (EFT) formalism for dark energy and modified gravity models to include operators with higher order spatial derivatives. This allows the extension of the EFT framework to a wider class of gravity theories such as Hořava gravity. We present the corresponding extended action, both in the EFT and the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) formalism, and proceed to work out a convenient mapping between the two, providing a self contained and general procedure to translate a given model of gravity into the EFT language at the basis of the Einstein-Boltzmann solver EFTCAMB. Putting this mappingmore » at work, we illustrate, for several interesting models of dark energy and modified gravity, how to express them in the ADM notation and then map them into the EFT formalism. We also provide for the first time, the full mapping of GLPV models into the EFT framework. We next perform a thorough analysis of the physical stability of the generalized EFT action, in absence of matter components. We work out viability conditions that correspond to the absence of ghosts and modes that propagate with a negative speed of sound in the scalar and tensor sector, as well as the absence of tachyonic modes in the scalar sector. Finally, we extend and generalize the phenomenological basis in terms of α-functions introduced to parametrize Horndeski models, to cover all theories with higher order spatial derivatives included in our extended action. We elaborate on the impact of the additional functions on physical quantities, such as the kinetic term and the speeds of propagation for scalar and tensor modes.« less

Growing hair on the extremal BTZ black hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harms, B.; Stern, A.

2017-06-01

We show that the nonlinear σ-model in an asymptotically AdS3 space-time admits a novel local symmetry. The field action is assumed to be quartic in the nonlinear σ-model fields and minimally coupled to gravity. The local symmetry transformation simultaneously twists the nonlinear σ-model fields and changes the space-time metric, and it can be used to map the extremal BTZ black hole to infinitely many hairy black hole solutions.

Venus gravity anomalies and their correlations with topography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sjogren, W. L.; Bills, B. G.; Birkeland, P. W.; Esposito, P. B.; Konopliv, A. R.; Mottinger, N. A.; Ritke, S. J.; Phillips, R. J.

1983-01-01

This report provides a summary of the high-resolution gravity data obtained from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter radio tracking data. Gravity maps, covering a 70 deg latitude band through 360 deg of longitude, are displayed as line-of-sight and vertical gravity. Topography converted to gravity and Bouguer gravity maps are also shown in both systems. Topography to gravity ratios are made over several regions of the planet. There are markedly different ratios for the Aphrodite area as compared to the Beta and Atla areas.

A Sea Floor Gravity Survey of the Sleipner Field to Monitor CO2 Migration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mark Zumberge

Carbon dioxide gas (CO{sub 2}) is a byproduct of many wells that produce natural gas. Frequently the CO{sub 2} separated from the valuable fossil fuel gas is released into the atmosphere. This adds to the growing problem of the climatic consequences of greenhouse gas contamination. In the Sleipner North Sea natural gas production facility, the separated CO{sub 2} is injected into an underground saline aquifer to be forever sequestered. Monitoring the fate of such sequestered material is important - and difficult. Local change in Earth's gravity field over the injected gas is one way to detect the CO{sub 2} andmore » track its migration within the reservoir over time. The density of the injected gas is less than that of the brine that becomes displaced from the pore space of the formation, leading to slight but detectable decrease in gravity observed on the seafloor above the reservoir. Using equipment developed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, we have been monitoring gravity over the Sleipner CO{sub 2} sequestration reservoir since 2002. We surveyed the field in 2009 in a project jointly funded by a consortium of European oil and gas companies and the US Department of Energy. The value of gravity at some 30 benchmarks on the seafloor, emplaced at the beginning of the monitoring project, was observed in a week-long survey with a remotely operated vehicle. Three gravity meters were deployed on the benchmarks multiple times in a campaign-style survey, and the measured gravity values compared to those collected in earlier surveys. A clear signature in the map of gravity differences is well correlated with repeated seismic surveys.« less

Application of Satellite Gravimetry for Water Resource Vulnerability Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodell, Matthew

2012-01-01

The force of Earth's gravity field varies in proportion to the amount of mass near the surface. Spatial and temporal variations in the gravity field can be measured via their effects on the orbits of satellites. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) is the first satellite mission dedicated to monitoring temporal variations in the gravity field. The monthly gravity anomaly maps that have been delivered by GRACE since 2002 are being used to infer changes in terrestrial water storage (the sum of groundwater, soil moisture, surface waters, and snow and ice), which are the primary source of gravity variability on monthly to decadal timescales after atmospheric and oceanic circulation effects have been removed. Other remote sensing techniques are unable to detect water below the first few centimeters of the land surface. Conventional ground based techniques can be used to monitor terrestrial water storage, but groundwater, soil moisture, and snow observation networks are sparse in most of the world, and the countries that do collect such data rarely are willing to share them. Thus GRACE is unique in its ability to provide global data on variations in the availability of fresh water, which is both vital to life on land and vulnerable to climate variability and mismanagement. This chapter describes the unique and challenging aspects of GRACE terrestrial water storage data, examples of how the data have been used for research and applications related to fresh water vulnerability and change, and prospects for continued contributions of satellite gravimetry to water resources science and policy.

Mercury's Interior from MESSENGER Radio Science Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genova, A.; Mazarico, E.; Goossens, S. J.; Lemoine, F. G.; Neumann, G. A.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

2017-12-01

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft provided precise radio tracking data in orbit about Mercury for more than 4 years, from March 2011 to April 2015. These geodetic measurements enable us to investigate the interior structure of the planet from the inner core to the crust. The first three years of radio data allowed us to determine the gravity field of Mercury with a resolution of 150 km in the northern hemisphere (degree and order 50 in spherical harmonics) since the periapsis was located at higher latitudes (>65˚N) and 200-500 km altitudes. The comparison of this gravity solution with Mercury's topography, which was retrieved by using over 25 million individual measurements of the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA), resulted in a preliminary map of the crustal thickness of the planet. However, those results were limited by the resolution of the gravity field since the topography was defined in spherical harmonics up to degree and order 125. The last year of the MESSENGER extended mission was dedicated to a low-altitude campaign, where the spacecraft periapsis was maintained at altitudes between 25 and 100 km. The radio data collected during this mission phase allowed us to significantly improve the resolution of the gravity field locally in the northern hemisphere up to degree and order 100 in spherical harmonics. We present the gravity anomalies and crustal thickness maps that lead to a better understanding on the formation and evolution of specific regions. We present our estimated orientation model, which slightly differs from the solutions that were obtained by using Earth-based radar measurements and the co-registration of MESSENGER imaging and altimetry data. These previous estimates provide a direct measurement of the surface response, whereas the orientation model from gravity is more sensitive to the inner and outer core. A discrepancy between core and surface obliquities may provide fundamental information on the status of the outer core and the presence of a solid inner core. We also present the latest solution of the tidal Love number k2 that enables us to constrain the basal temperature and rigidity of the outer molten core.

Software Analysis of New Space Gravity Data for Geophysics and Climate Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deese, Rupert; Ivins, Erik R.; Fielding, Eric J.

2012-01-01

Both the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellites are returning rich data for the study of the solid earth, the oceans, and the climate. Current software analysis tools do not provide researchers with the ease and flexibility required to make full use of this data. We evaluate the capabilities and shortcomings of existing software tools including Mathematica, the GOCE User Toolbox, the ICGEM's (International Center for Global Earth Models) web server, and Tesseroids. Using existing tools as necessary, we design and implement software with the capability to produce gridded data and publication quality renderings from raw gravity data. The straight forward software interface marks an improvement over previously existing tools and makes new space gravity data more useful to researchers. Using the software we calculate Bouguer anomalies of the gravity tensor's vertical component in the Gulf of Mexico, Antarctica, and the 2010 Maule earthquake region. These maps identify promising areas of future research.

Gravity at the Moon North Pole

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-03-19

This is a polar stereographic map of gravity of the north polar region of the moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory GRAIL mission. The map displays the region from latitude 60 north to the pole.

Indications of correlation between gravity measurements and isoseismal maps. A case study of Athens basin (Greece)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dilalos, S.; Alexopoulos, J. D.

2017-05-01

In this paper, we discuss the correlation between isoseismal contour maps and gravity residual anomaly maps and how it might contribute to the characterization of vulnerable areas to earthquake damage, especially in urban areas, where the geophysical data collection is difficult. More specifically, we compare a couple of isoseismal maps that have been produced and published after the catastrophic earthquake of 7th September 1999 (5.9R) in Athens, the metropolis of Greece, with the residual map produced from the processing and data reduction of a gravity survey that has been carried out in the Athens basin recently. The geologic and tectonic regime of the Athens basin is quite complicated and it is still being updated with new elements. Basically it is comprised of four different geotectonic units, one of them considered as the autochthon. During the gravity investigation, 807 gravity stations were collected, based on a grid plan with spacing almost 1 km, covering the entire basin and supported by a newly established gravity base network comprised by thirteen bases. Differential DGPS technique was used for the accurate measurement of all the gravity stations and bases coordinates. After the appropriate data reduction and the construction of the Complete Bouguer Anomaly map, we applied FFT filtering in order to remove the regional component and produce the Residual Anomaly Map. The comparison of the Residual Anomaly Map with the isoseismal contours revealed that the areas with the most damage because of the earthquake were located in the areas with the minimum values of the Residual Anomaly Map.

Airborne geophysical surveys of unexplored regions of Antarctica - results of the ESA PolarGap campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forsberg, R.; Olesen, A. V.; Ferraccioli, F.; Jordan, T. A.; Matsuoka, K.

2016-12-01

Major airborne geophysical surveys have recently mapped large unexplored regions in the interior of East Antarctica, in a Danish-UK-Norwegian cooperation. Long-range aerogeophysics data have been collected both over the Recovery Lakes region (2012/13), as well as around the Pole (2015/16). The primary purpose of these campaigns was to map gravity to fill-in data voids in global gravity field models and augment results from the European Space Agency GOCE gravity field satellite mission. Additionally magnetic, ice-penetrating radar and lidar data are used to explore and understand the subglacial topography and geological setting, providing an improved foundation for ice sheet modeling. The most recent ESA-sponsored Polar Gap project used a BAS Twin-Otter aircraft equipped with both spring gravimeter and IMU gravity sensors, magnetometers, ice penetrating radar over the essentially unmapped regions of the GOCE polar gap. Additional detailed flights over the subglacial Recovery Lakes region, followed up earlier 2013 flights over this region. The operations took place from two field camps (near Recovery Lakes and Thiel Mountains), as well as from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station, thanks to a special arrangement with NSF. In addition to the airborne geophysics program, data with an ESA Ku-band radar were also acquired, in support of the CryoSat-2 mission, and scanning lidar collected across the polar gap, beyond the coverage of IceSat. In the talk we outline the Antarctic field operations, and show first results of the campaign, including performance of the gravity sensors, with comparison to limited existing data in the region (e.g., AGAP, IceBridge), as well as examples of lidar, magnetics and radar data. Significant new features detected from the geophysical data includes an extensive subglacial valley system between the Pole and the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf region, as well as extensive subglacial mountains, both consistent with observed ice stream patterns in the region. New data over the Recovery Lakes confirm the tectonic constraints on the lake system, and also hightlight the importantance of relatively dense flight tracks to constrain local subglacial hydrology.

Gravity and isostatic anomaly maps of Greece produced

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagios, E.; Chailas, S.; Hipkin, R. G.

A gravity anomaly map of Greece was first compiled in the early 1970s [Makris and Stavrou, 1984] from all available gravity data collected by different Hellenic institutions. However, to compose this map the data had to be smoothed to the point that many of the smaller-wavelength gravity anomalies were lost. New work begun in 1987 has resulted in the publication of an updated map [Lagios et al., 1994] and an isostatic anomaly map derived from it.The gravity data cover the area between east longitudes 19° and 27° and north latitudes 32° and 42°, organized in files of 100-km squares and grouped in 10-km squares using UTM zone 34 coordinates. Most of the data on land come from the gravity observations of Makris and Stavrou [1984] with additional data from the Institute of Geology and Mining Exploration, the Public Oil Corporation of Greece, and Athens University. These data were checked using techniques similar to those used in compiling the gravity anomaly map of the United States, but the horizontal gradient was used as a check rather than the gravity difference. Marine data were digitized from the maps of Morelli et al. [1975a, 1975b]. All gravity anomaly values are referred to the IGSN-71 system, reduced with the standard Bouger density of 2.67 Mg/m3. We estimate the errors of the anomalies in the continental part of Greece to be ±0.9 mGal; this is expected to be smaller over fairly flat regions. For stations whose height has been determined by leveling, the error is only ±0.3 mGal. For the marine areas, the errors are about ±5 mGal [Morelli, 1990].

GRAIL TCM-5 Go/No-Go: Developing Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) Criteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Min-Kun J.

2013-01-01

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission successfully completed mapping the Moon's gravity field to an unprecedented level for a better understanding of the internal structure and thermal evolution of the Moon. The mission success was critically dependent on the success of the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI). In this paper we establish a set of LOI criteria to meet all the requirements and we use these criteria to establish Go/No-Go boundaries of the last, statistical Trajectory Correction Maneuvers (TCM-5s) for operations.

Improvements in GRACE Gravity Fields Using Regularization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Save, H.; Bettadpur, S.; Tapley, B. D.

2008-12-01

The unconstrained global gravity field models derived from GRACE are susceptible to systematic errors that show up as broad "stripes" aligned in a North-South direction on the global maps of mass flux. These errors are believed to be a consequence of both systematic and random errors in the data that are amplified by the nature of the gravity field inverse problem. These errors impede scientific exploitation of the GRACE data products, and limit the realizable spatial resolution of the GRACE global gravity fields in certain regions. We use regularization techniques to reduce these "stripe" errors in the gravity field products. The regularization criteria are designed such that there is no attenuation of the signal and that the solutions fit the observations as well as an unconstrained solution. We have used a computationally inexpensive method, normally referred to as "L-ribbon", to find the regularization parameter. This paper discusses the characteristics and statistics of a 5-year time-series of regularized gravity field solutions. The solutions show markedly reduced stripes, are of uniformly good quality over time, and leave little or no systematic observation residuals, which is a frequent consequence of signal suppression from regularization. Up to degree 14, the signal in regularized solution shows correlation greater than 0.8 with the un-regularized CSR Release-04 solutions. Signals from large-amplitude and small-spatial extent events - such as the Great Sumatra Andaman Earthquake of 2004 - are visible in the global solutions without using special post-facto error reduction techniques employed previously in the literature. Hydrological signals as small as 5 cm water-layer equivalent in the small river basins, like Indus and Nile for example, are clearly evident, in contrast to noisy estimates from RL04. The residual variability over the oceans relative to a seasonal fit is small except at higher latitudes, and is evident without the need for de-striping or spatial smoothing.

Isostasy, Stress and Gravitational Potential Energy in the Southern Atlantic - Insights from Satellite Gravity Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goetze, H. J.; Klinge, L.; Scheck-Wenderoth, M.; Dressel, I.; Sippel, J.

2015-12-01

New satellite gravity fields e.g. EGM2008, GoCo3S and very recently EIGEN-6C4 (Förste et al., 2014) provide high-accuracy and globally uniform information of the Earth's gravity field and partly of its gradients. The main goal of this study is to investigate the impact of this new gravity field and its processed anomalies (Bouguer, Free-air and Vening-Meinesz residual fields) on lithospheric modelling of passive plate margins in the area of the Southern Atlantic. In an area fixed by the latitudes 20° N - 50° S and longitudes 70° W - 20° E we calculated station-complete Bouguer anomalies (bathymetry/topography corrected) both on- and offshore and compared them with the gravity effect of a velocity model which bases on S - waves tomography (Schaeffer and Lebedev, 2013). The corresponding maps provide more insight in the abnormal mass distribution of oceanic lithosphere and the ocean-continent transition zones on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean than Free-air anomalies which are masked by bathymetry. In a next step we calculated isostatic residual fields (Vening-Meinesz isostasy with regard to different lithospheric rigidities) to remove global components (long wavelengths) from the satellite gravity. The Isostatic residual field will be compared with the GPE (gravitational potential energy). GPE variations in the Southern Atlantic, relative to the reference state, were calculated as ΔGPE. Often the oceanic lithosphere is characterized by negative ΔGPE values indicating that the ocean basin is in compression. Differences from this observation will be compared with the state of stress in the area of the passive margins of South America and South Africa and the oceanic lithosphere in between. Schaeffer, A. J. and S. Lebedev, Global shear-speed structure of the upper mantle and transition zone. Geophys. J. Int., 194 (1), 417-449, 2013. doi:10.1093/gji/ggt095

Gravity Gradiometry and Map Matching: An Aid to Aircraft Inertial Navigation Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

improve its performance. In all of these cases, because information from two or more different navigation systems feeds into a navigation solution...GRAVITY GRADIOMETRY AND MAP MATCHING: AN AID TO AIRCRAFT INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS THESIS...M06 GRAVITY GRADIOMETRY AND MAP MATCHING: AN AID TO AIRCRAFT INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of

Deconstructing the shallow internal structure of the Moon using GRAIL gravity and LOLA topography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuber, M. T.

2015-12-01

Globally-distributed, high-resolution gravity and topography observations of the Moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission and Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft afford the unprecedented opportunity to explore the shallow internal structure of the Moon. Gravity and topography can be combined to produce Bouguer gravity that reveals the distribution of mass in the subsurface, with high degrees in the spherical harmonic expansion of the Bouguer anomalies sensitive to shallowest structure. For isolated regions of the lunar highlands and several basins we have deconstructed the gravity field and mapped the subsurface distribution of density anomalies. While specified spherical harmonic degree ranges can be used to estimate contributions at different depths, such analyses require considerable caution in interpretation. A comparison of filtered Bouguer gravity with forward models of disk masses with plausible densities illustrates the interdependencies of the gravitational power of density anomalies with depth and spatial scale. The results have implications regarding the limits of interpretation of lunar subsurface structure.

The gravity field and orientation of Mercury after the MESSENGER mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazarico, E.; Genova, A.; Goossens, S. J.; Lemoine, F. G.; Neumann, G. A.; Zuber, M. T.; Smith, D. E.; Solomon, S. C.

2015-12-01

After more than four years in orbit about Mercury, the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft impacted the planet's surface north of Shakespeare crater (54.44° N, 210.12° E,) on 30 April 2015. One of the main goals of the mission was to determine the gravity field of Mercury in order to learn about Mercury's interior. Together with ground-based radar measurements of the obliquity and forced librations, MESSENGER-derived gravity models helped revise models of Mercury's interior. Nevertheless, the refinement of Mercury's orientation with the latest data from MESSENGER can further improve the interior modeling of the planet. The last eight months of the mission provided a special opportunity to conduct low-altitude measurements, with extensive radio tracking coverage below 200 km altitude north of ~30°N. MESSENGER's Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) mapped the topography of Mercury's northern hemisphere with a sub-meter vertical precision, an along-track sampling of ~500 m, and a longitudinal resolution (~0.1°) limited by the number of spacecraft orbits (~4,000). The combination of gravity and topography helps determine crustal thickness and interior properties. Altimetric ranges provide geodetic constraints to improve the spacecraft orbit determination, and thus the gravity field model. In particular, whereas the MESSENGER spacecraft was not tracked at each periapsis passage, MLA operated nearly continuously (outside of thermally challenging periods). From an analysis of the entire radiometric and altimetric datasets acquired by MESSENGER, a new gravity field to degree and order 100 has been obtained, resolving features down to ~75 km horizontal scale. The altimetric data help reduce the uncertainties in the determination of the pole position. A reanalysis of the Mercury flybys also constrains the spin rate over the longest available time span.

Michigan Magnetic and Gravity Maps and Data: A Website for the Distribution of Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Daniels, David L.; Kucks, Robert P.; Hill, Patricia L.; Snyder, Stephen L.

2009-01-01

This web site provides the best available, public-domain, aeromagnetic and gravity data in the State of Michigan and merges these data into composite grids that are available for downloading. The magnetic grid is compiled from 25 separate magnetic surveys that have been knit together to form a single composite digital grid and map. The magnetic survey grids have been continued to 305 meters (1,000 feet) above ground and merged together to form the State compilation. A separate map shows the location of the aeromagnetic surveys, color-coded to the survey flight-line spacing. In addition, a complete Bouguer gravity anomaly grid and map were generated from more than 20,000 gravity station measurements from 33 surveys. A table provides the facts about each gravity survey where known.

Crustal Structure of the Flood Basalt Province of Ethiopia from Constrained 3-D Gravity Inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mammo, Tilahun

2013-12-01

The Oligocene Afar mantle plume resulted in the eruption of a large volume of basaltic magma, including major sequences of rhyolitic ignimbrites, in a short span of time across Ethiopia. In order to assess the impact of these magmatic processes on the crust and to investigate the general crustal configuration beneath the Ethiopian plateau, northern part of the Main Ethiopian Rift and the Afar depression, analysis and modeling of the gravity field have been conducted. The Bouguer gravity map is dominated by long-wavelength anomalies that primarily arise from the isostatic compensation of the topography. Consequently, anomalies within the crust/upper mantle are masked and quantitative interpretation becomes difficult. The long-wavelength anomalies are approximated using admittance technique and subsequently removed from the Bouguer anomalies to obtain the residual isostatic anomalies. The residual map contains both short- and intermediate-wavelength anomalies related to geologic and tectonic features. The long-wavelength regional isostatic field is used to map the crust-mantle interface and the results are in good agreement with those determined by other geophysical methods. Seismic constrained gravity inversion was performed on the isostatic residual field and series of three-dimensional models have been constructed for the structures of the crust and upper mantle beneath the uplifted and rifted flood basalt province of northern Ethiopia. The inversion results have shown that the NW plateau has thick crust that rests on normal lithospheric mantle. Afar, On the other hand, is marked by thin stretched crust resting on a low-density upper mantle indicating a hotter thermal regime and partial melt. No lithospheric mantle is observed beneath Afar. The models further indicate the presence of an extensive sub-crustal thick (~12 km on average) and high-density (~3.06 gm/cc) mafic accreted igneous layer of fractionated cumulate (magmatic underplating) beneath the NW plateau. The study suggests that the underplate was fundamental to the accretion process and may have played a role in compensating most of the plateau uplift and in localizing stresses.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halliday, M.E.; Cook, K.L.

Regional gravity data were collected in portions of the Pavant Range, Tushar Mountains, northern Sevier Plateau, the Antelope Range, and throughout Sevier Valley approximately between the towns of Richfield and Junction, Utah. Additionally, detailed gravity and ground magnetic data were collected in the vicinity of hot springs in both the Monroe and Joseph Known Geothermal Resource Areas (KGRA's) and subsurface geologic models were constructed. The regional gravity data were terrain corrected out to a distance of 167 km from the station and 948 gravity station values were compiled into a complete Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the survey area. Thismore » map shows a strong correlation with most structural features mapped in the survey area. Four regional gravity profiles were modeled using two-dimensional formerd and inverse algorithms.« less

Gravity and magnetic study of the Pahute Mesa and Oasis Valley region, Nye County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mankinen, Edward A.; Hildenbrand, Thomas G.; Dixon, Gary L.; McKee, Edwin H.; Fridrich, Christopher J.; Laczniak, Randell J.

1999-01-01

Regional gravity and aeromagnetic maps reveal the existence of deep basins underlying much of the southwestern Nevada volcanic field, approximately 150 km northwest of Las Vegas. These maps also indicate the presence of prominent features (geophysical lineaments) within and beneath the basin fill. Detailed gravity surveys were conducted in order to characterize the nature of the basin boundaries, delineate additional subsurface features, and evaluate their possible influence on the movement of ground-water. Geophysical modeling of gravity and aeromagnetic data indicates that many of the features may be related to processes of caldera formation. Collapse of the various calderas within the volcanic field resulted in dense basement rocks occurring at greater depths within caldera boundaries. Modeling indicates that collapse occurred along faults that are arcuate and steeply dipping. There are indications that the basement in the western Pahute Mesa - Oasis Valley region consists predominantly of granitic and/or fine-grained siliceous sedimentary rocks that may be less permeable to groundwater flow than the predominantly fractured carbonate rock basement to the east and southeast of the study area. The northeast-trending Thirsty Canyon lineament, expressed on gravity and basin thickness maps, separates dense volcanic rocks on the northwest from less dense intracaldera accumulations in the Silent Canyon and Timber Mountain caldera complexes. The source of the lineament is an approximately 2-km wide ring fracture system with step-like differential displacements, perhaps localized on a pre-existing northeast-trending Basin and Range fault. Due to vertical offsets, the Thirsty Canyon fault zone probably juxtaposes rock types of different permeability and, thus, it may act as a barrier to ground-water flow and deflect flow from Pahute Mesa along its flanks toward Oasis Valley. Within the Thirsty Canyon fault zone, highly fractured rocks may serve also as a conduit, depending upon the degree of alteration and its effect on porosity and permeability. In the Oasis Valley region, other structures that may influence ground-water flow include the western and southern boundaries of the Oasis Valley basin, where the basement abruptly shallows.

Precambrian Field Camp at the University of Minnesota Duluth - Teaching Skills Applicable to Mapping Glaciated Terranes of the Canadian Shield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, J. D.; Hudak, G. J.; Peterson, D.

2011-12-01

Since 2007, the central program of the Precambrian Research Center (PRC) at the University of Minnesota Duluth has been a six-week geology field camp focused on the Precambrian geology of the Canadian Shield. This field camp has two main purposes. First and foremost is to teach students specialized field skills and field mapping techniques that can be utilized to map and interpret Precambrian shield terranes characterized by sparse outcrop and abundant glacial cover. In addition to teaching basic outcrop mapping technique , students are introduced to geophysical surveying (gravity, magnetics), glacial drift prospecting, and drill core logging techniques in several of our geological mapping exercises. These mapping methodologies are particularly applicable to minerals exploration in shield terranes. The second and equally important goal of the PRC field camp is to teach students modern map-making and map production skills. During the fifth and sixth weeks of field camp, students conduct "capstone" mapping projects. These projects encompass one week of detailed bedrock mapping in remote regions of northern Minnesota that have not been mapped in detail (e.g. scales greater than 1:24,000) and a second week of map-making and map generation utilizing geographic information systems (currently ArcGIS10), graphics software packages (Adobe Illustrator CS4), and various imaging software for geophysical and topographic data. Over the past five years, PRC students and faculty have collaboratively published 21 geologic maps through the Precambrian Research Center Map Series. These maps are currently being utilized in a variety of ways by industry, academia, and government for mineral exploration programs, development of undergraduate, graduate, and faculty research projects, and for planning, archeological studies, and public education programs in Minnesota's state parks. Acquisition of specialized Precambrian geological mapping skills and geologic map-making proficiencies has enabled our students to be highly sought after for employment and/or subsequent graduate studies.

Validation of gravity data from the geopotential field model for subsurface investigation of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (Western Africa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcel, Jean; Abate Essi, Jean Marcel; Nouck, Philippe Njandjock; Sanda, Oumarou; Manguelle-Dicoum, Eliézer

2018-03-01

Belonging to the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), the western part of Cameroon is an active volcanic zone with volcanic eruptions and deadly gas emissions. The volcanic flows generally cover areas and bury structural features like faults. Terrestrial gravity surveys can hardly cover entirely this mountainous area due to difficult accessibility. The present work aims to evaluate gravity data derived from the geopotential field model, EGM2008 to investigate the subsurface of the CVL. The methodology involves upward continuation, horizontal gradient, maxima of horizontal gradient-upward continuation combination and Euler deconvolution techniques. The lineaments map inferred from this geopotential field model confirms several known lineaments and reveals new ones covered by lava flows. The known lineaments are interpreted as faults or geological contacts such as the Foumban fault and the Pan-African Belt-Congo craton contact. The lineaments highlighted coupled with the numerous maar lakes identified in this volcanic sector attest of the vulnerability of the CVL where special attention should be given for geohazard prevention.

Employing 2D Forward Modeling of Gravity and Magnetic Data to Further Constrain the Magnitude of Extension Recorded by the Caetano Caldera, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritzinger, B. T.; Glen, J. M. G.; Athens, N. D.; Denton, K. M.; Bouligand, C.

2015-12-01

Regionally continuous Cenozoic rocks in the Basin and Range that predate the onset of major mid-Miocene extension provide valuable insight into the sequence of faulting and magnitude of extension. An exceptional example of this is Caetano caldera, located in north-central Nevada, that formed during the eruption of the Caetano Tuff at the Eocene-Oligocene transition. The caldera and associated deposits, as well as conformable caldera-filling sedimentary and volcanic units allow for the reconstruction of post Oligocene extensional faulting. Extensive mapping and geochronologic, geochemical and paleomagnetic analyses have been conducted over the last decade to help further constrain the eruptive and extensional history of the Caetano caldera and associated deposits. Gravity and magnetic data, that highlight contrasts in density and magnetic properties (susceptibility and remanence), respectively, are useful for mapping and modeling structural and lithic discontinuities. By combining existing gravity and aeromagnetic data with newly collected high-resolution gravity data, we are performing detailed potential field modeling to better characterize the subsurface within and surrounding the caldera. Modeling is constrained by published geologic map and cross sections and by new rock properties for these units determined from oriented drill core and hand samples collected from outcrops that span all of the major rock units in the study area. These models will enable us to better map the margins of the caldera and more accurately determine subsurface lithic boundaries and complex fault geometries, as well as aid in refining estimates of the magnitude of extension across the caldera. This work highlights the value in combining geologic and geophysical data to build an integrated structural model to help characterize the subsurface and better constrain the extensional tectonic history if this part of the Great Basin.

Gravity, magnetic, and radiometric data for Newberry Volcano, Oregon, and vicinity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wynn, Jeff

2014-01-01

Newberry Volcano in central Oregon is a 3,100-square-kilometer (1,200-square-mile) shield-shaped composite volcano, occupying a location east of the main north-south trend of the High Cascades volcanoes and forming a transition between the High Lava Plains subprovince of the Basin and Range Province to the east and the Cascade Range to the west. Magnetic, gravity, and radiometric data have been gathered and assessed for the region around the volcano. These data have widely varying quality and resolution, even within a given dataset, and these limitations are evaluated and described in this release. Publicly available gravity data in general are too sparse to permit detailed modeling except along a few roads with high-density coverage. Likewise, magnetic data are also unsuitable for all but very local modeling, primarily because available data consist of a patchwork of datasets with widely varying line-spacing. Gravity data show only the broadest correlation with mapped geology, whereas magnetic data show moderate correlation with features only in the vicinity of Newberry Caldera. At large scales, magnetic data correlate poorly with both geologic mapping and gravity data. These poor correlations are largely due to the different sensing depths of the two potential fields methods, which respond to physical properties deeper than the surficial geology. Magnetic data derive from rocks no deeper than the Curie-point isotherm depth (10 to 15 kilometers, km, maximum), whereas gravity data reflect density-contrasts to 100 to 150 km depths. Radiometric data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) surveys of the 1980s have perhaps the coarsest line-spacing of all (as much as 10 km between lines) and are extremely “noisy” for several reasons inherent to this kind of data. Despite its shallow-sensing character, only a few larger anomalies in the NURE data correlate well with geologic mapping. The purpose of this data series release is to collect and place the available geophysical data in the hands of other investigators in a readily comprehensible form. All data-compilation, splicing, filtering, and overlay-map displays were accomplished with the commercial Geosoft™ system, Advanced Option. Images are provided in both JPG and PDF formats.

Equatorial Pacific gravity lineaments: interpretations with basement topography along seismic reflection lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, Neil C.; Davies, Huw

2018-03-01

The central equatorial Pacific is interesting for studying clues to upper mantle processes, as the region lacks complicating effects of continental remnants or major volcanic plateaus. In particular, the most recently produced maps of the free-air gravity field from satellite altimetry show in greater detail the previously reported lineaments west of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) that are aligned with plate motion over the mantle and originally suggested to have formed from mantle convection rolls. In contrast, the gravity field 600 km or farther west of the EPR reveals lineaments with varied orientations. Some are also parallel with plate motion over the mantle but others are sub-parallel with fracture zones or have other orientations. This region is covered by pelagic sediments reaching 500-600 m thickness so bathymetry is not so useful for seeking evidence for plate deformation across the lineaments. We instead use depth to basement from three seismic reflection cruises. In some segments of these seismic data crossing the lineaments, we find that the co-variation between gravity and basement depth is roughly compatible with typical densities of basement rocks (basalt, gabbro or mantle), as expected for some explanations for the lineaments (e.g., mantle convection rolls, viscous asthenospheric inter-fingering or extensional deformation). However, some other lineaments are associated with major changes in basement depth with only subtle changes in the gravity field, suggesting topography that is locally supported by varied crustal thickness. Overall, the multiple gravity lineament orientations suggest that they have multiple origins. In particular, we propose that a further asthenospheric inter-fingering instability mechanism could occur from pressure variations in the asthenosphere arising from regional topography and such a mechanism may explain some obliquely oriented gravity lineaments that have no other obvious origin.

Crustal analysis of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea (Japan Sea) from enhanced gravity mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Chan Hong; Kim, Jeong Woo; Isezaki, Nobuhiro; Roman, Daniel R.; von Frese, Ralph R. B.

2006-12-01

To facilitate geological analyses of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea (Japan Sea) between Korea and Japan, shipborne and satellite altimetry-derived gravity data are combined to derive a regionally coherent anomaly field. The 2-min gridded satellite altimetry-based gravity predicted by Sandwell and Smith [Sandwell DT, Smith WHF (1997) J Geophys Res 102(B5):10,039-10,054] are used for making cross-over adjustments that reduce the errors between track segments and at the cross-over points of shipborne gravity profiles. Relative to the regionally more homogeneous satellite gravity anomalies, the longer wavelength components of the shipborne anomalies are significantly improved with minimal distortion of their shorter wavelength components. The resulting free-air gravity anomaly map yields a more coherent integration of short and long wavelength anomalies compared to that obtained from either the shipborne or satellite data sets separately. The derived free-air anomalies range over about 140 mGals or more in amplitude and regionally correspond with bathymetric undulations in the Ulleung Basin. The gravity lows and highs along the basin’s margin indicate the transition from continental to oceanic crust. However, in the northeastern and central Ulleung Basin, the negative regional correlation between the central gravity high and bathymetric low suggests the presence of shallow denser mantle beneath thinned oceanic crust. A series of gravity highs mark seamounts or volcanic terranes from the Korean Plateau to Oki Island. Gravity modeling suggests underplating by mafic igneous rocks of the northwestern margin of the Ulleung Basin and the transition between continental and oceanic crust. The crust of the central Ulleung Basin is about a 14-15 km thick with a 4-5 km thick sediment cover. It may also include a relatively weakly developed buried fossil spreading ridge with approximately 2 km of relief.

Digital Isostatic Gravity Map of the Nevada Test Site and Vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.; Mankinen, E.A.; Davidson, J.G.; Morin, R.L.; Blakely, R.J.

2000-01-01

An isostatic gravity map of the Nevada Test Site area was prepared from publicly available gravity data (Ponce, 1997) and from gravity data recently collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (Mankinen and others, 1999; Morin and Blakely, 1999). Gravity data were processed using standard gravity data reduction techniques. Southwest Nevada is characterized by gravity anomalies that reflect the distribution of pre-Cenozoic carbonate rocks, thick sequences of volcanic rocks, and thick alluvial basins. In addition, regional gravity data reveal the presence of linear features that reflect large-scale faults whereas detailed gravity data can indicate the presence of smaller-scale faults.

Map showing free-air gravity anomalies off the western coast of Africa Senegal (south of 15° north latitude) to Sierra Leone

USGS Publications Warehouse

Folger, D.W.; Irwin, B.J.; McCullough, J.R.; Driscoll, G.R.; Polloni, C.F.

1990-01-01

This map is one of six in a series presenting marine gravity data off the western coast of Africa (fig. 1).  The data, collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1987 in response to a request from the Defense Mapping Agency, are intended to improve gravity coverage where it has been insufficient or inadequate.  The information shown on this and the other three maps that cover the African coast represents a total of approximately 32,000 line kilometers of marine gravity data from Western Sahara south to Gabon.  This map includes data collected off the coasts of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Sierra Leone from July 22 to August 20, 1987.

Gravity Field Mapping of Mars with MGS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.; Lemoine, Frank G.

1998-01-01

Tracking of the MGS spacecraft in orbit at Mars by the Deep Space Network since last September has provided doppler and range measurements that are being used to improve the model of the Mars gravity field. During most of October 1997, April 1998, and June thru August 1998 high quality tracking data were obtained while the periapse was in the northern hemisphere at altitudes in the 170 to 190 km range. The eccentric orbit had a period of about 11.5 hrs and an inclination of about 96.2 degrees so that low altitude tracking was obtained over most of the northern hemisphere, including the north polar icecap. Data from the earlier Mariner 9 and Viking missions have been added to the MGS data and a series of experimental gravity models developed from the combined datasets. These models have generally been of degree and order 70 and are a significant improvement over earlier models that did not include the MGS data. Gravity anomalies over the north polar cap region of Mars are generally less than 50 to 100 mgals and show no obvious correlation with the topography. Successive MGS orbits derived using these new models are showing agreement at the 100 meter level, and this has been confirmed with the laser altimeter (MOLA) on MGS These comparisons are expected to improve significantly as more tracking data get included in the solution and the MGS orbit becomes more circular giving a more balanced geographical distribution of data at low altitude. This will happen early in 1999 as the orbit approaches the mapping configuration of a circular orbit at about 400 Km.

Preliminary isostatic gravity map of the Grouse Creek and east part of the Jackpot 30 by 60 quadrangles, Box Elder County, Utah, and Cassia County, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, Victoria; Willis, H.; Athens, N.D.; Chuchel, Bruce A.; Roza, J.; Hiscock, H.I.; Hardwick, C.L.; Kraushaar, S.M.; Knepprath, N.E.; Rosario, Jose J.

2013-01-01

A new isostatic residual gravity map of the northwest corner of Utah is based on compilation of preexisting data and new data collected by the Utah and United States Geological Surveys. Pronounced gravity lows occur over Junction, Grouse Creek, and upper Raft River Valleys, indicating significant thickness of low-density Tertiary sedimentary rocks and deposits. Gravity highs coincide with exposures of dense pre-Cenozoic rocks in the Raft River Mountains. Higher values in the eastern part of the map may be produced in part by deeper crustal density variations or crustal thinning. Steep linear gravity gradients coincide with mapped Neogene normal faults near Goose Creek and may define basin-bounding faults concealed beneath Junction and Upper Raft River Valleys.

Oregon Magnetic and Gravity Maps and Data: A Web Site for Distribution of Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Carter W.; Kucks, Robert P.; Hill, Patricia L.

2008-01-01

This web site gives the results of a USGS project to acquire the best available, public-domain, aeromagnetic and gravity data in the United States and merge these data into uniform, composite grids for each State. The results for the State of Oregon are presented here on this site. Files of aeromagnetic and gravity grids and images are available for these States for downloading. In Oregon, 49 magnetic surveys have been knit together to form a single digital grid and map. Also, a complete Bouguer gravity anomaly grid and map was generated from 40,665 gravity station measurements in and adjacent to Oregon. In addition, a map shows the location of the aeromagnetic surveys, color-coded to the survey flight-line spacing. This project was supported by the Mineral Resource Program of the USGS.

Europe's Preparation For GOCE Gravity Field Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suenkel, H.; Suenkel, H.

2001-12-01

The European Space Agency ESA is preparing for its first dedicated gravity field mission GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) with a proposed launch in fall 2005. The mission's goal is the mapping of the Earth's static gravity field with very high resolution and utmost accuracy on a global scale. GOCE is a drag-free mission, flown in a circular and sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude between 240 and 250 km. Each of the two operational phases will last for 6 months. GOCE is based on a sensor fusion concept combining high-low satellite-to-satellite tracking (SST) and satellite gravity gradiometry (SGG). The transformation of the GOCE sensor data into a scientific product of utmost quality and reliability requires a well-coordinated effort of experts in satellite geodesy, applied mathematics and computer science. Several research groups in Europe do have this expertise and decided to form the "European GOCE Gravity Consortium (EGG-C)". The EGG-C activities are subdivided into tasks such as standard and product definition, data base and data dissemination, precise orbit determination, global gravity field model solutions and regional solutions, solution validation, communication and documentation, and the interfacing to level 3 product scientific users. The central issue of GOCE data processing is, of course, the determination of the global gravity field model using three independent mathematical-numerical techniques which had been designed and pre-developed in the course of several scientific preparatory studies of ESA: 1. The direct solution which is a least squares adjustment technique based on a pre-conditioned conjugated gradient method (PCGM). The method is capable of efficiently transforming the calibrated and validated SST and SGG observations directly or via lumped coefficients into harmonic coefficients of the gravitational potential. 2. The time-wise approach considers both SST and SGG data as a time series. For an idealized repeat mission such a time series can be very efficiently transformed into lumped coefficients using fast Fourier techniques. For a realistic mission scenario this transformation has to be extended by an iteration process. 3. The space-wise approach which, after having transformed the original observations onto a spatial geographical grid, transforms the pseudo-observations into harmonic coefficients using a fast collocation technique. A successful mission presupposed, GOCE will finally deliver the Earth's gravity field with a resolution of about 70 km half wavelength and a global geoid with an accuracy of about 1 cm.

Basement-involved faults and deep structures in the West Philippine Basin: constrains from gravity field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Gang; Jiang, Suhua; Li, Sanzhong; Zhang, Huixuan; Lei, Jianping; Gao, Song; Zhao, Feiyu

2017-06-01

To reveal the basement-involved faults and deep structures of the West Philippine Basin (WPB), the gravitational responses caused by these faults are observed and analyzed based on the latest spherical gravity model: WGM2012 Model. By mapping the free-air and Bouguer gravity anomalies, several main faults and some other linear structures are located and observed in the WPB. Then, by conducting a 2D discrete multi-scale wavelet decomposition, the Bouguer anomalies are decomposed into the first- to eighth-order detail and approximation fields (the first- to eighth-order Details and Approximations). The first- to third-order Details reflect detailed and localized geological information of the crust at different depths, and of which the higher-order reflects gravity field of the deeper depth. The first- to fourth-order Approximations represent the regional gravity fields at different depths of the crust, respectively. The fourth-order Approximation represents the regional gravity fluctuation caused by the density inhomogeneity of Moho interface. Therefore, taking the fourth-order Approximation as input, and adopting Parker-Oldenburg interactive inversion, We calculated the depth of Moho interface in the WPB. Results show that the Moho interface depth in the WPB ranges approximately from 8 to 12 km, indicating that there is typical oceanic crust in the basin. In the Urdaneta Plateau and the Benham Rise, the Moho interface depths are about 14 and 16 km, respectively, which provides a piece of evidence to support that the Banham Rise could be a transitional crust caused by a large igneous province. The second-order vertical derivative and the horizontal derivatives in direction 0° and 90° are computed based on the data of the third-order Detail, and most of the basement-involved faults and structures in the WPB, such as the Central Basin Fault Zone, the Gagua Ridge, the Luzon-Okinawa Fault Zone, and the Mindanao Fault Zone are interpreted by the gravity derivatives.

A Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Map of Africa.

DTIC Science & Technology

A Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Map of Africa has been compiled using only terrestrial data. The map is a contoured representation of one degree x one...The anomaly pattern shown on the map is discussed and evaluated with respect to regional and local tectonic and geologic patterns. The entire Bouguer

Gravity anomaly detection: Apollo/Soyuz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vonbun, F. O.; Kahn, W. D.; Bryan, J. W.; Schmid, P. E.; Wells, W. T.; Conrad, D. T.

1976-01-01

The Goddard Apollo-Soyuz Geodynamics Experiment is described. It was performed to demonstrate the feasibility of tracking and recovering high frequency components of the earth's gravity field by utilizing a synchronous orbiting tracking station such as ATS-6. Gravity anomalies of 5 MGLS or larger having wavelengths of 300 to 1000 kilometers on the earth's surface are important for geologic studies of the upper layers of the earth's crust. Short wavelength Earth's gravity anomalies were detected from space. Two prime areas of data collection were selected for the experiment: (1) the center of the African continent and (2) the Indian Ocean Depression centered at 5% north latitude and 75% east longitude. Preliminary results show that the detectability objective of the experiment was met in both areas as well as at several additional anomalous areas around the globe. Gravity anomalies of the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges, ocean trenches, as well as the Diamantina Depth, can be seen. Maps outlining the anomalies discovered are shown.

White Sands Missile Range Main Cantonment and NASA Area Faults, New Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nash, Greg

This is a zipped ArcGIS shapefile containing faults mapped for the Tularosa Basin geothermal play fairway analysis project. The faults were interpolated from gravity and seismic (NASA area) data, and from geomorphic features on aerial photography. Field work was also done for validation of faults which had surface expressions.

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehman, D. H.; Hoffman, T. L.; Havens, G. G.

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, launched in September 2011, successfully completed its Primary Science Mission in June 2012 and Extended Mission in December 2012. Competitively selected under a NASA Announcement of Opportunity in December 2007, GRAIL is a Discovery Program mission subject to a mandatory project cost cap. The purpose of the mission is to precisely map the gravitational field of the Moon to reveal its internal structure from crust to core, determine its thermal evolution, and extend this knowledge to other planets. The mission used twin spacecraft flying in tandem to provide the gravity map. The GRAIL Flight System, consisting of the spacecraft and payload, was developed based on significant heritage from previous missions such as an experimental U.S. Air Force satellite, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission, and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. The Mission Operations System (MOS) was based on high-heritage multimission operations developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin. Both the Flight System and MOS were adapted to meet the unique challenges posed by the GRAIL mission design. This paper summarizes the implementation challenges and accomplishments of getting GRAIL ready for launch. It also discusses the in-flight challenges and experiences of operating two spacecraft, and mission results.

An integrated geophysical study wajid formation of water-bearing aquifers: Case study at Wadi Aldwasir area-Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alasmari, Abdulsalam; Suliman, Asim

2015-04-01

Wadi Aldwasir area is very important province in Saudi Arabia. It contains the main water aquifer that attains a proven groundwater reserve (Wajid aquifer). This study aims to investigate the subsurface features of this aquifer (thickness, depth to basement, overlying section and the structural elements) using an integrated gravity survey (2D profiles) and aeromagnetic interpretation (RTP, low pass and high-pass maps). Gravity data are measured in the field using CG-5 AutoGrav, while magnetic data are taken from a survey made by Saudi Geological Survey. The interpretation of aeromagnetic data revealed structural elements trending towards N-S, NNE-SSW, WNW and NNW-SSE directions. Positive magnetic anomalies are found indicating the presence of anticlinal blocks and strike-slip fault patterns. These structural elements are associated with the prevailing Najd fault and the transform fault systems. Gravity data showed that the depth to basement vary from 600 m to 1150 m, giving rise to a considerable range for aquifer thickness of 250 m to 700 m. Local basins of good thicknesses are indicated. Finally, a basement relief map is conducted based on an integrated interpretation of the magnetic and gravity outputs. It shows an increase of depth from south to north (good aquifer thickness).

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lehman, David H.; Hoffman, Tom L.; Havens, Glen G.

2013-01-01

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, launched in September 2011, successfully completed its Primary Science Mission in June 2012 and is currently in Extended Mission operations. Competitively selected under a NASA Announcement of Opportunity in December 2007, GRAIL is a Discovery Program mission subject to a mandatory project cost cap. The purpose of the mission is to precisely map the gravitational field of the Moon to reveal its internal structure from crust to core, determine its thermal evolution, and extend this knowledge to other planets. The mission uses twin spacecraft flying in tandem to provide the gravity map. The GRAIL Flight System, consisting of the spacecraft and payload, was developed based on significant heritage from previous missions such an experimental U.S. Air Force satellite, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission, and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. The Mission Operations System (MOS) was based on high-heritage multimission operations developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin. Both the Flight System and MOS were adapted to meet the unique challenges posed by the GRAIL mission design. This paper summarizes the implementation challenges and accomplishments of getting GRAIL ready for launch. It also discusses the in-flight challenges and experiences of operating two spacecraft, and mission results.

Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio Magnetic and Gravity Maps and Data: A Website for Distribution of Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Daniels, David L.; Kucks, Robert P.; Hill, Patricia L.

2008-01-01

This web site gives the results of a USGS project to acquire the best available, public-domain, aeromagnetic and gravity data in the United States and merge these data into uniform, composite grids for each state. The results for the three states, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio are presented here in one site. Files of aeromagnetic and gravity grids and images are available for these states for downloading. In Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, 19 magnetic surveys have been knit together to form a single digital grid and map. And, a complete Bouguer gravity anomaly grid and map was generated from 128,227 gravity station measurements in and adjacent to Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. In addition, a map shows the location of the aeromagnetic surveys, color-coded to the survey flight-line spacing. This project was supported by the Mineral Resource Program of the USGS.

Satellite Gravity Transforms Unmask Tectonic Pattern of Arabian-African Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eppelbaum, Lev; Katz, Youri

2017-04-01

Satellite derived geophysical gravity data are the modern powerful tool of regional tectono-geophysical examination of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. It is well known that regional long-term seismological prognosis, strategy of searching economic deposits and many other important geological-geophysical problems are based mainly on constructions derived from the combined tectono-geophysical zonation. Some authors' experience of the tectono-geophysical zonation in the Eastern Mediterranean (both sea and land) with satellite derived gravity field (Eppelbaum and Katz, 2015a, 2015b) indicates a high effectiveness of the data employment for delineation of different tectono-structural units. Therefore, on the basis of the previous successive application, satellite derived gravity field analysis was applied for a giant (covering > 10 mln. km2) and complex Arabian-African region (including Zagros Mts.). The gravity field retracked from the Geosat and ERS-1 altimetry (e.g., Sandwell and Smith, 2009) was processed by the use of different mathematical apparatus employment enabling to underline these or those tectonic (geodynamic) features of the region under study. The main goals of present investigation are following: (1) employment of a new powerful regional geophysical tool - satellite derived gravity data and its transforms for unmasking some buried tectonic and geodynamic peculiarities of the study area, (2) finding definite relationships between the novel tectonic map and the gravity field transformations, (3) development of a novel tectonic map of this area (on the basis of careful examination of and generalization of available geological and geophysical (mostly satellite gravity) data). The compiled gravity map (for the map compiling more than 4 mln. observations were utilized) with the main tectonic features shows the intricate gravity pattern of the investigated area. An initial analysis of the gravity field behavior enabled to separate two main types of tectonic structures: (1) stable zones of continental and oceanic crust, and (2) mobile geotectonic belts. First type is characterized by homogeneous character of gravity field pattern (for instance, East Arabian Craton), whereas second type is characterized by mosaic and variable behavior of gravity field (especially, active rift zones). It should be noted that 'youngest' mobile structure (Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt and active rift systems of the Red Sea - East Africa) significantly differs in the gravity field pattern from the Mesozoic terrane belt and Neoproterozoic belt. In this investigation six satellite gravity transforms (SGT) are described: multidimensional statistical analysis (MSA) by the use of sliding window, low-pass filtering, informational approach, gradient operator, entropy processing by sliding window of adaptive form, and 3D inverse methods. Application of the MSA enabled not only to delineate geodynamical parameters of the studied region (collision zone at the boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates, and active rift zones between the Arabian, Nubian and Somalian Plates, etc.), but also to estimate generalized properties of the Earth's crust. Results of MSA employment clearly show zone of development of the oceanic crust of the Easternmost Mediterranean and zone of oceanic crust of the Gulf of Aden and eastern (oceanic) part of the Somalian Plate. Besides this, in this map the Arabian and East African active rift zones and collision zone between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates are visibly traced. Applied low-pass gravity field filtering enabled to recognize the most contrast crust-mantle structures. For example, the Afar triangle zone is clearly detected. Zones of the Neotethys closing Eastern Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, Zagros Fault Zone and South Caspian Basin can be easily identified. Subduction zones associated with the plate boundaries are reflected by elongated gradient pattern. These nonstable zones are conjugated with large mobile belts: Alpine-Himalayan belt and Mesozoic terrane belt. The zone of active rifting of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and complex structure of Afar triangle as well as East African rift system are noticeably fixed. The boundary between the continental and crust in the SE part of the region (where occurs a transfer zone between the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea) is visibly detected. Application of informational approach (Eppelbaum and Khesin, 2012) enabled to reliably fix both continental and oceanic cratons and all belts. To south-east of the Horn of Africa the Arabian Sea Basin with oceanic crust is clearly distinguished. The East Arabian Craton (platform) as well as its framing are noticeably detected. Computation of entropy map from the satellite derived gravity field was earlier successfully tested by the authors in the Eastern Mediterranean (Eppelbaum and Katz, 2015a). Application of the adaptive form sliding window enables to receive the most reliable entropy estimations in conditions of complex field caused by superimposed influence of targets of different order. Obviously, computation of an entropial map by the same method for the region under study reproduces mainly deep tectonic units (elements) of the region. Complex pattern of entropial field in the SE part of the region reflects transfer from the Somalian Plate to Indian Plate (this area is characterized by the most mosaic pattern). This map nicely indicates position of the Mesozoic terrane belt and transition zone between the Victorian and Tanzanian plates. On the basis of advanced inverse method employment, the map indicating the most density contrast surface (discontinuity) in the upper mantle was developed. This map presents an intricate density-tectonic depth pattern of the region. Here such important tectonic features as the Afar Triple Junction and collision zone between the Arabian and Eurasian lithospheric plates are noticeably recognized. Besides this, we can note increasing of lithospheric thickness in central parts of the Arabian and Somalian plates. Both these plates are countered by low-thickness lithospheric zones corresponding to the active rift zones. As it is indicated in the map, the thick lithospheric zones are associated with collisional zones at boundaries between the cratons and mobile belts. We suggest that the lowered values in the northern boundaries of the Arabian Plate correspond to subduction zones. The zones of lowered values in the middle of western part of the region correspond to the Neoproterozoic belt where ophiolitic and back-arc complexes with a thinned crust (e.g., Stern et al., 2004) are developed. Compiled satellite derived gravity field and a set of SGT were utilized for development of a novel tectono-geophysical zonation map of the Arabian-African region. Structurally- geodynamically this region is one of the key Earth's megastructures where are closely disposed remain elements of the Tethys Ocean crust (Ben-Avraham et al., 2002; Robertson, 2004), most ancient Early Permian reversly magnetized Kiama zone (Eppelbaum and Katz, 2012b; Eppelbaum et al., 2014), and the youngest modern oceanic crust of the Afar triangle developed among the continental lumps (Yirgu et al., 2006; Bastow et al., 2011). The tectonic zonation was carried out with application of three main principles of tectonic analysis: (1) classic basis of space-temporary reflection of structural complexes, (2) modern structural-geodynamic approach derived from the plate tectonic reconstructions where essential role plays analysis of rift, tectonic transform and collision forms of Earth's development, (3) revealing of intricate correlation between the mapped tectono-structural elements and lithospheric-mantle complexes delineated by using both conventional geophysical methods (seismic, seismological, thermal data, etc.) and comprehensive analysis of satellite derived gravity data. Compiled tectonic map of the region (00 - 35.60 north, and 300 - 570 east) indicates that Precambrian basement and Mesozoic-Cenozoic structures play dominating structural- geodynamic role in this region. Precambrian generations include two main structural elements: (1) Archean platforms (Eastern Arabian, Tanzanian and Eastern Saharan cratons), and (2) Neoproterozoic belt. In the Neoproterozoic belt we distinguish: (a) final Proterozoic back-arc belts with ophiolites, and (b) more ancient Early/Middle Proterozoic massifs (detected both in some previous works of various authors and recognized by the authors of the present investigation using a set of geological-geophysical indicators). In the areas of development of sedimentary Phanerozoic cover in the northern part of Arabian and African (Nubian) Plates, boundaries of Early/Middle Proterozoic massifs (Tabuk, Haif-Rutfah, Widyan and Nile Cone) and Neoproterozoic belts (Azraq-Sirhan, Ga'ara and Northern Western Desert) were delineated by analysis of: (1) land and airborne geophysical data, and (2) satellite derived gravity data. Meso-Cenozoic structures of the region contain two tectonic complexes of its forming. 1st complex (from Permian to present) is associated with the Neotethys Ocean evolution. 2nd complex (from Oligocene to present) is associated with initial phases of spreading in the Arabian-African segment of Earth's crust. 1st complex structurally and geodynamically is a multiple generation since the Neotethys Ocean evolution was accompanied by processes of spreading, movements of some giant blocks along tectonic transforms, and collisions. These processes have formed structures of three types: (1) Mesozoic terrane belt, (2) Cenozoic orogenic belt, and (3) remain depressions of the Neotethys with oceanic crust. Western (Levantine) part of the Mesozoic terrane belt is characterized by more ancient (Hauterive) age of consolidation comparing with the eastern part of the belt (Persian-Oman). Its terranes (from Zagros to Makran) and ophiolites were joined to Arabian platform in the Middle Cretaceous (Senomanian-Turonian). Many authors note an important role of Zagros terrane in the region under study and within the Caucasian-Arabian Sintaxis (e.g., Reilinger et al., 2006; Bordenave, 2008; Agard et al., 2011; Verges et al., 2011; Sharkov et al., 2015; Tunini et al., 2015). We propose that present study will unmask some tectono-geodynamic peculiarities of this complex tectonic unit. The Mesozoic terrane belt was delineated in the Eastern Mediterranean by the use of variety of geological and geophysical methods (multilevel gravity and magnetic data examination, thermal data analysis, seismic and seismological data) application (Ben- Avraham et al., 2002; Eppelbaum et al., 2012; Eppelbaum, 2015; Eppelbaum and Katz, 2015a, 2015b, 2016). At the same time, eastern Zagros-Makran part of the Mesozoic terrane belt never was analyzed as a separately developing structural part (unit) of the Arabian craton. In all known paleogeographical reconstructions the Zagros-Makran structure is shown as a part of its northern periphery. However, analysis of facial, sedimentary and structural data (presented in Bordenave, 2008) indicates that there is a sharp discordant joining between the Arabian craton and Zagros belt. Axes of anticline structures of the Arabian craton have a meridional strike, while axes of the Zagros anticline structures are disposed discordantly to them at SW 35 - 500. Besides this, paleogeological maps of Paleozoic (Bordenave, 2008) indicate that Devonian and Carboniferous deposits widely developed within the Arabian craton, do not presented in the Zagros belt. It testifies an uplift of Zagros structure and its isolated evaluation in the post-Carboniferous time when the Tethys Ocean began to form. Geological factors of Zagros structure isolation indicate that it was possibly a part of terrane belt in the southern part of the Neothetys Ocean forming. It is necessary to take into account that Zagros structure most likely occupied different tectonic positions at different periods of geological time: (1) up to Carboniferous period Zagros was a part of the Eastern Arabian Craton, (2) in the interval between Permian and Middle Cretaceous it was a part of the terrane belt within Neotethys, (3) at present it is a marginal part of the Arabian lithospheric plate. All three aforementioned items find a direct reflection in the compiled gravity and SGT maps: (1) Common structural-geophysical properties of Zagros structure and Arabian craton can be recognized in informational and gradient gravity field transformations; (2) Examination of initial gravity map, entropial transformation map and deep structure map testify that Zagros is an independent structural unit within the Mesozoic terrane belt. Presence of thick Cenozoic sediments in the eastern part of Arabian Plate essentially limits application of conventional geological methods; therefore, contouring of boundaries between the Mesozoic terrane belt and Precambrian platform is possible mainly by regional geophysical data analysis. Sharp changing of gravity pattern in all three afore- mentioned maps enables to utilize this property as criterion for delineation of southern boundary of the Mesozoic terrane belt; (3) Examination of the MSA map unambiguously indicates that Zagros suture is a marginal part of the Arabian lithospheric plate. REFERENCES Agard, P., Omrani, G., Jolivet, L., Whitechurch, H., Vrielynck, B., Spakman, W., Monie, P., Meyer, B. and Wortel, R., 2011. Zagros orogeny: A subduction-dominated process. Geological Magazine, 148, Nos. 5-6, 692-725. Bastow, I. D., Keir, D. and Daly, E., 2011. The Ethiopia Afar Geoscientific Experiment (EAGLE): Probing the transition from continental rifting to incipient seafloor spreading, In: (L. Beccaluva, G. Bianchini, and M. Wilson, Eds.), Volcanism and Evolution of the African Lithosphere. The Geol. Society of America, Spec. Paper 478, 51-76. Ben-Avraham, Z., Ginzburg, A., Makris, J. and Eppelbaum, L., 2002. Crustal structure of the Levant basin, Eastern Mediterranean. Tectonophysics, 346, 23-43. Bordenave, M. L., 2008. The origin of the Permo-Triassic gas accumulations in the Iranian Zagros foldbelt and contiguous offshore areas: A review of the Paleozoic petroleum system. Jour. of Petroleum Geology, 31, No. 1, 3-42. Eppelbaum, L.V., 2015. Comparison of 3D integrated geophysical modeling in the South Caucasian and Eastern Mediterranean segments of the Alpine-Himalayan tectonic belt. Izv. Acad. Sci. Azerb. Rep., Ser.: Earth Sciences, No. 3, 25-45. Eppelbaum, L. V. and Katz, Y. I., 2012. Key features of seismo-neotectonic pattern of the Eastern Mediterranean. Izvestiya Acad. Sci. Azerb. Rep., Ser.: Earth Sciences, No. 3, 29-40. Eppelbaum, L. V. and Katz, Yu. I., 2015a. Newly Developed Paleomagnetic Map of the Easternmost Mediterranean Unmasks Geodynamic History of this Region. Central European Jour. of Geosciences (Open Geosciences), 7, No. 1, 95-117. Eppelbaum, L. V. and Katz, Yu. I., 1915b. Eastern Mediterranean: Combined geological- geophysical zonation and paleogeodynamics of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic structural- sedimentation stages. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 65, 198-216. Eppelbaum, L. V. and Katz, Yu. I., 2016. Tectono-Geophysical Zonation of the Near and Middle East and Eastern Africa. International Journal of Geology, 10, 1-10. Eppelbaum, L. V., Katz, Y. I. and Ben-Avraham, Z., 2012. Israel - Petroleum Geology and Prospective Provinces. AAPG European Newsletter, No. 4, 4-9. Eppelbaum, L. V. and Khesin, B. E., 2012. Geophysical Studies in the Caucasus. Springer, Heidelberg - N.Y. - London. Eppelbaum, L.V., Nikolaev, A.V. and Katz, Y.I., 2014. Space location of the Kiama paleomagnetic hyperzone of inverse polarity in the crust of the eastern Mediterranean. Doklady Earth Sciences (Springer), 457, No. 6, 710-714. Reilinger, R. E., McClusky, S., Vernant, P., Lawrence, S., Ergintav, S., Cakmak, R., Ozener, H., Kadirov, F., Guliev, I., Stepanyan, R., Nadariya, M., Hahubia, G., Mahmoud, S., Sakr, K., ArRajehi, A., Paradissis, D., Al-Aydrus, A., Prilepin, M., Guseva, T., Evren, E., Dmitrotsa, A. Filikov, S.V., Gomez, F., Al-Ghazzi, R. and Karam, G., 2006. GPS constraints on continental deformation in the Africa-Arabia-Eurasia continental collision zone and implications for the dynamics of plate interactions. Jour. of Geophysical Research, BO5411, doi: 10.1029/2005JB004051, 1-26. Robertson, A., 2004. Development of concepts concerning the genesis and emplacement of Tethyan ophiolites in the Eastern Mediterranean and Oman regions. Tectonophysics, 66, 331-387. Sandwell, D. T. and Smith, W. H. F., 2009. Global marine gravity from retracked Geosat and ERS-1 altimetry: Ridge Segmentation versus spreading rate. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114, B01411, 1-18. Sharkov, E., Lebedev, V., Chugaev, A., Zabarinskaya, L., Rodnikov, A., Sergeeva, N. and Safonova, I., 2015. The Caucasian-Arabian segment of the Alpine-Himalayan collisional belt: Geology, volcanism and neotectonics. Geoscience Frontiers, 6, 513-522. Stern, R. J., Johnson, P. R., Kroner, A. and Yibas, B., 2004. Neoproterozoic ophiolites of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Developments in Precambrian Geology, 13, 95-128. Tunini, L., Jimenez-Munt, I., Fernandes, M., Verges, J. and Villasenor, A., 2015. Lithospheric mantle heterogeneities beneath the Zagros Mountains and the Iranian Plateau: A petrological-geophysical study. Geophysical Jour. International, 200, 596-614. Verges, J., Saura, E., Casciello, E., Fernandez, M., Villasenor, A., Jimenez-Munt, I. and Garsia- Castellanos, D., 2011. Crustal-scale cross-sections across the NW Zagros belt: implications for the Arabian margin reconstruction. Geological Magazine, doi: 10.1017/S0016756811000331, 1-23. Yirgu, G., Ebinger, C. J. and Maguire, P. K. H., 2006. The Afar volcanic province within the East African Rift System: Introduction. In: (Yirgu, G., Ebinger, C. J. and Maguire, P. K. H., Eds.), The Afar Volcanic Province within the East African Rift System. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 259, 1-6.

Gravity domains and assembly of the North American continent by collisional tectonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, M. D.; Grieve, R. A. F.; Sharpton, V. L.

1988-01-01

A gravity trend map of North America, based on a horizontal Bouguer gravity gradient map produced from gravity data for Canada and the conterminous United States, is presented and used to define a continental mosaic of gravity trend domains akin to structural domains. Contrasting trend characteristics at gravity domain boundaries support the concept of outward growth of the continent primarily by accretionary tectonics. Gravity patterns, however, indicate a different style of tectonics dominated in the development of now-buried Proterozoic orogenic belts in the south-central United States, supporting a view that these belts formed along the leading edge of a southward-migrating Proterozoic continental margin.

Superconducting gravity gradiometer and a test of inverse square law

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moody, M. V.; Paik, Ho Jung

1989-01-01

The equivalence principle prohibits the distinction of gravity from acceleration by a local measurement. However, by making a differential measurement of acceleration over a baseline, platform accelerations can be cancelled and gravity gradients detected. In an in-line superconducting gravity gradiometer, this differencing is accomplished with two spring-mass accelerometers in which the proof masses are confined to motion in a single degree of freedom and are coupled together by superconducting circuits. Platform motions appear as common mode accelerations and are cancelled by adjusting the ratio of two persistent currents in the sensing circuit. The sensing circuit is connected to a commercial SQUID amplifier to sense changes in the persistent currents generated by differential accelerations, i.e., gravity gradients. A three-axis gravity gradiometer is formed by mounting six accelerometers on the faces of a precision cube, with the accelerometers on opposite faces of the cube forming one of three in-line gradiometers. A dedicated satellite mission for mapping the earth's gravity field is an important one. Additional scientific goals are a test of the inverse square law to a part in 10(exp 10) at 100 km, and a test of the Lense-Thirring effect by detecting the relativistic gravity magnetic terms in the gravity gradient tensor for the earth.

Mapping the absolute magnetic field and evaluating the quadratic Zeeman-effect-induced systematic error in an atom interferometer gravimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Qing-Qing; Freier, Christian; Leykauf, Bastian; Schkolnik, Vladimir; Yang, Jun; Krutzik, Markus; Peters, Achim

2017-09-01

Precisely evaluating the systematic error induced by the quadratic Zeeman effect is important for developing atom interferometer gravimeters aiming at an accuracy in the μ Gal regime (1 μ Gal =10-8m /s2 ≈10-9g ). This paper reports on the experimental investigation of Raman spectroscopy-based magnetic field measurements and the evaluation of the systematic error in the gravimetric atom interferometer (GAIN) due to quadratic Zeeman effect. We discuss Raman duration and frequency step-size-dependent magnetic field measurement uncertainty, present vector light shift and tensor light shift induced magnetic field measurement offset, and map the absolute magnetic field inside the interferometer chamber of GAIN with an uncertainty of 0.72 nT and a spatial resolution of 12.8 mm. We evaluate the quadratic Zeeman-effect-induced gravity measurement error in GAIN as 2.04 μ Gal . The methods shown in this paper are important for precisely mapping the absolute magnetic field in vacuum and reducing the quadratic Zeeman-effect-induced systematic error in Raman transition-based precision measurements, such as atomic interferometer gravimeters.

An atlas of Rapp's 180-th order geopotential.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melvin, P. J.

1986-08-01

Deprit's 1979 approach to the summation of the spherical harmonic expansion of the geopotential has been modified to spherical components and normalized Legendre polynomials. An algorithm has been developed which produces ten fields at the users option: the undulations of the geoid, three anomalous components of the gravity vector, or six components of the Hessian of the geopotential (gravity gradient). The algorithm is stable to high orders in single precision and does not treat the polar regions as a special case. Eleven contour maps of components of the anomalous geopotential on the surface of the ellipsoid are presented to validate the algorithm.

Are higher degree even zonals really harmful for the LARES/LAGEOS frame-dragging experiment?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renzetti, G.

2012-08-01

The low-altitude effects of LARES are examined to determined how they can impact the outcome of the hoped 1% frame-dragging measurement in the LARES-LAGEOS experiment. This analysis, based on a different approach than other studies recently appearing in the literature, shows that the spherical harmonics of the Earth gravity field with degree ℓ > 60 may represent a threat because their errors map significantly into LARES orbital disturbances compared to frame-dragging. The GIF48 model was used. It is questionable whether future Earth gravity models by GRACE and GOCE will be of sufficient accuracy.

Spectral analysis of the Earth's topographic potential via 2D-DFT: a new data-based degree variance model to degree 90,000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rexer, Moritz; Hirt, Christian

2015-09-01

Classical degree variance models (such as Kaula's rule or the Tscherning-Rapp model) often rely on low-resolution gravity data and so are subject to extrapolation when used to describe the decay of the gravity field at short spatial scales. This paper presents a new degree variance model based on the recently published GGMplus near-global land areas 220 m resolution gravity maps (Geophys Res Lett 40(16):4279-4283, 2013). We investigate and use a 2D-DFT (discrete Fourier transform) approach to transform GGMplus gravity grids into degree variances. The method is described in detail and its approximation errors are studied using closed-loop experiments. Focus is placed on tiling, azimuth averaging, and windowing effects in the 2D-DFT method and on analytical fitting of degree variances. Approximation errors of the 2D-DFT procedure on the (spherical harmonic) degree variance are found to be at the 10-20 % level. The importance of the reference surface (sphere, ellipsoid or topography) of the gravity data for correct interpretation of degree variance spectra is highlighted. The effect of the underlying mass arrangement (spherical or ellipsoidal approximation) on the degree variances is found to be crucial at short spatial scales. A rule-of-thumb for transformation of spectra between spherical and ellipsoidal approximation is derived. Application of the 2D-DFT on GGMplus gravity maps yields a new degree variance model to degree 90,000. The model is supported by GRACE, GOCE, EGM2008 and forward-modelled gravity at 3 billion land points over all land areas within the SRTM data coverage and provides gravity signal variances at the surface of the topography. The model yields omission errors of 9 mGal for gravity (1.5 cm for geoid effects) at scales of 10 km, 4 mGal (1 mm) at 2-km scales, and 2 mGal (0.2 mm) at 1-km scales.

Interpretation of gravity anomalies in the northwest Adirondack lowlands, northern New York

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Revetta, F.A.; O'Brian, B.

1993-03-01

Twelve hundred gravity measurements were made in the Adirondack Highlands and northwest Adirondack Lowlands, New York between 44[degree]15 minutes and 44[degree]30 minutes N. Latitude and 75[degree]00 minutes W. Longitude. A Bouguer gravity map constructed from the gravity measurements includes the Carthage-Colton Mylonite Zone, a major structural boundary between the highlands and lowlands. The gravity map indicates the gravity contours trend parallel to the CCMZ along most of its length however in some areas the contours cross the boundary. No clear-cut relationships exists between the CCMZ and gravity contours. The Bouguer gravity map shows several prominent gravity anomalies which correlate withmore » the geology seismicity and mineral deposits in the area. Gravity lows of 20 to 30 g.u. are centered over the Gouverneur, Hyde and Payne Lake Alaskite gneiss bodies. A gravity high of 20 g.u. occurs over the Pleasant Lake gabbro pluton. Gravity highs of 35 and 100 g.u. occur over the Sylvia Lake Zinc District and marble just north of the district. A gravity high at Russell, N.Y. coincides with a cluster of nine earthquake epicenters. Finally a steep gravity gradient separates high density rocks from lower density rocks along the Black Lake fault. Two-dimensional computer modeling of the geologic features is underway and quantitative models of the structures will be presented.« less

Old torsion Balance Observations - too old for modern Exploration?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Götze, H.-J.

2003-04-01

Gravity gradiometry is a new gravity measurement technology that could fundamentally change the game of subsurface modelling and enhance geological interpretations: at fully inertial stabilized platforms they provide observed components of the E&{uml;o}tv&{uml;o}s tensor for 3D interpretations in mining and oil exploration and other fields of pure and applied geophysics. Although gravity gradiometry was among the first geophysical methods used successfully in applied Geophysics (E&{uml;o}tv&{uml;o}s torsion balance), the technology fell from favour in the 1930s. From this time measurements, done by torsion balances (Drehwaagen), are presented here which were observed to detect salt domes in the Northwest German basin. The data were digitized from old copies, then reprocessed and recalculated to draw Bouguer anomaly maps. However, the second derivatives of the gravity potential provide also independent data which can be used to constrain forward modelling. 3D modelling of Vxz, Vyz and other components of the E&{uml;o}tv&{uml;o}s tensor provide better insight into the geometry of the salt dome structure than modelling of the Bouguer gravity field. In addition to this first example results from gravity data processing by applying curvature techniques and again 3D forward modelling of second derivatives of the potential of density domains in the uppermost crust in the area of the Dead Sea Transform (Jordan) is presented here. The 3D modelling is conducted by the program package IGMAS which supply possibilities to calculate potential, gravity, its components and the Eötvös tensor components. Based on results so far one can conclude that the knowledge of the "second derivatives of the potential" could fundamentally change the role of gravity field measurements in the process of underground investigations not only for resource exploration but for investigations along large faults systems.

New gravity anomaly map of Taiwan and its surrounding regions with some tectonic interpretations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doo, Wen-Bin; Lo, Chung-Liang; Hsu, Shu-Kun; Tsai, Ching-Hui; Huang, Yin-Sheng; Wang, Hsueh-Fen; Chiu, Shye-Donq; Ma, Yu-Fang; Liang, Chin-Wei

2018-04-01

In this study, we compiled recently collected (from 2005 to 2015) and previously reported (published and open access) gravity data, including land, shipborne and satellite-derived data, for Taiwan and its surrounding regions. Based on the cross-over error analysis, all data were adjusted; and, new Free-air gravity anomalies were obtained, shedding light on the tectonics of the region. To obtain the Bouguer gravity anomalies, the densities of land terrain and marine sediments were assumed to be 2.53 and 1.80 g/cm3, respectively. The updated gravity dataset was gridded with a spacing of one arc-minute. Several previously unnoticed gravity features are revealed by the new maps and can be used in a broad range of applications: (1) An isolated gravity high is located between the Shoushan and the Kaoping Canyon off southwest Taiwan. (2) Along the Luzon Arc, both Free-air and Bouguer gravity anomaly maps reveal a significant gravity discontinuity feature at the latitude of 21°20‧N. (3) In the southwestern Okinawa Trough, the NE-SW trending cross-back-arc volcanic trail (CBVT) marks the low-high gravity anomaly (both Free-air and Bouguer) boundary.

Isostatic gravity map and principal facts for 694 gravity stations in Yellowstone National Park and vicinity, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carle, S.F.; Glen, J.M.; Langenheim, V.E.; Smith, R.B.; Oliver, H.W.

1990-01-01

The report presents the principal facts for gravity stations compiled for Yellowstone National Park and vicinity. The gravity data were compiled from three sources: Defense Mapping Agency, University of Utah, and U.S. Geological Survey. Part A of the report is a paper copy describing how the compilation was done and presenting the data in tabular format as well as a map; part B is a 5-1/4 inch floppy diskette containing only the data files in ASCII format. Requirements for part B: IBM PC or compatible, DOS v. 2.0 or higher. Files contained on this diskette: DOD.ISO -- File containing the principal facts of the 514 gravity stations obtained from the Defense Mapping Agency. The data are in Plouff format* (see file PFTAB.TEX). UTAH.ISO -- File containing the principal facts of 153 gravity stations obtained from the University of Utah. Data are in Plouff format. USGS.ISO -- File containing the principal facts of 27 gravity stations collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in July 1987. Data are in Plouff format. PFTAB.TXT -- File containing explanation of principal fact format. ACC.TXT -- File containing explanation of accuracy codes.

Lunar Gravity Studies from the Lunar Prospector Line-of-Sight Acceleration Data: Isostatic Compensation of Medium Sized Craters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugano, T.; Heki, K.

2002-12-01

Direct estimation of mass distribution on the lunar nearside surface using the Lunar Prospector (LP) line-of-sight (LOS) acceleration data has several merits over conventional methods to estimate Stokes' coefficients of the lunar gravity field, such as (1) high resolution gravity anomaly recovery without introducing Kaula's constraint, (2) fast inversion calculation by stepwise estimation of parameter sets enabled by small correlation between parameters sets. Resolution of the lunar free-air gravity anomaly map obtained here, is as high as a gravity model complete to degree/order 225, and yet less noisy than the recent models. Next we performed terrain correction for the raw LOS acceleration data using lunar topography model from the Clementine laser altimetry data and the average crustal density of 2.9 g/cm3. By conducting the same inversion for the data after the correction, we obtained the map of Bouguer gravity anomaly that mainly reflects the MOHO topography. By comparing maps we notice that signatures of medium-sized (80-300 km in diameter) craters visible as topographic depression and negative free air anomaly, disappear in the Bouguer anomaly. The absence of mass deficits in the Bouguer anomaly suggests that the MOHO beneath them is flat. Generally speaking, longer wavelength topographic features have to be supported by MOHO topography (Airy isostatic compensation) while small scale topographic features are supported by lithospheric strength. The boundary between these two modes constrains the lithosphere thickness, and hence thermal structure near the surface. Larger craters are known to have become Mascons; mantle plugs and high-density mare basalts cause positive gravity anomalies there. The smallest Mascon has diameters a little larger than 300 km (e.g. Schiller-Zuccius), and the boundary between the two compensation status seems to lie around 300 km. Thermal evolution history of the Moon suggests temporally increasing thickness of lithosphere over its entire history, and the lithosphere as thick as 50-100 km around 4.0 Ga. This is consistent with the isostatic compensation status of the craters studied here, and a model describing the degree of lithospheric supports for various wavelength topographies.

Dirac field and gravity in NC SO(2,3)_\\star model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gočanin, Dragoljub; Radovanović, Voja

2018-03-01

Action for the Dirac spinor field coupled to gravity on noncommutative (NC) Moyal-Weyl spacetime is obtained without prior knowledge of the metric tensor. We emphasize gauge origins of gravity and its interaction with fermions by demonstrating that a classical action invariant under SO(2, 3) gauge transformations can be exactly reduced to the Dirac action in curved spacetime after breaking the original symmetry down to the local Lorentz SO(1, 3) symmetry. The commutative SO(2, 3) invariant action can be straightforwardly deformed via Moyal-Weyl \\star -product to its NC SO(2,3)_\\star invariant version which can be expanded perturbatively in powers of the deformation parameter using the Seiberg-Witten map. The NC gravity-matter couplings in the expansion arise as an effect of the gauge symmetry breaking. We calculate in detail the first order NC correction to the classical Dirac action in curved spacetime and show that it does not vanish. Moreover, linear NC effects are apparent even in flat spacetime. We analyse NC deformation of the Dirac equation, Feynman propagator and dispersion relation for electrons in Minkowski spacetime and conclude that constant NC background acts as a birefringent medium for electrons propagating in it.

Tectonic Interpretation of CHAMP Geopotential Data over the Northern Adriatic Sea.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, P. T.; Kim, H. R.; Mayer-Gürr, T.

2006-05-01

Recent aeromagnetic anomaly compilations (Chiappini et al., 2000 and Tontini et al., 2004) show a large positive (>700 nT) northwest-southeast trending magnetic anomaly off the Dalmatian coast. Unfortunately these aeromagnetic data cover only a part of this anomaly. We wanted to investigate if this large magnetic anomaly could be detected at satellite altitude and what is the extent and source of this feature. Therefore, magnetic and gravity anomaly maps were made from the CHAMP geopotential data, measured at the current low altitude of 345-350 km over the northern Adriatic Sea. We made the magnetic anomaly map over this relatively small region using 36 descending and 85 ascending orbits screened to be at the lowest altitude and the most magnetically quietest data. We removed the main field component (i.e., IGRF-10 up to degree and order 13) and then demeaned individual tracks and subtracted a second order polynomial to remove regional and/or un-modeled external field features. The resulting map from these well-correlated anomalies revealed a positive magnetic anomaly (>2 nT). Reduction-to-the pole brought these CHAMP anomaly features into coincidence with the aeromagnetic data. Previously Cantini et al. (1999) compared the surface magnetic data with MAGSAT by continuing upward the former and downwards the latter to 100 km and found a good correlation for wavelengths of 300-500 km. We also investigated the CHAMP gravity data. They were reduced using the kinematic short-arc integration method (Ilk et al., 2005 and Mayer Gürr et al., 2005). However, no corresponding short-wavelength gravity anomaly was observed in our study area. This tectonically complex region is under horizontal stress and the source of the large magnetic anomaly can be modelled by an associated ophiolite melange.

Analysis of the DFP/AFCS Systems for Compensating Gravity Distortions on the 70-Meter Antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Imbriale, William A.; Hoppe, Daniel J.; Rochblatt, David

2000-01-01

This paper presents the theoretical computations showing the expected performances for both systems. The basic analysis tool is a Physical Optics reflector analysis code that was ported to a parallel computer for faster execution times. There are several steps involved in computing the RF performance of the various systems. 1 . A model of the RF distortions of the main reflector is required. This model is based upon measured holography maps of the 70-meter antenna obtained at 3 elevation angles. The holography maps are then processed (using an appropriate gravity mechanical model of the dish) to provide surface distortion maps at all elevation angles. 2. From the surface distortion maps, ray optics is used to determine the theoretical shape of the DFP that will exactly phase compensate the distortions. 3. From the theoretical shape and a NASTRAN mechanical model of the plate, the actuator positions that generate a surface that provides the best RMS fit to the theoretical model are selected. Using the actuator positions and the NASTRAN model provides an accurate description of the actual mirror shape. 4. Starting from the mechanical drawings of the feed, a computed RF feed pattern is generated. This pattern is expanded into a set of spherical wave modes so that a complete near field analysis of the reflector system can be obtained. 5. For the array feed, the excitation coefficients that provide the maximum gain are computed using a phase conjugate technique. The basic experimental geometry consisted of a dual shaped 70-meter antenna system; a refocusing ellipse, a DFP and an array feed system. To provide physical insight to the systems performance, focal plane field plots are presented at several elevations. Curves of predicted performance are shown for the DFP system, monopulse tracking system, AFCS and combined DFP/AFCS system. The calculated results show that the combined DFP/AFCS system is capable of recovering the majority of the gain lost due to gravity distortion.

Crustal modeling of the central part of the Northern Western Desert, Egypt using gravity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alrefaee, H. A.

2017-05-01

The Bouguer anomaly map of the central part of the Northern Western Desert, Egypt was used to construct six 2D gravity models to investigate the nature, physical properties and structures of the crust and upper mantle. The crustal models were constrained and constructed by integrating results from different geophysical techniques and available geological information. The depth to the basement surface, from eight wells existed across the study area, and the depth to the Conrad and Moho interfaces as well as physical properties of sediments, basement, crust and upper mantle from previous petrophysical and crustal studies were used to establish the gravity models. Euler deconvolution technique was carried on the Bouguer anomaly map to detect the subsurface fault trends. Edge detection techniques were calculated to outlines the boundaries of subsurface structural features. Basement structural map was interpreted to reveal the subsurface structural setting of the area. The crustal models reveals increasing of gravity field from the south to the north due to northward thinning of the crust. The models reveals also deformed and rugged basement surface with northward depth increasing from 1.6 km to 6 km. In contrast to the basement, the Conrad and Moho interfaces are nearly flat and get shallower northward where the depth to the Conrad or the thickness of the upper crust ranges from 18 km to 21 km while the depth to the Moho (crustal thickness) ranges from 31.5 km to 34 km. The crust beneath the study area is normal continental crust with obvious thinning toward the continental margin at the Mediterranean coast.

Reconstructing the gravitational field of the local Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desmond, Harry; Ferreira, Pedro G.; Lavaux, Guilhem; Jasche, Jens

2018-03-01

Tests of gravity at the galaxy scale are in their infancy. As a first step to systematically uncovering the gravitational significance of galaxies, we map three fundamental gravitational variables - the Newtonian potential, acceleration and curvature - over the galaxy environments of the local Universe to a distance of approximately 200 Mpc. Our method combines the contributions from galaxies in an all-sky redshift survey, haloes from an N-body simulation hosting low-luminosity objects, and linear and quasi-linear modes of the density field. We use the ranges of these variables to determine the extent to which galaxies expand the scope of generic tests of gravity and are capable of constraining specific classes of model for which they have special significance. Finally, we investigate the improvements afforded by upcoming galaxy surveys.

KSC-2011-6821

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, members of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) launch team monitor GRAIL's launch countdown from the Mission Directors Center in Hangar AE. From left are Joe Lackovich, NASA advisory manager, NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP); Amanda Mitskevich, manager, LSP; and Oscar Toledo, NASA Headquarters senior advisor, LSP. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8 from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Isostatic gravity map of Yukon Flats, east-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morin, Robert L.

2002-01-01

The gravity data used to make this map were collected between 1959 and 1984. The data were collected by automobile, aircraft, and watercraft. Most of the data were collected as part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) regional gravity data collection project. Some of the data were collected as part of other USGS local projects. One data set was collected by the NGS (National Geodetic Survey). This map ranges from 65° to 68° N latitude and 141° to 152° W longitude. The names of the 12 1:250,000-scale U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps that make up this map are labeled on the map. The western edge of the map is 1 degree of longitude east of the edge of the three most western quadrangles.

The thickness of cover sequences in the Western Desert of Iraq from a power spectrum analysis of gravity and magnetic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mousa, Ahmed; Mickus, Kevin; Al-Rahim, Ali

2017-05-01

The Western Desert of Iraq is part of the stable shelf region on the Arabian Plate where the subsurface structural makeup is relatively unknown due to the lack of cropping out rocks, deep drill holes and deep seismic refraction and reflection profiles. To remedy this situation, magnetic and gravity data were analyzed to determine the thickness of the Phanerozoic cover sequences. The 2-D power spectrum method was used to estimate the depth to density and magnetic susceptibility interfaces by using 0.5° square windows. Additionally, the gravity data were analyzed using isostatic residual and decompensative methods to isolate gravity anomalies due to upper crustal density sources. The decompensative gravity anomaly and the differentially reduced to the pole magnetic map indicate a series of mainly north-south and northwest-southeast trending maxima and minima anomalies related to Proterozoic basement lithologies and the varying thickness of cover sequences. The magnetic and gravity derived thickness of cover sequences maps indicate that these thicknesses range from 4.5 to 11.5 km. Both maps in general are in agreement but more detail in the cover thicknesses was determined by the gravity analysis. The gravity-based cover thickness maps indicates regions with shallower depths than the magnetic-based cover thickness t map which may be due to density differences between limestone and shale units within the Paleozoic sediments. The final thickness maps indicate that the Western Desert is a complicated region of basins and uplifts that are more complex than have been shown on previous structural maps of the Western Desert. These basins and uplifts may be related to Paleozoic compressional tectonic events and possibly to the opening of the Tethys Ocean. In addition, petroleum exploration could be extended to three basins outlined by our analysis within the relatively unexplored western portions of the Western Desert.

Towards the map of quantum gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mielczarek, Jakub; Trześniewski, Tomasz

2018-06-01

In this paper we point out some possible links between different approaches to quantum gravity and theories of the Planck scale physics. In particular, connections between loop quantum gravity, causal dynamical triangulations, Hořava-Lifshitz gravity, asymptotic safety scenario, Quantum Graphity, deformations of relativistic symmetries and nonlinear phase space models are discussed. The main focus is on quantum deformations of the Hypersurface Deformations Algebra and Poincaré algebra, nonlinear structure of phase space, the running dimension of spacetime and nontrivial phase diagram of quantum gravity. We present an attempt to arrange the observed relations in the form of a graph, highlighting different aspects of quantum gravity. The analysis is performed in the spirit of a mind map, which represents the architectural approach to the studied theory, being a natural way to describe the properties of a complex system. We hope that the constructed graphs (maps) will turn out to be helpful in uncovering the global picture of quantum gravity as a particular complex system and serve as a useful guide for the researchers.

Chapter 3: Circum-Arctic mapping project: New magnetic and gravity anomaly maps of the Arctic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaina, C.; Werner, S.C.; Saltus, R.; Maus, S.; Aaro, S.; Damaske, D.; Forsberg, R.; Glebovsky, V.; Johnson, Kevin; Jonberger, J.; Koren, T.; Korhonen, J.; Litvinova, T.; Oakey, G.; Olesen, O.; Petrov, O.; Pilkington, M.; Rasmussen, T.; Schreckenberger, B.; Smelror, M.

2011-01-01

New Circum-Arctic maps of magnetic and gravity anomalies have been produced by merging regional gridded data. Satellite magnetic and gravity data were used for quality control of the long wavelengths of the new compilations. The new Circum-Arctic digital compilations of magnetic, gravity and some of their derivatives have been analyzed together with other freely available regional and global data and models in order to provide a consistent view of the tectonically complex Arctic basins and surrounding continents. Sharp, linear contrasts between deeply buried basement blocks with different magnetic properties and densities that can be identified on these maps can be used, together with other geological and geophysical information, to refine the tectonic boundaries of the Arctic domain. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

New Interpretations of the Rayn Anticlines in the Arabian Basin Inferred from Gravity Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

AlMogren, S. M.; Mukhopadhyay, M.

2014-12-01

The Ryan Anticlines comprise of a regularly-spaced set of super-giant anticlines oriented NNW, developed due to E-W compression in the Arabian Basin. Most prominent of these being: the Ghawar Anticline, followed by the Summan, Khurais Anticlines and Qatar Arch. Gravity anomaly is largely characteristic for both Ryan Anticlines and its smaller size version the Jinadriah Anticline in the Riyadh Salt Basin. It displays a bipolar gravity field - a zone of gravity high running along the fold axis that is flanked by asymmetric gravity lows. Available structural models commonly infer structural uplift for the median gravity high but ignore the flanking lows. Here we interpret the bipolar gravity anomaly due primarily to such anticline structures, while, the flanking gravity lows are due to greater sediment thickness largely compacted and deformed over the basement depressions. Further complexities are created due to the salt layer and its migration at the lower horizons of sediment strata. Such diagnostic gravity anomaly pattern is taken here as an evidence for basement tectonics due to prevailing crustal dynamics in the Arabian Basin. Density inversion provides details on the subsurface density variation due to the folding and structural configuration for the sediment layers, including the salt layer, affected by basement deformation. This interpretation is largely supported by gravity forward and inversion models given in the present study what is partly constrained by the available seismic, MT and deep resistivity lines and surface geologic mapping. Most of the oil-gas fields in this part of the Arabian Basin are further known for salt diapirism. In this study the gravity interpretation help in identification of salt diapirism directly overlying the basement is firstly given here for Jinadriah Anticline; that is next extended to a regional geologic cross-section traversing the Ryan Anticlines to infer probable subsurface continuation of salt diapirs directly overlying the metamorphosed basement, sediment deformation pattern skirting the anticlines as well as their relationship of faulting to basement tectonics.

Hypersurface-deformation algebroids and effective spacetime models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bojowald, Martin; Büyükçam, Umut; Brahma, Suddhasattwa; D'Ambrosio, Fabio

2016-11-01

In canonical gravity, covariance is implemented by brackets of hypersurface-deformation generators forming a Lie algebroid. Lie-algebroid morphisms, therefore, allow one to relate different versions of the brackets that correspond to the same spacetime structure. An application to examples of modified brackets found mainly in models of loop quantum gravity can, in some cases, map the spacetime structure back to the classical Riemannian form after a field redefinition. For one type of quantum corrections (holonomies), signature change appears to be a generic feature of effective spacetime, and it is shown here to be a new quantum spacetime phenomenon which cannot be mapped to an equivalent classical structure. In low-curvature regimes, our constructions not only prove the existence of classical spacetime structures assumed elsewhere in models of loop quantum cosmology, they also show the existence of additional quantum corrections that have not always been included.

Ellipsoidal terrain correction based on multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardalan, A. A.; Safari, A.

2004-09-01

An operational algorithm for computation of terrain correction (or local gravity field modeling) based on application of closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates in multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid is presented. Multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid has been derived and is described in detail for the first time. Ellipsoidal mass elements with various sizes on the surface of the reference ellipsoid are selected and the gravitational potential and vector of gravitational intensity (i.e. gravitational acceleration) of the mass elements are computed via numerical solution of the Newton integral in terms of geodetic coordinates {λ,ϕ,h}. Four base- edge points of the ellipsoidal mass elements are transformed into a multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection surface to build Cartesian mass elements by associating the height of the corresponding ellipsoidal mass elements to the transformed area elements. Using the closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates, the gravitational potential and vector of gravitational intensity of the transformed Cartesian mass elements are computed and compared with those of the numerical solution of the Newton integral for the ellipsoidal mass elements in terms of geodetic coordinates. Numerical tests indicate that the difference between the two computations, i.e. numerical solution of the Newton integral for ellipsoidal mass elements in terms of geodetic coordinates and closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates, in a multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection, is less than 1.6×10-8 m2/s2 for a mass element with a cross section area of 10×10 m and a height of 10,000 m. For a mass element with a cross section area of 1×1 km and a height of 10,000 m the difference is less than 1.5×10-4m2/s2. Since 1.5× 10-4 m2/s2 is equivalent to 1.5×10-5m in the vertical direction, it can be concluded that a method for terrain correction (or local gravity field modeling) based on closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates of a multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid has been developed which has the accuracy of terrain correction (or local gravity field modeling) based on the Newton integral in terms of ellipsoidal coordinates.

Using Gravity and Topography to Map Mars' Crustal Thickness

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-21

Newly detailed mapping of local variations in Mars' gravitational pull on orbiters (center), combined with topographical mapping of the planet's mountains and valleys (left) yields the best-yet mapping of Mars' crustal thickness (right). These three views of global mapping are centered at 90 degrees west longitude, showing portions of the planet that include tall volcanoes on the left and the deep Valles Marineris canyon system just right of center. Additional views of these global maps are available at http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?4436. The new map of Mars' gravity (center) results from analysis of the planet's gravitational effects on orbiters passing over each location on the globe. The data come from many years of using NASA's Deep Space Network to track positions and velocities of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. If Mars were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity experienced by the spacecraft would be exactly the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including Earth, Mars has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. As the spacecraft fly in their orbits, they experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities, variations which show up as small changes in the velocity and altitude of the three spacecraft. The "free-air" gravity map presents the results without any adjustment for the known bumpiness of Mars' surface. Local gravitational variations in acceleration are expressed in units called gals or galileos. The color-coding key beneath the center map indicates how colors on the map correspond to mGal (milligal) values. The map on the left shows the known bumpiness, or topography, of the Martian surface, using data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument on Mars Global Surveyor. Mars has no actual "sea level," but does have a defined zero elevation level. The color-coding key beneath this map indicates how the colors correspond to elevations above or below zero, in kilometers. Analysis that subtracts effects of the surface topography from the free-air gravity mapping, combined with an assumption that crust material has a uniform density, leads to the derived mapping of crustal thickness -- or subsurface "lumpiness" -- on the right. Highs in gravity indicate places where the denser mantle material beneath the crust is closer to the surface, and hence where the crust is thinner. The color-coding key for this map indicates how the colors on the map correspond to the thickness of the crust, in kilometers. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20277

Chern-Simons expectation values and quantum horizons from loop quantum gravity and the Duflo map.

PubMed

Sahlmann, Hanno; Thiemann, Thomas

2012-03-16

We report on a new approach to the calculation of Chern-Simons theory expectation values, using the mathematical underpinnings of loop quantum gravity, as well as the Duflo map, a quantization map for functions on Lie algebras. These new developments can be used in the quantum theory for certain types of black hole horizons, and they may offer new insights for loop quantum gravity, Chern-Simons theory and the theory of quantum groups.

Magnetophoretic induction of curvature in coleoptiles and hypocotyls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuznetsov, O. A.; Hasenstein, K. H.

1997-01-01

Coleoptiles of barley (Hordeum vulgare) were positioned in a high gradient magnetic field (HGMF, dynamic factor gradient of H(2)/2 of 10(9)-10(10) Oe2 cm-1), generated by a ferromagnetic wedge in a uniform magnetic field and rotated on a 1 rpm clinostat. After 4 h 90% of coleoptiles had curved toward the HGMF. The cells affected by HGMF showed clear intracellular displacement of amyloplasts. Coleoptiles in a magnetic field next to a non-ferromagnetic wedge showed no preferential curvature. The small size of the area of nonuniformity of the HGMF allowed mapping of the sensitivity of the coleoptiles by varying the initial position of the wedge relative to the coleoptile apex. When the ferromagnetic wedge was placed 1 mm below the coleoptile tip only 58% of the coleoptiles curved toward the wedge indicating that the cells most sensitive to intracellular displacement of amyloplasts and thus gravity sensing are confined to the top 1 mm portion of barley coleoptiles. Similar experiments with tomato hypocotyls (Lycopersicum esculentum) also resulted in curvature toward the HGMF. The data strongly support the amyloplast-based gravity-sensing system in higher plants and the usefulness of HGMF to substitute gravity in shoots.

Isostatic gravity map of the Death Valley ground-water model area, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, D.A.; Blakely, R.J.; Morin, R.L.; Mankinen, E.A.

2001-01-01

An isostatic gravity map of the Death Valley groundwater model area was prepared from over 40,0000 gravity stations as part of an interagency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Energy to help characterize the geology and hydrology of southwest Nevada and parts of California.

Geophysically inferred structural and lithologic map of the precambrian basement in the Joplin 1 degree by 2 degrees Quadrangle, Kansas and Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCafferty, Anne E.; Cordell, Lindrith E.

1992-01-01

This report is an analysis of regional gravity and aeromagnetic data that was carried out as part of a Conterminuous United States Mineral Assessment Program (CUSMAP) study of the Joplin 1° X 2° quadrangle, Kansas and Missouri. It is one in a series of reports representing a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey, Kansas Geological Survey, and Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Land Survey. The work presented here is part of a larger project whose goal is to assess the mineral resource potential of the Paleozoic sedimentary section and crystalline basement within the quadrangle. Reports discussing geochemical, geological, and various other aspects of the study area are included in this Miscellaneous Field Studies Map series as MF-2125-A through MF-2125-E. Geophysical interpretation of Precambrian crystalline basement lithology and structure is the focus of this report. The study of the crystalline basement is complicated by the lack of exposures due to the presence of a thick sequence of Phanerozoic sedimentary cover. In areas where there are no outcrops, the geologist must turn to other indirect methods to assist in an understanding of the basement. Previous investigations of the buried basement in this region used available drill hole data, isotope age information, and regional geophysical data (Sims, 1990; Denison and others, 1984; Bickford and others, 1986). These studies were regional in scope and were presented at state and multistate scales. The work documented here used recently collected detailed gravity and aeromagnetic data to enhance the regional geologic knowledge of the area. Terrace-density and terrace-magnetization maps were calculated from the gravity and aeromagnetic data, leading directly to inferred physical-property (density and magnetization) maps. Once these maps were produced, the known geology and drill-hole data were reconciled with the physical-property maps to form a refined structural and lithologic map of the crystalline basement.

Geologic and isostatic map of the Nenana Basin area, central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frost, G.M.; Barnes, D.F.; Stanley, R.G.

2002-01-01

Introduction The Nenana Basin area is a prospective petroleum province in central Alaska, and this geologic and isostatic gravity map is part of a petroleum resource assessment of the area. The geology was compiled from published sources (Chapman and others, 1971, 1975a, 1975b, 1982; Chapman and Yeend, 1981; Csejtey and others, 1986; Jones and others, 1983; Pewe and others, 1966; Reed, 1961; and Weber and others, 1992), as shown on the index map (map sheet). Map units are organized and presented according to the scheme of lithotectonic terranes proposed by Jones and others (1987) and Silberling and Jones (1984); we recognize, however, that this terrane scheme is controversial and likely to be revised in the future. In some cases, we combined certain terranes because we were unable to match the terrane boundaries given by Jones and others (1987) and Silberling and Jones (1984) with specific faults shown on existing geologic maps. Postaccretion cover deposits represent overlap assemblages that depositionally overlie accreted terranes. Plutonic igneous rocks shown on this map include several plutons that are clearly postaccretionary, based on isotopic ages and (or) field relations. It is possible that some of the plutons predate accretion, but this has not been demonstrated. According to Jones and others (1982), the terranes in the area of our map were assembled during late Mesozoic or earliest Cenozoic time. The gravity contours are derived from data used in earlier compilations (Barnes, 1961, 1977; Hackett, 1981; Valin and others, 1991; Frost and Stanley, 1991) that are supplemented by some National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data along the Alaska Pipeline level line (W.E. Strange, written commun., 1980). The earlier compilations were used for simple Bouguer maps, prepared primarily by non-digital methods, and are superseded by this map. The present map is the result of digital processing that includes the 1967 Geodetic Reference System, the IGSN-71 datum, digital terrain corrections, and conversion to isostatic gravity so that geologic structures on the margin of the Alaska Range are more clearly portrayed (Simpson and others, 1986). Computation procedures are described in part by Barnes (1972, 1984), Jachens and Roberts (1981), and Barnes and others (1994). The calculations used a crustal density of 2.67 g/cm 3 , a density contrast at the base of the isostatic root of 0.4 g/cm 3 , and a root thickness at sea level of 25 km. The distribution of data within the map area is uneven and locally controls the shape of the computer-generated contours. Altimetry was used for most of the elevation control and its inconsistency is responsible for many of the small contour irregularities. Ninety percent of the measurements are estimated to have an accuracy of about 1.5 mgal or about a quarter of the 5 mgal contour interval. Data collection and analysis were assisted by R.V. Allen, R.C. Jachens, M.A. Fisher, T.R. Bruns, J.G. Blank, J.W. Bader, Z.C. Valin, J.W. Cady, R.L. Morin, and P.V. Woodward. The most promising area for petroleum exploration is a prominent 25 mgal isostatic gravity low north of Nenana (T. 2 S., R. 8 W.). This gravity low probably corresponds to the deepest part of a sedimentary basin filled by Cenozoic strata that includes nonmarine fluvial and lacustrine deposits of the Eocene to Miocene Usibelli Group. Smaller gravity lows are associated with outcrops of these sedimentary rocks north of Suntrana (T. 12 S., R. 6-9 W.) and Sable Pass (T. 16 S., R. 11 W.). A broad low on the north flank of the Alaska Range east of the Wood River (T. 10 S., R. 1 E.) indicates another basin under the Tanana lowland that extends eastward off the map area towards Delta Junction, where its presence was confirmed by both gravity and seismic data (Barnes and others, 1991). Gravity modelling suggests that the base of the Usibelli Group in the area north of Nenana (T. 2 S., R. 8 W.) is about 3,000 to 3,350 m beneath t

Gravity Survey of the Carson Sink - Data and Maps

DOE Data Explorer

Faulds, James E.

2013-12-31

A detailed gravity survey was carried out for the entire Carson Sink in western Nevada (Figure 1) through a subcontract to Zonge Engineering, Inc. The Carson Sink is a large composite basin containing three known, blind high-temperature geothermal systems (Fallon Airbase, Stillwater, and Soda Lake). This area was chosen for a detailed gravity survey in order to characterize the gravity signature of the known geothermal systems and to identify other potential blind systems based on the structural setting indicated by the gravity data. Data: Data were acquired at approximately 400, 800, and 1600 meter intervals for a total of 1,243 stations. The project location and station location points are presented in Figure 14. The station distribution for this survey was designed to complete regional gravity coverage in the Carson Sink area without duplication of available public and private gravity coverage. Gravity data were acquired using a Scintrex CG-5 gravimeter and a LaCoste and Romberg (L&R) Model-G gravimeter. The CG-5 gravity meter has a reading resolution of 0.001 milligals and a typical repeatability of less than 0.005 milligals. The L&R gravity meter has a reading resolution of 0.01 milligals and a typical repeatability of 0.02 milligals. The basic processing of gravimeter readings to calculate through to the Complete Bouguer Anomaly was made using the Gravity and Terrain Correction software version 7.1 for Oasis Montaj by Geosoft LTD. Results: The gravity survey of the Carson Sink yielded the following products. Project location and station location map (Figure 14). Complete Bouguer Anomaly @ 2.67 gm/cc reduction density. Gravity Complete Bouguer Anomaly at 2.50 g/cc Contour Map (Figure 15). Gravity Horizontal Gradient Magnitude Shaded Color Contour Map. Gravity 1st Vertical Derivative Color Contour Map. Interpreted Depth to Mesozoic Basement (Figure 16), incorporating drill-hole intercept values. Preliminary Interpretation of Results: The Carson Sink is a complex composite basin with several major depocenters (Figures 15 and 16). Major depocenters are present in the south-central, east-central, and northeastern parts of the basin. The distribution of gravity anomalies suggests a complex pattern of faulting in the subsurface of the basin, with many fault terminations, step-overs, and accommodation zones. The pattern of faulting implies that other, previously undiscovered blind geothermal systems are likely in the Carson Sink. The gravity survey was completed near the end of this project. Thus, more thorough analysis of the data and potential locations of blind geothermal systems is planned for future work.

Gravity and Nonconservative Force Model Tuning for the GEOSAT Follow-On Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lemoine, Frank G.; Zelensky, Nikita P.; Rowlands, David D.; Luthcke, Scott B.; Chinn, Douglas S.; Marr, Gregory C.; Smith, David E. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The US Navy's GEOSAT Follow-On spacecraft was launched on February 10, 1998 and the primary objective of the mission was to map the oceans using a radar altimeter. Three radar altimeter calibration campaigns have been conducted in 1999 and 2000. The spacecraft is tracked by satellite laser ranging (SLR) and Doppler beacons and a limited amount of data have been obtained from the Global Positioning Receiver (GPS) on board the satellite. Even with EGM96, the predicted radial orbit error due to gravity field mismodelling (to 70x70) remains high at 2.61 cm (compared to 0.88 cm for TOPEX). We report on the preliminary gravity model tuning for GFO using SLR, and altimeter crossover data. Preliminary solutions using SLR and GFO/GFO crossover data from CalVal campaigns I and II in June-August 1999, and January-February 2000 have reduced the predicted radial orbit error to 1.9 cm and further reduction will be possible when additional data are added to the solutions. The gravity model tuning has improved principally the low order m-daily terms and has reduced significantly the geographically correlated error present in this satellite orbit. In addition to gravity field mismodelling, the largest contributor to the orbit error is the non-conservative force mismodelling. We report on further nonconservative force model tuning results using available data from over one cycle in beta prime.

Glacial isostatic adjustment on the Northern Hemisphere - new results from GRACE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, J.; Steffen, H.; Gitlein, O.; Denker, H.; Timmen, L.

2007-12-01

The Earth's gravity field mapped by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission shows variations due to the integral effect of mass variations in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. The Earth's gravity field is provided in form of monthly solutions by several institutions, e.~g. GFZ Potsdam, CSR and JPL. During the GRACE standard processing of these analysis centers, oceanic and atmospheric contributions as well as tidal effects are reduced. The solutions of the analysis centers differ slightly, which is due the application of different reduction models and center-specific processing schemes. We present our investigation of mass variations in the areas of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) in North America and Northern Europe from GRACE data. One key issue is the separation of GIA parts and the reduction of the observed quantities by applying dedicated filters (e.~g. isotropic, non-isotropic, and destriping filters) and global models of hydrological variations (e.~g. WGHM, LaDWorld, GLDAS). In a further step, we analyze the results of both regions regarding their reliability, and finally present a comparison to results of a geodynamical modeling and absolute gravity measurements. Our results clearly show that the quality of the GRACE-derived gravity- change signal benefits from improved reduction models and chosen analysis techniques. Nevertheless, the comparison to results of geodynamic models still reveals differences, and thus further studies are in progress.

Velocity Structure of the Iran Region Using Seismic and Gravity Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syracuse, E. M.; Maceira, M.; Phillips, W. S.; Begnaud, M. L.; Nippress, S. E. J.; Bergman, E.; Zhang, H.

2015-12-01

We present a 3D Vp and Vs model of Iran generated using a joint inversion of body wave travel times, Rayleigh wave dispersion curves, and high-wavenumber filtered Bouguer gravity observations. Our work has two main goals: 1) To better understand the tectonics of a prominent example of continental collision, and 2) To assess the improvements in earthquake location possible as a result of joint inversion. The body wave dataset is mainly derived from previous work on location calibration and includes the first-arrival P and S phases of 2500 earthquakes whose initial locations qualify as GT25 or better. The surface wave dataset consists of Rayleigh wave group velocity measurements for regional earthquakes, which are inverted for a suite of period-dependent Rayleigh wave velocity maps prior to inclusion in the joint inversion for body wave velocities. We use gravity anomalies derived from the global gravity model EGM2008. To avoid mapping broad, possibly dynamic features in the gravity field intovariations in density and body wave velocity, we apply a high-pass wavenumber filter to the gravity measurements. We use a simple, approximate relationship between density and velocity so that the three datasets may be combined in a single inversion. The final optimized 3D Vp and Vs model allows us to explore how multi-parameter tomography addresses crustal heterogeneities in areas of limited coverage and improves travel time predictions. We compare earthquake locations from our models to independent locations obtained from InSAR analysis to assess the improvement in locations derived in a joint-inversion model in comparison to those derived in a more traditional body-wave-only velocity model.

Global Biomass Variation and its Geodynamic Effects, 1982-1998

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodell, M.; Chao, B. F.; Au, A. Y.; Kimball, J. S.; McDonald, K. C.

2005-01-01

Redistribution of mass near Earth's surface alters its rotation, gravity field, and geocenter location. Advanced techniques for measuring these geodetic variations now exist, but the ability to attribute the observed modes to individual Earth system processes has been hampered by a shortage of reliable global data on such processes, especially hydrospheric processes. To address one aspect of this deficiency, 17 yrs of monthly, global maps of vegetation biomass were produced by applying field-based relationships to satellite-derived vegetation type and leaf area index. The seasonal variability of biomass was estimated to be as large as 5 kg m(exp -2). Of this amount, approximately 4 kg m(exp -2) is due to vegetation water storage variations. The time series of maps was used to compute geodetic anomalies, which were then compared with existing geodetic observations as well as the estimated measurement sensitivity of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). For gravity, the seasonal amplitude of biomass variations may be just within GRACE'S limits of detectability, but it is still an order of magnitude smaller than current observation uncertainty using the satellite-laser-ranging technique. The contribution of total biomass variations to seasonal polar motion amplitude is detectable in today's measurement, but it is obscured by contributions from various other sources, some of which are two orders of magnitude larger. The influence on the length of day is below current limits of detectability. Although the nonseasonal geodynamic signals show clear interannual variability, they are too small to be detected.

Progress in the Determination of the Earth's Gravity Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rapp, Richard H. (Editor)

1989-01-01

Topics addressed include: global gravity model development; methods for approximation of the gravity field; gravity field measuring techniques; global gravity field applications and requirements in geophysics and oceanography; and future gravity missions.

Frequency content of sea surface height variability from internal gravity waves to mesoscale eddies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savage, Anna C.; Arbic, Brian K.; Richman, James G.; Shriver, Jay F.; Alford, Matthew H.; Buijsman, Maarten C.; Thomas Farrar, J.; Sharma, Hari; Voet, Gunnar; Wallcraft, Alan J.; Zamudio, Luis

2017-03-01

High horizontal-resolution (1/12.5° and 1/25°) 41-layer global simulations of the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), forced by both atmospheric fields and the astronomical tidal potential, are used to construct global maps of sea surface height (SSH) variability. The HYCOM output is separated into steric and nonsteric and into subtidal, diurnal, semidiurnal, and supertidal frequency bands. The model SSH output is compared to two data sets that offer some geographical coverage and that also cover a wide range of frequencies—a set of 351 tide gauges that measure full SSH and a set of 14 in situ vertical profilers from which steric SSH can be calculated. Three of the global maps are of interest in planning for the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) two-dimensional swath altimeter mission: (1) maps of the total and (2) nonstationary internal tidal signal (the latter calculated after removing the stationary internal tidal signal via harmonic analysis), with an average variance of 1.05 and 0.43 cm2, respectively, for the semidiurnal band, and (3) a map of the steric supertidal contributions, which are dominated by the internal gravity wave continuum, with an average variance of 0.15 cm2. Stationary internal tides (which are predictable), nonstationary internal tides (which will be harder to predict), and nontidal internal gravity waves (which will be very difficult to predict) may all be important sources of high-frequency "noise" that could mask lower frequency phenomena in SSH measurements made by the SWOT mission.

A Transportable Gravity Gradiometer Based on Atom Interferometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Nan; Thompson, Robert J.; Kellogg, James R.; Aveline, David C.; Maleki, Lute; Kohel, James M.

2010-01-01

A transportable atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer has been developed at JPL to carry out measurements of Earth's gravity field at ever finer spatial resolutions, and to facilitate high-resolution monitoring of temporal variations in the gravity field from ground- and flight-based platforms. Existing satellite-based gravity missions such as CHAMP and GRACE measure the gravity field via precise monitoring of the motion of the satellites; i.e. the satellites themselves function as test masses. JPL's quantum gravity gradiometer employs a quantum phase measurement technique, similar to that employed in atomic clocks, made possible by recent advances in laser cooling and manipulation of atoms. This measurement technique is based on atomwave interferometry, and individual laser-cooled atoms are used as drag-free test masses. The quantum gravity gradiometer employs two identical atom interferometers as precision accelerometers to measure the difference in gravitational acceleration between two points (Figure 1). By using the same lasers for the manipulation of atoms in both interferometers, the accelerometers have a common reference frame and non-inertial accelerations are effectively rejected as common mode noise in the differential measurement of the gravity gradient. As a result, the dual atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer allows gravity measurements on a moving platform, while achieving the same long-term stability of the best atomic clocks. In the laboratory-based prototype (Figure 2), the cesium atoms used in each atom interferometer are initially collected and cooled in two separate magneto-optic traps (MOTs). Each MOT, consisting of three orthogonal pairs of counter-propagating laser beams centered on a quadrupole magnetic field, collects up to 10(exp 9) atoms. These atoms are then launched vertically as in an atom fountain by switching off the magnetic field and introducing a slight frequency shift between pairs of lasers to create a moving rest frame for the trapped atoms. While still in this moving-frame molasses, the laser frequencies are further detuned from the atomic resonance (while maintaining this relative frequency shift) to cool the atom cloud's temperature to 2 K or below, corresponding to an rms velocity of less than 2 cm/s. After launch, the cold atoms undergo further state and velocity selection to prepare for atom interferometry. The atom interferometers are then realized using laser-induced stimulated Raman transitions to perform the necessary manipulations of each atom, and the resulting interferometer phase is measured using laser-induced fluorescence for state-normalized detection. More than 20 laser beams with independent controls of frequency, phase, and intensity are required for this measurement sequence. This instrument can facilitate the study of Earth's gravitational field from surface and air vehicles, as well as from space by allowing gravity mapping from a low-cost, single spacecraft mission. In addition, the operation of atom interferometer-based instruments in space offers greater sensitivity than is possible in terrestrial instruments due to the much longer interrogation times available in the microgravity environment. A space-based quantum gravity gradiometer has the potential to achieve sensitivities similar to the GRACE mission at long spatial wavelengths, and will also have resolution similar to GOCE for measurement at shorter length scales.

GRAIL Final Resting Spot

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-12-13

These maps of Earth moon highlight the region where the twin spacecraft of NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory GRAIL mission will impact on Dec. 17, marking the end of its successful endeavor to map the moon gravity.

Reconstructing the gravitational field of the local Universe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Desmond, Harry; Ferreira, Pedro G.; Lavaux, Guilhem

Tests of gravity at the galaxy scale are in their infancy. As a first step to systematically uncovering the gravitational significance of galaxies, we map three fundamental gravitational variables – the Newtonian potential, acceleration and curvature – over the galaxy environments of the local Universe to a distance of approximately 200 Mpc. Our method combines the contributions from galaxies in an all-sky redshift survey, haloes from an N-body simulation hosting low-luminosity objects, and linear and quasi-linear modes of the density field. We use the ranges of these variables to determine the extent to which galaxies expand the scope of genericmore » tests of gravity and are capable of constraining specific classes of model for which they have special significance. In conclusion, we investigate the improvements afforded by upcoming galaxy surveys.« less

Reconstructing the gravitational field of the local Universe

DOE PAGES

Desmond, Harry; Ferreira, Pedro G.; Lavaux, Guilhem; ...

2017-11-25

Tests of gravity at the galaxy scale are in their infancy. As a first step to systematically uncovering the gravitational significance of galaxies, we map three fundamental gravitational variables – the Newtonian potential, acceleration and curvature – over the galaxy environments of the local Universe to a distance of approximately 200 Mpc. Our method combines the contributions from galaxies in an all-sky redshift survey, haloes from an N-body simulation hosting low-luminosity objects, and linear and quasi-linear modes of the density field. We use the ranges of these variables to determine the extent to which galaxies expand the scope of genericmore » tests of gravity and are capable of constraining specific classes of model for which they have special significance. In conclusion, we investigate the improvements afforded by upcoming galaxy surveys.« less

Mirror symmetry in emergent gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Hyun Seok

2017-09-01

Given a six-dimensional symplectic manifold (M , B), a nondegenerate, co-closed four-form C introduces a dual symplectic structure B ˜ = * C independent of B via the Hodge duality *. We show that the doubling of symplectic structures due to the Hodge duality results in two independent classes of noncommutative U (1) gauge fields by considering the Seiberg-Witten map for each symplectic structure. As a result, emergent gravity suggests a beautiful picture that the variety of six-dimensional manifolds emergent from noncommutative U (1) gauge fields is doubled. In particular, the doubling for the variety of emergent Calabi-Yau manifolds allows us to arrange a pair of Calabi-Yau manifolds such that they are mirror to each other. Therefore, we argue that the mirror symmetry of Calabi-Yau manifolds is the Hodge theory for the deformation of symplectic and dual symplectic structures.

Holographic bulk reconstruction with α' corrections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Shubho R.; Sarkar, Debajyoti

2017-10-01

We outline a holographic recipe to reconstruct α' corrections to anti-de Sitter (AdS) (quantum) gravity from an underlying CFT in the strictly planar limit (N →∞ ). Assuming that the boundary CFT can be solved in principle to all orders of the 't Hooft coupling λ , for scalar primary operators, the λ-1 expansion of the conformal dimensions can be mapped to higher curvature corrections of the dual bulk scalar field action. Furthermore, for the metric perturbations in the bulk, the AdS /CFT operator-field isomorphism forces these corrections to be of the Lovelock type. We demonstrate this by reconstructing the coefficient of the leading Lovelock correction, also known as the Gauss-Bonnet term in a bulk AdS gravity action using the expression of stress-tensor two-point function up to subleading order in λ-1.

KSC-2011-6820

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, members of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) launch team monitor GRAIL's launch countdown from the Mission Directors Center in Hangar AE. From left are David Lehman, spacecraft mission director and GRAIL project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); Tom Hoffman, deputy spacecraft mission director, JPL; and John Henk, GRAIL program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8 from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Audiomagnetotelluric data, Taos Plateau Volcanic Field, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ailes, Chad E.; Rodriguez, Brian D.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a series of multidisciplinary studies of the San Luis Basin as part of the Geologic framework of the Rio Grande Basins project. Detailed geologic mapping, high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys, gravity surveys, audiomagnetotelluric surveys, and hydrologic and lithologic data are being used to better understand the aquifers. This report describes a regional east-west audiomagnetotelluric sounding profile acquired in late July 2009 across the Taos Plateau Volcanic Field. No interpretation of the data is included.

The Hawking temperature in the context of dark energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gangopadhyay, Debashis; Manna, Goutam

2012-11-01

An emergent-gravity metric incorporating k-essence scalar fields ϕ having a Born-Infeld-type Lagrangian is mapped into a metric whose structure is similar to that of a blackhole of large mass M that has swallowed a global monopole. However, here the field is not that of a monopole but rather that of a k-essence scalar field. If ϕemergent are the solutions of the emergent-gravity equations of motion under cosmological boundary conditions at ∞, then for r\\rightarrow \\infty the rescaled field \\frac {\\phi _{emergent}}{2GM-1} has exact correspondence with ϕ with ϕ(r,t) = ϕ1(r) + ϕ2(t). The Hawking temperature of this metric is T_{ emergent}= \\frac {\\hbar c^{3}}{8\\pi GM k_{B}}(1-K)^{2}\\equiv \\frac {\\hbar }{8\\pi GM k_{B}}(1-K)^{2} , taking the speed of light c = 1. Here K=\\dot \\phi _{2}^{2} is the kinetic energy of the k-essence field ϕ and K is always less than unity, kB is the Boltzmann constant. This is phenomenologically interesting in the context of Belgiorno et al.'s gravitational analogue experiment.

Gravity and magnetic anomaly data analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braile, L. W.; Hinze, W. J.; Vonfrese, R. R. B. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

Progress on the analysis MAGSAT data is reported. The MAGSAT data from 40 deg S to 70 deg N latitude and 30 deg W to 60 E longitude was reduced to radial polarization. In addition, gravity anomaly data from this area were processed and a variety of filtered maps were prepared for combined interpretation of the gravity and magnetic data in conjunction with structural and tectonic maps of the area. The VERSATEC listings and cross-reference maps of variable and array names for the spherical Earth analysis programs NVERTSM, SMFLD, NVERTG, and GFLD were also prepared.

Gravity Anomalies in the Northern Hawaiian Islands: Evidence for an Alternative Magma Chamber on Kauai and a Conjoined Niihau-Kauai Island

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flinders, A. F.; Ito, G.; Garcia, M.; Kim, S.; Appelgate, B.

2008-12-01

The shield stage evolution of the islands of Kauai and Niihau are poorly understood. Previous land-based gravity surveys provide only a coarse constraint on the observed gravitational field. Questions as to whether the island of Kauai was formed by a single or multiple shields and the developmental relationship between these neighboring islands are still debated. Our new land-based gravity survey of Kauai and ship-board gravity surveys around both islands identified large complete Bouguer gravitational anomalies under Kauai's Lihue Basin and offshore in the Kaulakahi Channel, a 30-km-long bathymetric ridge connecting the two islands. These gravitational highs are consistent in size and magnitude with those of other Hawaiian islands and imply local zones of high density crust, most likely attributed to magmatic intrusions; e.g. former magma chambers, or rift zones. The Lihue Basin anomaly observed is offset 20 km east from the geologically mapped caldera region. This offset implies either the unlikely case that the shield stage plumbing system connecting the magma chamber and caldera could have been inclined by up to 75 degrees from the vertical, or that the currently mapped caldera is a late feature, unrelated to shield volcanism. The location of the gravitational anomaly, in the Kaulakahi Channel, 20 km east of Niihau is consistent with geologic mapping, which indicates that Niihau is a remnant of an ancient shield volcano centered east of the island. The proximity of the Niihau gravitational anomaly 10 km from the western edge of Kauai supports the hypothesis that the two volcanoes were part of the same island.

Users Guide to the JPL Doppler Gravity Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muller, P. M.; Sjogren, W. L.

1986-01-01

Local gravity accelerations and gravimetry have been determined directly from spacecraft Doppler tracking data near the Moon and various planets by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Researchers in many fields have an interest in planet-wide global gravimetric mapping and its applications. Many of them use their own computers in support of their studies and would benefit from being able to directly manipulate these gravity data for inclusion in their own modeling computations. Pubication of some 150 Apollo 15 subsatellite low-altitude, high-resolution, single-orbit data sets is covered. The doppler residuals with a determination of the derivative function providing line-of-sight-gravity are both listed and plotted (on microfilm), and can be ordered in computer readable forms (tape and floppy disk). The form and format of this database as well as the methods of data reduction are explained and referenced. A skeleton computer program is provided which can be modified to support re-reductions and re-formatted presentations suitable to a wide variety of research needs undertaken on mainframe or PC class microcomputers.

Development of a rotating gravity gradiometer for earth orbit applications (AAFE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forward, R. L.; Bell, C. C.; Lahue, P. M.; Mallove, E. F.; Rouse, D. W.

1973-01-01

Some preliminary mission studies are described along with the design, fabrication, and test of a breadboard model of an earth orbital, rotating gravity gradiometer with a design goal of 10 to the minus 11th power/sec sq (0.01 EU) in a 35-sec integration time. The proposed mission uses a Scout vehicle to launch one (or two orthogonally oriented) spin-stabilized satellites into a 330-km circular polar orbit some 20 days before an equinox. During the short orbital lifetime, the experiment would obtain two complete maps of the gravity gradient field with a resolution approaching 270 km (degree 75). The breadboard model of the gradiometer demonstrated a combined thermal and electronic noise threshold of 0.015 EU per data channel. The design changes needed to reduce the noise to less than 0.01 EU were identified. Variations of the sensor output signal with temperature were experimentally determined and a suitable method of temperature compensation was developed and tested. Other possible error sources, such as sensor interaction with satellite dynamics and magnetic fields, were studied analytically and shown to be small.

Refinement of Earth's gravity field with Topex GPS measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Sien-Chong; Wu, Jiun-Tsong

1989-01-01

The NASA Ocean Topography Experiment satellite TOPEX will carry a microwave altimeter accurate to a few centimeters for the measurement of ocean height. The capability can be fully exploited only if TOPEX altitude can be independently determined to 15 cm or better. This in turn requires an accurate gravity model. The gravity will be tuned with selected nine 10-day arcs of laser ranging, which will be the baseline tracking data type, collected in the first six months of TOPEX flight. TOPEX will also carry onboard an experimental Global Positioning System (GPS) flight receiver capable of simultaneously observing six GPS satellites above its horizon to demonstrate the capability of GPS carrier phase and P-code pseudorange for precise determination of the TOPEX orbit. It was found that subdecimeter orbit accuracy can be achieved with a mere two-hour arc of GPS tracking data, provided that simultaneous measurements are also made at six of more ground tracking sites. The precision GPS data from TOPEX are also valuable for refining the gravity model. An efficient technique is presented for gravity tuning using GPS measurements. Unlike conventional global gravity tuning, this technique solves for far fewer gravity parameters in each filter run. These gravity parameters yield local gravity anomalies which can later be combined with the solutions over other parts of the earth to generate a global gravity map. No supercomputing power will be needed for such combining. The approaches used in this study are described and preliminary results of a covariance analysis presented.

World Gravity Map: a set of global complete spherical Bouguer and isostatic anomaly maps and grids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonvalot, S.; Balmino, G.; Briais, A.; Kuhn, M.; Peyrefitte, A.; Vales, N.; Biancale, R.; Gabalda, G.; Reinquin, F.

2012-04-01

We present here a set of digital maps of the Earth's gravity anomalies (surface free air, Bouguer and isostatic), computed at Bureau Gravimetric International (BGI) as a contribution to the Global Geodetic Observing Systems (GGOS) and to the global geophysical maps published by the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) with support of UNESCO and other institutions. The Bouguer anomaly concept is extensively used in geophysical interpretation to investigate the density distributions in the Earth's interior. Complete Bouguer anomalies (including terrain effects) are usually computed at regional scales by integrating the gravity attraction of topography elements over and beyond a given area (under planar or spherical approximations). Here, we developed and applied a worldwide spherical approach aimed to provide a set of homogeneous and high resolution gravity anomaly maps and grids computed at the Earth's surface, taking into account a realistic Earth model and reconciling geophysical and geodetic definitions of gravity anomalies. This first version (1.0) has been computed by spherical harmonics analysis / synthesis of the Earth's topography-bathymetry up to degree 10800. The detailed theory of the spherical harmonics approach is given in Balmino et al., (Journal of Geodesy, 2011). The Bouguer and terrain corrections have thus been computed in spherical geometry at 1'x1' resolution using the ETOPO1 topography/bathymetry, ice surface and bedrock models from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and taking into account precise characteristics (boundaries and densities) of major lakes, inner seas, polar caps and of land areas below sea level. Isostatic corrections have been computed according to the Airy-Heiskanen model in spherical geometry for a constant depth of compensation of 30km. The gravity information given here is provided by the Earth Geopotential Model (EGM2008), developed at degree 2160 by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) (Pavlis et al., 2008) and the DTU10 (Andersen, 2010) who represents the best up-to-date global gravity models (including surface gravity measurements from land, marine and airborne surveys as well as gravity and altimetry satellite measurements). The surface free-air anomaly is computed at the Earth's surface in the context of Molodensky theory and includes corrections from the mass of the atmosphere. The way gravity anomalies are computed on a worldwide basis slightly differs from the classical usage, but meets modern concerns which tend to take into account of the real Earth. The resulting anomaly maps and grids will be distributed for scientific and education purposes by the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) (http://ccgm.free.fr) and by the Bureau Gravimetrique International (BGI) (http://bgi.omp.obs-mip.fr). Upgraded versions might be done as soon as new global gravity model will be available (including satellite GOCE data for instance). Institutions who are interested to contribute with new datasets of surface gravity measurements (i.e. ground, marine or airborne gravity data) are also invited to contact BGI bgi@cnes.fr.

Geophysical investigation of the Raton Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheney, R. S.

1982-05-01

This thesis correlates gravity, magnetic, and seismic data for the Raton Basin of Colorado and New Mexico. The gravity data suggest that the study area, and the region around it, is in isostatic equilibrium. The free air anomaly in the southern portion of the study area suggests lack of local compensation due to Quaternary volocanic rock. The volcanic rock thickness, calculated from the free air gravity data, is 180 m. The gravity data indicated a crustal thickness of about 45 km, and the crust thinned from west to east. A basement relief map was constructed from the Bouquer gravity data. Computer techniques were developed to calculate the depth to the basement surface and to plot a contour map of that surface. The Raton Basin magnetic map defined the same surface found on the basement relief map since the overlying sedimentary rocks have no magnetism; therefore, any magnetism present is caused by the basement rock. A seismic survey near capulin Mountain detected a high level of microseismicity that may be caused by adjustment along faults or dormant volcanic activity.

Geologic interpretation of gravity data from the Date Creek basin and adjacent areas, west-central Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Otton, James K.; Wynn, Jeffrey C.

1978-01-01

A gravity survey of the Date Creek Basin and adjacent areas was conducted in June 1977 to provide information for the interpretation of basin geology. A comparison of facies relations in the locally uraniferous Chapin Wash Formation and the position of the Anderson mine gravity anomaly in the Date Creek Basin suggested that a relationship between gravity lows and the development of thick lacustrine sections in the region might exist. A second-order residual gravity map derived from the complete Bouguer gravity map for the survey area (derived from survey data and pre-existing U.S. Department of Defense data) shows an excellent correspondence between gravity lows and sediment-filled basins and suggests considerable variation in basin-fill thickness. Using the Anderson mine anomaly as a model, gravity data and facies relations suggest that the southeastern flank of the Aguila Valley gravity low and the gravity low at the western end of the Hassayampa Plain are likely areas for finding thick sections of tuffaceous lacustrine rocks.

Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL): Extended Mission and End-Game Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuber, Maria T.; Smith, David E.; Wieczorek, Mark A.; Williams, James G.; Andrews-Hanna, Jeffrey C.; Head, James W.; Kiefer, Walter S.; Matsuyama, Isamu; McGovern, Patrick J.; Nimmo, Francis;

Application of the satellite system of the earth's gravity field measurement (GRACE) for the evaluation of water balance in large Russian river catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frolova, Natalia; Zotov, Leonid; Grigoriev, Vadim; Sazonov, Alexey; Kireeva, Maria; Krylenko, Inna

2017-04-01

Space-based Earth observing systems provided a substantially large amount of information to the scientific community in recent decades. Cumulative effects of redistribution of masses in the Earth system can be seen in the changes of the gravity field of the Earth. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, launched 17.03.2002 from Plesetsk, provide a set of monthly Earth's gravity field observations. GRACE data is very useful for hydrological and climatological studies, especially over large territory, not completely covered by the meteorological and hydrological networks, like Russia. Possible application of the satellite gravity survey data obtained under the GRACE for solving various hydrological problems is discussed. The GRACE-based monthly gravity field data are transformed into the maps of water level equivalent and averaged for the catchments of the largest rivers of Russia. The temporal variability of the parameter is analyzed. Possible application of the GRACE data for the evaluation of particular components of water balance within the largest river basins of the European part of Russia is discussed. After averaging over 15 large Russian rivers basins annual component shows amplitude increase since 2009. Trend component grows until 2009 and then reaches a plateau. It is mostly dominated by Siberian rivers. Map for the trend show gravity field increase in Siberia, at Back Sea and decrease over Caspian Sea since 2003. GRACE satellite gravimetry data can be used for estimating terrestrial water storage (TWS) in a river basin scale. Terrestrial water storage (TWS) is the integrated sum of all basin storages (surface water bodies, soil and ground aquifer, snowpack and glaciers) and the ability to estimate TWS dynamics is useful for understanding the basin's water cycle, its interconnection with the local climate, physics of predictability of extreme hydrological events. Despite the importance of the TWS estimates, reliable ground-based monitoring data of all TWS components are scarce or absent at all. Since observations are not sufficient to monitor TWS, hydrological models are considered as a comprehensive tool to simulate TWS components at a basin scale. However accuracy of the model-derived TWS is influenced by the uncertainty of the model structure and parameters, reliability of input data, etc. To improve the TWS-estimates, it is reasonable to combine the simulated TWS with independent observations provided by the GRACE gravity data. Ninety-seven monthly TWS retrieval from GRACE data (from April 2002 to December 2009) was examined and compared with TWS-estimates obtained by the ECOMAG hydrological model simulations. The case study was carried out for the Northern Dvina River basin. Quantitative analyze between the hydrological model and GRACE-based TWS showed that latter is in good consistency with the simulation results on both seasonal and inter-annual time scales. Overall, the results highlight the benefit of assimilating GRACE data for hydrological applications, particularly in data-sparse regions, while also providing insight on future refinements of the methodology of GRACE-data application in watershed hydrology. The study is financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Proj.№ 16-35-60080; 16-05-00753) and the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 14-17-00155).

Geophysical study of the San Juan Mountains batholith complex, southwestern Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drenth, Benjamin J.; Keller, G. Randy; Thompson, Ren A.

2012-01-01

One of the largest and most pronounced gravity lows over North America is over the rugged San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado (USA). The mountain range is coincident with the San Juan volcanic field (SJVF), the largest erosional remnant of a widespread mid-Cenozoic volcanic field that spanned much of the southern Rocky Mountains. A buried, low-density silicic batholith complex related to the volcanic field has been the accepted interpretation of the source of the gravity low since the 1970s. However, this interpretation was based on gravity data processed with standard techniques that are problematic in the SJVF region. The combination of high-relief topography, topography with low densities, and the use of a common reduction density of 2670 kg/m3produces spurious large-amplitude gravity lows that may distort the geophysical signature of deeper features such as a batholith complex. We applied an unconventional processing procedure that uses geologically appropriate densities for the uppermost crust and digital topography to mostly remove the effect of the low-density units that underlie the topography associated with the SJVF. This approach resulted in a gravity map that provides an improved representation of deeper sources, including reducing the amplitude of the anomaly attributed to a batholith complex. We also reinterpreted vintage seismic refraction data that indicate the presence of low-velocity zones under the SJVF. Assuming that the source of the gravity low on the improved gravity anomaly map is the same as the source of the low seismic velocities, integrated modeling corroborates the interpretation of a batholith complex and then defines the dimensions and overall density contrast of the complex. Models show that the thickness of the batholith complex varies laterally to a significant degree, with the greatest thickness (∼20 km) under the western SJVF, and lesser thicknesses (<10 km) under the eastern SJVF. The largest group of nested calderas on the surface of the SJVF, the central caldera cluster, is not correlated with the thickest part of the batholith complex. This result is consistent with petrologic interpretations from recent studies that the batholith complex continued to be modified after cessation of volcanism and therefore is not necessarily representative of synvolcanic magma chambers. The total volume of the batholith complex is estimated to be 82,000–130,000 km3. The formation of such a large felsic batholith complex would inevitably involve production of a considerably greater volume of residuum, which could be present in the lower crust or uppermost mantle. The interpreted vertically averaged density contrast (–60 to –110 kg/m3), density (2590–2640 kg/m3), and seismic expression of the batholith complex are consistent with results of geophysical studies of other large batholiths in the western United States.

Worldwide complete spherical Bouguer and isostatic anomaly maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonvalot, S.; Balmino, G.; Briais, A.; Peyrefitte, A.; Vales, N.; Biancale, R.; Gabalda, G.; Reinquin, F.

2011-12-01

We present here a set of digital maps of the Earth's gravity anomalies (surface "free air", Bouguer and isostatic), computed at Bureau Gravimetric International (BGI) as a contribution to the Global Geodetic Observing Systems (GGOS) and to the global geophysical maps published by the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW). The free air and Bouguer anomaly concept is extensively used in geophysical interpretation to investigate the density distributions in the Earth's interior. Complete Bouguer anomalies (including terrain effects) are usually computed at regional scales by integrating the gravity attraction of topography elements over and beyond a given area (under planar or spherical approximations). Here, we developed and applied a worldwide spherical approach aimed to provide a set of homogeneous and high resolution gravity anomaly maps and grids computed at the Earth's surface, taking into account a realistic Earth model and reconciling geophysical and geodetic definitions of gravity anomalies. This first version (1.0) has been computed by spherical harmonics analysis / synthesis of the Earth's topography-bathymetry up to degree 10800. The detailed theory of the spherical harmonics approach is given in Balmino et al., (Journal of Geodesy, submitted). The Bouguer and terrain corrections have thus been computed in spherical geometry at 1'x1' resolution using the ETOPO1 topography/bathymetry, ice surface and bedrock models from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and taking into account precise characteristics (boundaries and densities) of major lakes, inner seas, polar caps and of land areas below sea level. Isostatic corrections have been computed according to the Airy Heiskanen model in spherical geometry for a constant depth of compensation of 30km. The gravity information given here is provided by the Earth Geopotential Model (EGM2008), developed at degree 2160 by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) (Pavlis et al., 2008), which represents the best up-to-date global gravity model (including surface gravity measurements from land, marine and airborne surveys as well as gravity and altimetry satellite measurements). The surface gravity anomaly (free air) is computed at the Earth's surface in the context of Molodensky theory and includes corrections from the mass of the atmosphere. The way gravity anomalies are computed on a worldwide basis slightly differs from the classical usage, but meets modern concerns which tend to take the real Earth into account. The resulting anomaly maps and grids will be distributed for scientific and education purposes by the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) with support of UNESCO and other institutions. Upgraded versions might be done as soon as new global gravity model is available (including satellite GOCE and new surface measurements: ground, airborne). Visit / contact BGI (http://bgi.omp.obs-mip.fr) and CCMW (http://ccgm.free.fr) for more information.

Accuracy of the determination of mean anomalies and mean geoid undulations from a satellite gravity field mapping mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jekeli, C.; Rapp, R. H.

1980-01-01

Improved knowledge of the Earth's gravity field was obtained from new and improved satellite measurements such as satellite to satellite tracking and gradiometry. This improvement was examined by estimating the accuracy of the determination of mean anomalies and mean undulations in various size blocks based on an assumed mission. In this report the accuracy is considered through a commission error due to measurement noise propagation and a truncation error due to unobservable higher degree terms in the geopotential. To do this the spectrum of the measurement was related to the spectrum of the disturbing potential of the Earth's gravity field. Equations were derived for a low-low (radial or horizontal separation) mission and a gradiometer mission. For a low-low mission of six month's duration, at an altitude of 160 km, with a data noise of plus or minus 1 micrometers sec for a four second integration time, we would expect to determine 1 deg x 1 deg mean anomalies to an accuracy of plus or minus 2.3 mgals and 1 deg x 1 deg mean geoid undulations to plus or minus 4.3 cm. A very fast Fortran program is available to study various mission configurations and block sizes.

Asymptotic states and the definition of the S-matrix in quantum gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiesendanger, C.

2013-04-01

Viewing gravitational energy-momentum p_G^\\mu as equal by observation, but different in essence from inertial energy-momentum p_I^\\mu naturally leads to the gauge theory of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of an inner Minkowski space M4. The generalized asymptotic free scalar, Dirac and gauge fields in that theory are canonically quantized, the Fock spaces of stationary states are constructed and the gravitational limit—mapping the gravitational energy-momentum onto the inertial energy-momentum to account for their observed equality—is introduced. Next the S-matrix in quantum gravity is defined as the gravitational limit of the transition amplitudes of asymptotic in- to out-states in the gauge theory of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms. The so-defined S-matrix relates in- and out-states of observable particles carrying gravitational equal to inertial energy-momentum. Finally, generalized Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann reduction formulae for scalar, Dirac and gauge fields are established which allow us to express S-matrix elements as the gravitational limit of truncated Fourier-transformed vacuum expectation values of time-ordered products of field operators of the interacting theory. Together with the generating functional of the latter established in Wiesendanger (2011 arXiv:1103.1012) any transition amplitude can in principle be computed consistently to any order in perturbative quantum gravity.

Mapping experiment with space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Sherman S. C.

1987-01-01

Mapping the earth from space stations can be approached in two areas. One is to collect gravity data for defining a new topographic datum using the earth's gravitational field in terms of spherical harmonics. The other, which should be considered as a very significant contribution of the Space Station, is to search and explore techniques of mapping the earth's topography using either optical or radar images with or without references to ground control points. Geodetic position of ground control points can be predetermined by the Global Positioning System (GPS) for the mapping experiment with the Space Station. It is proposed to establish four ground control points in North America or Africa (including the Sahara Desert). If this experiment should be successfully accomplished, it may also be applied to the defense charting service.

KSC-2011-6819

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, members of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) launch team monitor GRAIL's launch countdown from the Mission Directors Center in Hangar AE. From left are Dana Grieco, launch operations manager, Analex, NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP); Bruce Reid, GRAIL mission manager, LSP; Al Sierra, manager of the Flight Project Office, LSP; Omar Baez, GRAIL assistant launch director, LSP; and Tim Dunn, GRAIL launch director, LSP. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8 from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6818

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United Launch Alliance (ULA) personnel in the Delta Operations Building prepare for the launch of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission aboard a ULA Delta II Heavy rocket. Physical control of the rocket is maintained from the building, located about a mile from Space Launch Complex 17B. The room functions as a "soft blockhouse" and is the room from which the computer-generated command to launch the rocket is issued two seconds before liftoff. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6817

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United Launch Alliance (ULA) personnel in the Delta Operations Building prepare for the launch of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission aboard a ULA Delta II Heavy rocket. Physical control of the rocket is maintained from the building, located about a mile from Space Launch Complex 17B. The room functions as a "soft blockhouse" and is the room from which the computer-generated command to launch the rocket is issued two seconds before liftoff. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6816

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United Launch Alliance (ULA) personnel in the Delta Operations Building prepare for the launch of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission aboard a ULA Delta II Heavy rocket. Physical control of the rocket is maintained from the building, located about a mile from Space Launch Complex 17B. The room functions as a "soft blockhouse" and is the room from which the computer-generated command to launch the rocket is issued two seconds before liftoff. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Power laws for gravity and topography of Solar System bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermakov, A.; Park, R. S.; Bills, B. G.

2017-12-01

When a spacecraft visits a planetary body, it is useful to be able to predict its gravitational and topographic properties. This knowledge is important for determining the level of perturbations in spacecraft's motion as well as for planning the observation campaign. It has been known for the Earth that the power spectrum of gravity follows a power law, also known as the Kaula rule (Kaula, 1963; Rapp, 1989). A similar rule was derived for topography (Vening-Meinesz, 1951). The goal of this paper is to generalize the power law that can characterize the gravity and topography power spectra for bodies across a wide range of size. We have analyzed shape power spectra of the bodies that have either global shape and gravity field measured. These bodies span across five orders of magnitude in their radii and surface gravities and include terrestrial planets, icy moons and minor bodies. We have found that despite having different internal structure, composition and mechanical properties, the topography power spectrum of these bodies' shapes can be modeled with a similar power law rescaled by the surface gravity. Having empirically found a power law for topography, we can map it to a gravity power law. Special care should be taken for low-degree harmonic coefficients due to potential isostatic compensation. For minor bodies, uniform density can be assumed. The gravity coefficients are a linear function of the shape coefficients for close-to-spherical bodoes. In this case, the power law for gravity will be steeper than the power law of topography due to the factor (2n+1) in the gravity expansion (e.g. Eq. 10 in Wieczorek & Phillips, 1998). Higher powers of topography must be retained for irregularly shaped bodies, which breaks the linearity. Therefore, we propose the following procedure to derive an a priori constraint for gravity. First, a surface gravity needs to be determined assuming typical density for the relevant class of bodies. Second, the scaling coefficient of the power law can be found by rescaling the values known for other bodies. Third, an ensemble of synthetic shapes that follow the defined power law can be generated and gravity-from-shape can be found. The averaged power spectrum can be used as an a priori constraint for the gravity field and variance of power can be computed for individual degrees.

Continental and oceanic magnetic anomalies: Enhancement through GRM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vonfrese, R. R. B.; Hinze, W. J.

1985-01-01

In contrast to the POGO and MAGSAT satellites, the Geopotential Research Mission (GRM) satellite system will orbit at a minimum elevation to provide significantly better resolved lithospheric magnetic anomalies for more detailed and improved geologic analysis. In addition, GRM will measure corresponding gravity anomalies to enhance our understanding of the gravity field for vast regions of the Earth which are largely inaccessible to more conventional surface mapping. Crustal studies will greatly benefit from the dual data sets as modeling has shown that lithospheric sources of long wavelength magnetic anomalies frequently involve density variations which may produce detectable gravity anomalies at satellite elevations. Furthermore, GRM will provide an important replication of lithospheric magnetic anomalies as an aid to identifying and extracting these anomalies from satellite magnetic measurements. The potential benefits to the study of the origin and characterization of the continents and oceans, that may result from the increased GRM resolution are examined.

The AIROPA software package: milestones for testing general relativity in the strong gravity regime with AO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witzel, Gunther; Lu, Jessica R.; Ghez, Andrea M.; Martinez, Gregory D.; Fitzgerald, Michael P.; Britton, Matthew; Sitarski, Breann N.; Do, Tuan; Campbell, Randall D.; Service, Maxwell; Matthews, Keith; Morris, Mark R.; Becklin, E. E.; Wizinowich, Peter L.; Ragland, Sam; Doppmann, Greg; Neyman, Chris; Lyke, James; Kassis, Marc; Rizzi, Luca; Lilley, Scott; Rampy, Rachel

2016-07-01

General relativity can be tested in the strong gravity regime by monitoring stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center with adaptive optics. However, the limiting source of uncertainty is the spatial PSF variability due to atmospheric anisoplanatism and instrumental aberrations. The Galactic Center Group at UCLA has completed a project developing algorithms to predict PSF variability for Keck AO images. We have created a new software package (AIROPA), based on modified versions of StarFinder and Arroyo, that takes atmospheric turbulence profiles, instrumental aberration maps, and images as inputs and delivers improved photometry and astrometry on crowded fields. This software package will be made publicly available soon.

Mapping GRACE Accelerometer Error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakumura, C.; Harvey, N.; McCullough, C. M.; Bandikova, T.; Kruizinga, G. L. H.

2017-12-01

After more than fifteen years in orbit, instrument noise, and accelerometer noise in particular, remains one of the limiting error sources for the NASA/DLR Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission. The recent V03 Level-1 reprocessing campaign used a Kalman filter approach to produce a high fidelity, smooth attitude solution fusing star camera and angular acceleration data. This process provided an unprecedented method for analysis and error estimation of each instrument. The accelerometer exhibited signal aliasing, differential scale factors between electrode plates, and magnetic effects. By applying the noise model developed for the angular acceleration data to the linear measurements, we explore the magnitude and geophysical pattern of gravity field error due to the electrostatic accelerometer.

Lithologic boundaries from gravity and magnetic anomalies over Proterozoic Dalma volcanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, P. K.; Srivastava, Shalivahan; Maurya, Ved P.; Tripathi, Anurag; Singh, Shailendra; Singh, Roshan K.; Bage, Ashish K.

2018-03-01

Dalma volcanics (DVs) has intruded the older Singhbhum Group of Metapelites. Despite DVs being rich in mineralisation, its boundaries are not clearly demarcated. Gravity and magnetic surveys have been attempted for mapping the boundaries in DVs. These surveys were made in the northern fringe of the DVs over an area of ˜ 0.70 km2 along 13 parallel lines at 50 m spacing. The data was acquired at ˜ 25 m spacing. The surveys were taken for determination of lithological boundaries, depths and nature of causative source using Euler depth solutions and radially averaged power spectrum (RAPS). Residual anomaly maps of gravity and magnetic intensity show the same trend as that of Bouguer gravity anomaly and total magnetic intensity anomaly map indicating towards shallow sources. The magnetic map in general follows the same pattern as that of gravity anomaly maps. The map shows coincident high gravity and magnetic anomalies. These anomalies together with resistivity signatures confirm that the northern fringe of DVs hosts volcanogenic massive sulphide settings. The Euler depth solution delineated the lateral boundaries and nature of the source. It seems that the source is of spherical nature lying within a depth range of 25-40 m. The obtained lithological (vertical) units from RAPS are between Lower DVs, Upper DVs and Singhbhum Group Metapelites at depths of ˜ 15, ˜ 25 and ˜ 40 m, respectively. The metallogeny is associated with the Upper DVs and the corresponding delineated lithological (vertical) unit is indicative of the top of the ore body. Good agreement is observed with the geological succession from the drilling data and resistivity data. The findings suggest that the northern fringe of DVs could be a preferred target for drilling.

Simulation study on combination of GRACE monthly gravity field solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jean, Yoomin; Meyer, Ulrich; Jäggi, Adrian

2016-04-01

The GRACE monthly gravity fields from different processing centers are combined in the frame of the project EGSIEM. This combination is done on solution level first to define weights which will be used for a combination on normal equation level. The applied weights are based on the deviation of the individual gravity fields from the arithmetic mean of all involved gravity fields. This kind of weighting scheme relies on the assumption that the true gravity field is close to the arithmetic mean of the involved individual gravity fields. However, the arithmetic mean can be affected by systematic errors in individual gravity fields, which consequently results in inappropriate weights. For the future operational scientific combination service of GRACE monthly gravity fields, it is necessary to examine the validity of the weighting scheme also in possible extreme cases. To investigate this, we make a simulation study on the combination of gravity fields. Firstly, we show how a deviated gravity field can affect the combined solution in terms of signal and noise in the spatial domain. We also show the impact of systematic errors in individual gravity fields on the resulting combined solution. Then, we investigate whether the weighting scheme still works in the presence of outliers. The result of this simulation study will be useful to understand and validate the weighting scheme applied to the combination of the monthly gravity fields.

Geophysical Interpretation of Venus Gravity Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reasenberg, R. D.

1985-01-01

The subsurface distribution of Venus was investigated through the analysis of the data from Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO). In particular, the Doppler tracking data were used to map the gravitational potential. These were compared to the topographic data from the PVO radar (ORAD). In order to obtain an unbiased comparison, the topography data obtained from the PVO-ORAD were filtered to introduce distortions which are the same as those of the gravity models. Both the gravity and filtered topography maps are derived by two stage processes with a common second stage. In the first stage, the topography was used to calculate a corresponding spacecraft acceleration under the assumptions that the topography has a uniform given density and no compensation. In the second stage, the acceleration measures found in the first stage were passed through a linear inverter to yield maps of gravity and topography. Because these maps are the result of the same inversion process, they contain the same distortion; a comparison between them is unbiased to first order.

Global Distribution of Seamounts as Inferred from Ship Depth Soundings and Satellite Altimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessel, P.; Kim, S.; Sandwell, D. T.

2006-12-01

Traditionally, seamounts are active or extinct undersea volcanoes rising more than 1 km above the abyssal plain, but scientists now regularly apply the seamount label to features of just a few tens of meters in height. As constructional features they represent a small but significant fraction of the total volcanic extrusive budget for oceanic seafloor and their distribution provides key information on the variations in intraplate volcanic activity through space and time. Furthermore, they sustain significant ecological communities, determine habitats for fish, and act as obstacles to ocean currents, thus enhancing tidal energy dissipation and ocean mixing. Consequently, it is of some importance to locate and characterize seamounts. Two approaches are used to map the global distribution of seamounts. Depth soundings from single- and multi-beam echo sounders can provide the most detailed maps with up to 100--200 m horizontal resolution. However, soundings from the 5600 publicly available cruises sample only a small fraction of the ocean floor. Direct radar measurements of the ocean surface by satellite-borne altimeters have been used to infer the marine gravity field. By examining such gravity data one can characterize seamounts taller than ~2 km and such studies have produced seamount catalogues holding almost 15,000 seamounts. Recent retracking of the original radar altimeter waveforms to improve the accuracy of the gravity field has resulted in a two-fold increase in resolution. By extrapolating the inferred power-law that relates seamount size to frequency we estimate that 45,000 smaller seamounts taller than 1.5 km still remain uncharted. Future altimetry missions could improve on resolution and decrease noise levels even further, allowing for an even larger number of small (1--1.5 km) seamounts to be separated from the background abyssal hill fabric. Mapping the complete global distribution of seamounts will help constrain competing models of seamount formation as well as facilitate the understanding of marine habitats and deep ocean circulation.

Petroleum system of Northwest Java basin based on gravity data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widianto, E.

2018-01-01

Energy management in the upstream oil and gas sector becomes very important for the country’s energy security. The renewal of energy resources and reserves becomes necessary and is a must. In the oil and gas industry, gravity data is usually used only for regional surveys, but with the development of instrumentation technology and gravity software development, this method can be used for assessing oil and gas survey stages from exploration to production. This study was conducted to evaluate aspects of petroleum system and exploration play concept in the part of Northwest Java Basin, covering source rock deposition regions (source kitchen area, migration direction), development of reservoirs, structural and stratigraphic trap, based on gravity data. This study uses data from Bouguer gravity anomaly map by filtering process to produce a residual map depicting sedimentation basin configuration. The mapping generated 20 sedimentary basins in Java Island with the total hydrocarbon resources of 113 BBOE (Billion Barrel of Oil Equivalent). The petroleum system analysis was conducted in the Northwest Basin section. The final map produced illustrates the condition of petroleum system and play concept that can be used as exploration direction, expectedly reducing the risk of drilling failure.

Bathymetry of Patagonia glacier fjords and glacier ice thickness from high-resolution airborne gravity combined with other data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, L.; Rignot, E.; Rivera, A.; Bunetta, M.

2012-12-01

The North and South Patagonia Ice fields are the largest ice masses outside Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere. During the period 1995-2000, these glaciers lost ice at a rate equivalent to a sea level rise of 0.105 ± 0.001 mm/yr. In more recent years, the glaciers have been thinning more quickly than can be explained by warmer air temperatures and decreased precipitation. A possible cause is an increase in flow speed due to enhanced ablation of the submerged glacier fronts. To understand the dynamics of these glaciers and how they change with time, it is critical to have a detailed view of their ice thickness, the depth of the glacier bed below sea or lake level, how far inland these glaciers remain below sea or lake level, and whether bumps or hollows in the bed may slow down or accelerate their retreat. A grid of free-air gravity data over the Patagonia Glaciers was collected in May 2012 and October 2012, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF) to measure ice thickness and sea floor bathymetry. This survey combines the Sander Geophysics Limited (SGL) AIRGrav system, SGL laser altimetry and Chilean CECS/UCI ANDREA-2 radar. To obtain high-resolution and high-precision gravity data, the helicopter operates at 50 knots (25.7 m/s) with a grid spacing of 400m and collects gravity data at sub mGal level (1 Gal =1 Galileo = 1 cm/s2) near glacier fronts. We use data from the May 2012 survey to derive preliminarily high-resolution, high-precision thickness estimates and bathymetry maps of Jorge Montt Glacier and San Rafael Glacier. Boat bathymetry data is used to optimize the inversion of gravity over water and radar-derived thickness over glacier ice. The bathymetry maps will provide a breakthrough in our knowledge of the ice fields and enable a new era of glacier modeling and understanding that is not possible at present because ice thickness is not known.

Bouguer gravity map of Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, R.; Adkins, J. S.; Harrington, H. J.; Untung, M.

1981-01-01

A Bouguer gravity map of Indonesia on Mercator projection at a scale of 1: 5,000,000 and with a contour interval 20 mGal has been prepared over the past few years as part of a joint research program of the Geological Survey of Indonesia and the University of New England, Armidale. A new base station network was set up throughout Indonesia and tied to the IGSN stations at Sydney and Singapore. A discussion of the gravity features and the tectonic implications are given. The map is obtainable, in folded form only, from the Publications Department, University of New England, Armidale, N.S.W., Australia 2351 for $ A 5.- plus postage.

Airborne geoid mapping of land and sea areas of East Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamil, H.; Kadir, M.; Forsberg, R.; Olesen, A.; Isa, M. N.; Rasidi, S.; Mohamed, A.; Chihat, Z.; Nielsen, E.; Majid, F.; Talib, K.; Aman, S.

2017-02-01

This paper describes the development of a new geoid-based vertical datum from airborne gravity data, by the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia, on land and in the South China Sea out of the coast of East Malaysia region, covering an area of about 610,000 square kilometres. More than 107,000 km flight line of airborne gravity data over land and marine areas of East Malaysia has been combined to provide a seamless land-to-sea gravity field coverage; with an estimated accuracy of better than 2.0 mGal. The iMAR-IMU processed gravity anomaly data has been used during a 2014-2016 airborne survey to extend a composite gravity solution across a number of minor gaps on selected lines, using a draping technique. The geoid computations were all done with the GRAVSOFT suite of programs from DTU-Space. EGM2008 augmented with GOCE spherical harmonic model has been used to spherical harmonic degree N = 720. The gravimetric geoid first was tied at one tide-gauge (in Kota Kinabalu, KK2019) to produce a fitted geoid, my_geoid2017_fit_kk. The fitted geoid was offset from the gravimetric geoid by +0.852 m, based on the comparison at the tide-gauge benchmark KK2019. Consequently, orthometric height at the six other tide gauge stations was computed from HGPS Lev = hGPS - Nmy_geoid2017_.t_kk. Comparison of the conventional (HLev) and GPS-levelling heights (HGPS Lev) at the six tide gauge locations indicate RMS height difference of 2.6 cm. The final gravimetric geoidwas fitted to the seven tide gauge stations and is known as my_geoid2017_fit_east. The accuracy of the gravimetric geoid is estimated to be better than 5 cm across most of East Malaysia land and marine areas

Three-dimensional Crustal Structure beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Multi-scale Gravity Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, C.; Luo, Z.; Sun, R.; Li, Q.

2017-12-01

The Tibetan Plateau, the largest and highest plateau on Earth, was uplifted, shorten and thicken by the collision and continuous convergence of the Indian and Eurasian plates since 50 million years ago, the Eocene epoch. Fine three-dimensional crustal structure of the Tibetan Plateau is helpful in understanding the tectonic development. At present, the ordinary method used for revealing crustal structure is seismic method, which is inhibited by poor seismic station coverage, especially in the central and western plateau primarily due to the rugged terrain. Fortunately, with the implementation of satellite gravity missions, gravity field models have demonstrated unprecedented global-scale accuracy and spatial resolution, which can subsequently be employed to study the crustal structure of the entire Tibetan Plateau. This study inverts three-dimensional crustal density and Moho topography of the Tibetan Plateau from gravity data using multi-scale gravity analysis. The inverted results are in agreement with those provided by the previous works. Besides, they can reveal rich tectonic development of the Tibetan Plateau: (1) The low-density channel flow can be observed from the inverted crustal density; (2) The Moho depth in the west is deeper than that in the east, and the deepest Moho, which is approximately 77 km, is located beneath the western Qiangtang Block; (3) The Moho fold, the directions of which are in agreement with the results of surface movement velocities estimated from Global Positioning System, exists clearly on the Moho topography.This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41504015), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2015M572146), and the Surveying and Mapping Basic Research Programme of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation (Grant No. 15-01-08).

Integration of satellite gravity data with ground-based geophysical data for a better understanding of the structural control of groundwater flow in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fathy, K.; Sultan, M.; Bettadpur, S. V.; Save, H.; Ahmed, M.; Zahran, K. H.; Emil, M. K.; Helaly, A.; Abotalib, A. Z.; Ismaiel, A.

2016-12-01

The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) extends beyond Egypt's political boundaries to cover eastern Libya, northern and central Sudan and northeast Chad. The optimum utilization of this resource requires a better understanding of the connectivity of the NSAS sub-basins and the structural control on groundwater flow throughout the system. We provide an integrated (geophysics, remote sensing and field) approach to address these issues. Firstly, we evaluated GOCE-based global Geopotential models (GGMs) compared to the terrestrial gravity anomalies for 21262 sites to select the optimum model for deriving Bouguer gravity datasets. The Eigen-6C4 was found to have the lowest deviation from the terrestrial gravity anomalies. Secondly, structures and uplifts were mapped on the surface and in the sub-surface. Extensive N-S to NW-SE trending grabens were delineated in areas proximal to the Nile Valley using Palsar-derived DEMs, and hill shade maps; these depressions are here interpreted as basement structures that were reactivated during the opening of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez. The sinistral E-W trending faults and shear zones of the Syrian Arc were mapped in northern Egypt from Sinai and across the Eastern and Western Deserts. These structures were mapped on the surface using hill shade images and their extension in the subsurface was successfully detected from Eigen-6C4 model-derived Bouguer and TDR maps. The E-W trending basement uplift (Uweinat-Aswan uplift) was mapped in southern Egypt and the N-S trending Uweinat-Howar uplift was delineated in western Sudan and eastern Chad using TDR maps. Thirdly, hydrological analysis was conducted using GRACE spherical harmonic solutions (RL05), and CSR 0.5° X 0.5°, and JPL Mascon solutions. These showed: (1) pronounced TWS depletion over the Dakhla basin (average of three solutions: -3.03 mm/yr); (2) the south to north groundwater flow from Sudan to Egypt is impeded by the E-W trending Uweinat-Aswan basement uplift, yet the southwest to northeast flow from Chad into Sudan is not obstructed by the Uweinat-Howar uplift, (3) the E-W trending faults and shear zones impede groundwater flow to the north and act as conduits for deep-seated groundwater discharge on the surface in natural depressions (e.g., Qattara) and in the overlying layers.

Object Tracking Vision System for Mapping the UCN τ Apparatus Volume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lumb, Rowan; UCNtau Collaboration

2016-09-01

The UCN τ collaboration has an immediate goal to measure the lifetime of the free neutron to within 0.1%, i.e. about 1 s. The UCN τ apparatus is a magneto-gravitational ``bottle'' system. This system holds low energy, or ultracold, neutrons in the apparatus with the constraint of gravity, and keeps these low energy neutrons from interacting with the bottle via a strong 1 T surface magnetic field created by a bowl-shaped array of permanent magnets. The apparatus is wrapped with energized coils to supply a magnetic field throughout the ''bottle'' volume to prevent depolarization of the neutrons. An object-tracking stereo-vision system will be presented that precisely tracks a Hall probe and allows a mapping of the magnetic field throughout the volume of the UCN τ bottle. The stereo-vision system utilizes two cameras and open source openCV software to track an object's 3-d position in space in real time. The desired resolution is +/-1 mm resolution along each axis. The vision system is being used as part of an even larger system to map the magnetic field of the UCN τ apparatus and expose any possible systematic effects due to field cancellation or low field points which could allow neutrons to depolarize and possibly escape from the apparatus undetected. Tennessee Technological University.

Geology of the Bopolu Quadrangle, Liberia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallace, Roberts Manning

1974-01-01

As part of a program undertaken cooperatively by the Liberian Geological Survey (LGS) and the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), under the sponsorship of the Government of Liberia and the Agency for International Development, U. S. Department of State, Liberia was mapped by geologic and geophysical methods during the period 1965 to 1972. The resulting:geologic and geophysical maps are published in ten folios, each covering one quadrangle (see index map). The Bopolu quadrangle was systematically mapped by the author in late 1970. Field data provided by private companies and other members of the LGS-USGS project were used in map compilation, and are hereby acknowledged. Limited gravity data (Behrendt and Wotorson, in press ), and total-intensity aeromagnetic and total-count gamma radiation surveys (Behrendt and Wotorson, 1974, a and b) were also used in compilation, as were other unpublished geophysical data (near-surface, regional magnetic component, and geologic correlations based on aeromagnetic and radiometric characteristics) furnished by Behrendt and Wotorson.

Topographic mapping of the Moon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wu, S.S.C.

1985-01-01

Contour maps of the Moon have been compiled by photogrammetric methods that use stereoscopic combinations of all available metric photographs from the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions. The maps utilize the same format as the existing NASA shaded-relief Lunar Planning Charts (LOC-1, -2, -3, and -4), which have a scale of 1:2 750 000. The map contour interval is 500m. A control net derived from Apollo photographs by Doyle and others was used for the compilation. Contour lines and elevations are referred to the new topographic datum of the Moon, which is defined in terms of spherical harmonics from the lunar gravity field. Compilation of all four LOC charts was completed on analytical plotters from 566 stereo models of Apollo metric photographs that cover approximately 20% of the Moon. This is the first step toward compiling a global topographic map of the Moon at a scale of 1:5 000 000. ?? 1985 D. Reidel Publishing Company.

Clues to Ceres' Internal Structure

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-26

This frame from an animation shows Ceres as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft from its high-altitude mapping orbit at 913 miles (1,470 kilometers) above the surface. The colorful map overlaid at right shows variations in Ceres' gravity field measured by Dawn, and gives scientists hints about the dwarf planet's internal structure. Red colors indicate more positive values, corresponding to a stronger gravitational pull than expected, compared to scientists' pre-Dawn model of Ceres' internal structure; blue colors indicate more negative values, corresponding to a weaker gravitational pull. The animation was created by projecting a map of Ceres onto a rotating sphere. The image scale is about 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel. The animations are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22083

Global Bathymetric Prediction For Ocean Modeling and Marine Geophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandwell, David T.; Smith, Walter H. F.; Sichoix, Lydie; Frey, Herbert V. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

We proposed to construct a complete bathymetric map of the oceans at a 3-10 km resolution by combining all of the available depth soundings collected over the past 30 years with high resolution marine gravity information provided by the Geosat, ERS-1/2, and Topex/Poseidon altimeters. Detailed bathymetry is essential for understanding physical oceanography and marine geophysics. Currents and tides are controlled by the overall shapes of the ocean basins as well as the smaller sharp ocean ridges and seamounts. Because erosion rates are low in the deep oceans, detailed bathymetry reveals the mantle convection patterns, the plate boundaries, the cooling/subsidence of the oceanic lithosphere, the oceanic plateaus, and the distribution of off-ridge volcanoes. We proposed to: (1) Accumulate all available depth soundings collected over the past 30 years; (2) Use the short wavelength (< 160 km) satellite gravity information to interpolate between sparse ship soundings; (3) Improve the resolution of the marine gravity field using enhanced estimates along repeat altimeter profiles together with the dense altimeter measurements; (4) Refine/improve bathymetric predictions using the improved resolution gravity field and also by investigating computer-intensive methods for bathymetric prediction such as inverse theory; and (5) Produce a 'Globe of the Earth' similar to the globe of Venus prepared by the NASA Magellan investigation. This will also include the best available digital land data.

Geologic Map of the Central Marysvale Volcanic Field, Southwestern Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rowley, Peter D.; Cunningham, Charles G.; Steven, Thomas A.; Workman, Jeremiah B.; Anderson, John J.; Theissen, Kevin M.

2002-01-01

The geologic map of the central Marysvale volcanic field, southwestern Utah, shows the geology at 1:100,000 scale of the heart of one of the largest Cenozoic volcanic fields in the Western United States. The map shows the area of 38 degrees 15' to 38 degrees 42'30' N., and 112 degrees to 112 degrees 37'30' W. The Marysvale field occurs mostly in the High Plateaus, a subprovince of the Colorado Plateau and structurally a transition zone between the complexly deformed Great Basin to the west and the stable, little-deformed main part of the Colorado Plateau to the east. The western part of the field is in the Great Basin proper. The volcanic rocks and their source intrusions in the volcanic field range in age from about 31 Ma (Oligocene) to about 0.5 Ma (Pleistocene). These rocks overlie sedimentary rocks exposed in the mapped area that range in age from Ordovician to early Cenozoic. The area has been deformed by thrust faults and folds formed during the late Mesozoic to early Cenozoic Sevier deformational event, and later by mostly normal faults and folds of the Miocene to Quaternary basin-range episode. The map revises and updates knowledge gained during a long-term U.S. Geological Survey investigation of the volcanic field, done in part because of its extensive history of mining. The investigation also was done to provide framework geologic knowledge suitable for defining geologic and hydrologic hazards, for locating hydrologic and mineral resources, and for an understanding of geologic processes in the area. A previous geologic map (Cunningham and others, 1983, U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-1430-A) covered the same area as this map but was published at 1:50,000 scale and is obsolete due to new data. This new geologic map of the central Marysvale field, here published as U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2645-A, is accompanied by gravity and aeromagnetic maps of the same area and the same scale (Campbell and others, 1999, U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2645-B).

Mapping Antarctic Crustal Thickness using Gravity Inversion and Comparison with Seismic Estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusznir, Nick; Ferraccioli, Fausto; Jordan, Tom

2017-04-01

Using gravity anomaly inversion, we produce comprehensive regional maps of crustal thickness and oceanic lithosphere distribution for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Crustal thicknesses derived from gravity inversion are consistent with seismic estimates. We determine Moho depth, crustal basement thickness, continental lithosphere thinning (1-1/β) and ocean-continent transition location using a 3D spectral domain gravity inversion method, which incorporates a lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly correction (Chappell & Kusznir 2008). The gravity anomaly contribution from ice thickness is included in the gravity inversion, as is the contribution from sediments which assumes a compaction controlled sediment density increase with depth. Data used in the gravity inversion are elevation and bathymetry, free-air gravity anomaly, the Bedmap 2 ice thickness and bedrock topography compilation south of 60 degrees south and relatively sparse constraints on sediment thickness. Ocean isochrons are used to define the cooling age of oceanic lithosphere. Crustal thicknesses from gravity inversion are compared with independent seismic estimates, which are still relatively sparse over Antarctica. Our gravity inversion study predicts thick crust (> 45 km) under interior East Antarctica, which is penetrated by narrow continental rifts featuring relatively thinner crust. The largest crustal thicknesses predicted from gravity inversion lie in the region of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, and are consistent with seismic estimates. The East Antarctic Rift System (EARS), a major Permian to Cretaceous age rift system, is imaged by our inversion and appears to extend from the continental margin at the Lambert Rift to the South Pole region, a distance of 2500 km. Offshore an extensive region of either thick oceanic crust or highly thinned continental crust lies adjacent to Oates Land and north Victoria Land, and also off West Antarctica around the Amundsen Ridges. Thin crust is predicted under the Ross Sea and beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and delineates the regional extent of the broad West Antarctic Rift System (WARS). Substantial regional uplift is required under Marie Byrd Land to reconcile gravity and seismic estimates. A mantle dynamic uplift origin of the uplift is preferred to a thermal anomaly from a very young rift. The new maps produced by this study support the hypothesis that one branch of the WARS links through to the De Gerlache sea-mounts and Peter I Island in the Bellingshausen Sea region, while another branch may link to the George V Sound Rift in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Crustal thickness and lithosphere thinning derived from gravity inversion also allows the determination of circum-Antarctic ocean-continent transition structure and the mapping of continent-ocean boundary location. Superposition of illuminated satellite gravity data onto crustal thickness maps from gravity inversion provides improved determination of Southern Ocean rift orientation, pre-breakup rifted margin conjugacy and continental breakup trajectory. The continental lithosphere thinning distribution, used to define the initial thermal model temperature perturbation, is derived from the gravity inversion and uses no a priori isochron information; as a consequence the gravity inversion method provides a prediction of ocean-continent transition location, which is independent of ocean isochron information.

The frequency-domain approach for apparent density mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, T.; Guo, L.

2017-12-01

Apparent density mapping is a technique to estimate density distribution in the subsurface layer from the observed gravity data. It has been widely applied for geologic mapping, tectonic study and mineral exploration for decades. Apparent density mapping usually models the density layer as a collection of vertical, juxtaposed prisms in both horizontal directions, whose top and bottom surfaces are assumed to be horizontal or variable-depth, and then inverts or deconvolves the gravity anomalies to determine the density of each prism. Conventionally, the frequency-domain approach, which assumes that both top and bottom surfaces of the layer are horizontal, is usually utilized for fast density mapping. However, such assumption is not always valid in the real world, since either the top surface or the bottom surface may be variable-depth. Here, we presented a frequency-domain approach for apparent density mapping, which permits both the top and bottom surfaces of the layer to be variable-depth. We first derived the formula for forward calculation of gravity anomalies caused by the density layer, whose top and bottom surfaces are variable-depth, and the formula for inversion of gravity anomalies for the density distribution. Then we proposed the procedure for density mapping based on both the formulas of inversion and forward calculation. We tested the approach on the synthetic data, which verified its effectiveness. We also tested the approach on the real Bouguer gravity anomalies data from the central South China. The top surface was assumed to be flat and was on the sea level, and the bottom surface was considered as the Moho surface. The result presented the crustal density distribution, which was coinciding well with the basic tectonic features in the study area.

Magnetic Fields Versus Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hensley, Kerry

2018-04-01

Deep within giant molecular clouds, hidden by dense gas and dust, stars form. Unprecedented data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveal the intricate magnetic structureswoven throughout one of the most massive star-forming regions in the Milky Way.How Stars Are BornThe Horsehead Nebulasdense column of gas and dust is opaque to visible light, but this infrared image reveals the young stars hidden in the dust. [NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team]Simple theory dictates that when a dense clump of molecular gas becomes massive enough that its self-gravity overwhelms the thermal pressure of the cloud, the gas collapses and forms a star. In reality, however, star formation is more complicated than a simple give and take between gravity and pressure. Thedusty molecular gas in stellar nurseries is permeated with magnetic fields, which are thought to impede the inward pull of gravity and slow the rate of star formation.How can we learn about the magnetic fields of distant objects? One way is by measuring dust polarization. An elongated dust grain will tend to align itself with its short axis parallel to the direction of the magnetic field. This systematic alignment of the dust grains along the magnetic field lines polarizes the dust grains emission perpendicular to the local magnetic field. This allows us to infer the direction of the magnetic field from the direction of polarization.Magnetic field orientations for protostars e2 and e8 derived from Submillimeter Array observations (panels a through c) and ALMA observations (panels d and e). Click to enlarge. [Adapted from Koch et al. 2018]Tracing Magnetic FieldsPatrick Koch (Academia Sinica, Taiwan) and collaborators used high-sensitivity ALMA observations of dust polarization to learn more about the magnetic field morphology of Milky Way star-forming region W51. W51 is one of the largest star-forming regions in our galaxy, home to high-mass protostars e2, e8, and North.The ALMA observations reveal polarized emission toward all three sources. By extracting the magnetic field orientations from the polarization vectors, Koch and collaborators found that the molecular cloud contains an ordered magnetic field with never-before-seen structures. Several small clumps on the perimeter of the massive star-forming cores exhibit comet-shaped magnetic field structures, which could indicate that these smaller cores are being pulled toward the more massive cores.These findings hint that the magnetic field structure can tell us about the flow of material within star-forming regions key to understanding the nature of star formation itself.Maps of sin for two of the protostars (e2 and e8) and their surroundings. [Adapted from Koch et al. 2018]Guiding Star FormationDo the magnetic fields in W51 help or hinder star formation? To explore this question,Koch and collaborators introduced the quantity sin , where is the angle between the local gravity and the local magnetic field.When the angle between gravity and the magnetic field is small (sin 0), the magnetic field has little effect on the collapse of the cloud. If gravity and the magnetic field are perpendicular (sin 1), the magnetic field can slow the infall of gas and inhibit star formation.Based on this parameter, Koch and collaborators identified narrow channels where gravity acts unimpeded by the magnetic field. These magnetic channels may funnel gas toward the dense cores and aid the star-formation process.The authors observations demonstrate just one example of the broad realm ALMAs polarimetry capabilities have opened to discovery. These and future observations of dust polarization will continue to reveal more about the delicate magnetic structure within molecular clouds, furtherilluminating the role that magnetic fields play in star formation.CitationPatrick M. Koch et al 2018 ApJ 855 39. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaa4c1

Topography of Earth's moon

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-10-07

Topography of Earth's moon generated from data collected by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, with the gravity anomalies bordering the Procellarum region superimposed in blue. The border structures are shown using gravity gradients calculated with data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. These gravity anomalies are interpreted as ancient lava-flooded rift zones buried beneath the volcanic plains (or maria) on the nearside of the Moon. Launched as GRAIL A and GRAIL B in September 2011, the probes, renamed Ebb and Flow, operated in a nearly circular orbit near the poles of the moon at an altitude of about 34 miles (55 kilometers) until their mission ended in December 2012. The distance between the twin probes changed slightly as they flew over areas of greater and lesser gravity caused by visible features, such as mountains and craters, and by masses hidden beneath the lunar surface. The twin spacecraft flew in a nearly circular orbit until the end of the mission on Dec. 17, 2012, when the probes intentionally were sent into the moon's surface. NASA later named the impact site in honor of late astronaut Sally K. Ride, who was America's first woman in space and a member of the GRAIL mission team. GRAIL's prime and extended science missions generated the highest-resolution gravity field map of any celestial body. The map will provide a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed and evolved. The GRAIL mission was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission was part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. GRAIL was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver. For more information about GRAIL, please visit grail.nasa.gov. Credit: NASA/Colorado School of Mines/MIT/GSFC/Scientific Visualization Studio

Gravity for Detecting Caves: Airborne and Terrestrial Simulations Based on a Comprehensive Karstic Cave Benchmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braitenberg, Carla; Sampietro, Daniele; Pivetta, Tommaso; Zuliani, David; Barbagallo, Alfio; Fabris, Paolo; Rossi, Lorenzo; Fabbri, Julius; Mansi, Ahmed Hamdi

2016-04-01

Underground caves bear a natural hazard due to their possible evolution into a sink hole. Mapping of all existing caves could be useful for general civil usages as natural deposits or tourism and sports. Natural caves exist globally and are typical in karst areas. We investigate the resolution power of modern gravity campaigns to systematically detect all void caves of a minimum size in a given area. Both aerogravity and terrestrial acquisitions are considered. Positioning of the gravity station is fastest with GNSS methods the performance of which is investigated. The estimates are based on a benchmark cave of which the geometry is known precisely through a laser-scan survey. The cave is the Grotta Gigante cave in NE Italy in the classic karst. The gravity acquisition is discussed, where heights have been acquired with dual-frequency geodetic GNSS receivers and Total Station. Height acquisitions with non-geodetic low-cost receivers are shown to be useful, although the error on the gravity field is larger. The cave produces a signal of -1.5 × 10-5 m/s2, with a clear elliptic geometry. We analyze feasibility of airborne gravity acquisitions for the purpose of systematically mapping void caves. It is found that observations from fixed wing aircraft cannot resolve the caves, but observations from slower and low-flying helicopters or drones do. In order to detect the presence of caves the size of the benchmark cave, systematic terrestrial acquisitions require a density of three stations on square 500 by 500 m2 tiles. The question has a large impact on civil and environmental purposes, since it will allow planning of urban development at a safe distance from subsurface caves. The survey shows that a systematic coverage of the karst would have the benefit to recover the position of all of the greater existing void caves.

Arkansas and Louisiana Aeromagnetic and Gravity Maps and Data - A Website for Distribution of Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bankey, Viki; Daniels, David L.

2008-01-01

This report contains digital data, image files, and text files describing data formats for aeromagnetic and gravity data used to compile the State aeromagnetic and gravity maps of Arkansas and Louisiana. The digital files include grids, images, ArcInfo, and Geosoft compatible files. In some of the data folders, ASCII files with the extension 'txt' describe the format and contents of the data files. Read the 'txt' files before using the data files.

Gravity study of Libya;Evaluation and Integration with Geological Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Suleman, abdunnur; Saheel, Ahmed

2016-04-01

Libya is located on the Mediterranean foreland of the African Shield and covers an area of approximately 1.8 million square kilometers. Since Early Paleozoic time, Libya has been a site of deposition of large sheets of continental clastics and several transgressions and regressions by the seas with consequent accumulations of a wide variety of sedimentary rocks. Several tectonic cycles affected the area and shaped the geological setting of the country. However, the regional geology and the structural framework have been highly influenced by the Caledonian, Hercynian, and Alpine tectonic events. As a result, a total of seven sedimentary basins, namely Ghadames, Murzuq, Al Kufra, Al Butnan, Sirt, and the Offshore Pelagian Basin, were developed and were separated by intervening uplifts and platforms ( Gargaf, Tibesti, Nafusah and Cyrenaica platform). Apart from Sirt and the offshore basins, all the above mentioned basins are active since Early Paleozoic time and received several thousand feet of sediments. The capability of providing regional information on the structure of sedimentary basins makes gravity mapping, in conjunction with geological information, potentially powerful tools. In this study we used gravity mapping as our primary tool of investigation however, we also used all available geological information to better understand the regional tectonics. The gravity dataset that were used in the Gravity compilation project of Libya is not homogenous. As a result, some irregularities, apparent spikes or misties, and large shifts were obtained and were taken into consideration. Evaluation of gravity Maps of Libya and their integration with geological data provide a better understanding of the role that gravity mapping plays in the geological exploration of sedimentary basins. Results confirm the known Sirt Basin regional tectonic elements and the possible presence of NW-SE lateral wrench tectonics, crossing Ajdabiya Trough at the center of Sirt Basin. The residual gravity map supports new interpretation of the Sirwal Trough in Northern Cyrenaica. Results also indicate shallow crust along the present day coast line of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, steeply dipping toward the offshore. The depo-center of Ghadames Basin cannot be precisely defined due to the lack of gravity coverage. However, Murzuq Basin is well defined regionally, in spite of gravity gaps which make the overall coverage in the southern basins inadequate for precise interpretation.

The report of the Gravity Field Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, D. E.

1982-04-01

A Gravity Field Workshop was convened to review the actions which could be taken prior to a GRAVSAT mission to improve the Earth's gravity field model. This review focused on the potential improvements in the Earth's gravity field which could be obtained using the current satellite and surface gravity data base. In particular, actions to improve the quality of the gravity field determination through refined measurement corrections, selected data augmentation and a more accurate reprocessing of the data were considered. In addition, recommendations were formulated which define actions which NASA should take to develop the necessary theoretical and computation techniques for gravity model determination and to use these approaches to improve the accuracy of the Earth's gravity model.

Satellite gravity field derivatives for identifying geological boundaries.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarez, O.; Gimenez, M.; Braitenberg, C.; Folguera, A.

2012-04-01

The Pampean flat slab zone developed in the last 17 Ma between 27° and 33°S, and has denuded an intricate collage of crustal blocks amalgamated during the Pampean, Famatinian and San Rafael deformational stages, that is far of being completely understood. For potential field studies these amalgamations have the effect of defining important compositional and density heterogeneities. Geophysical data from different studies show a sharp boundary between the two adjacent and contrasting crusts of Pampia and the Cuyania terrane. Recent aeromagnetic surveys have inferred a mafic and ultramafic belt interpreted as a buried ophiolitic suite hosted in the corresponding suture. This boundary coincides locally with basement exposures of high to medium grade metamorphic rocks developed in close association with the Famatinian orogen of Early to Middle Ordovician age. Lower crustal rocks are exposed along this first order crustal discontinuity. The Río de la Plata basement crops out from southern Uruguay to eastern-center Argentina with an approximate surface of 20,000 km2. Oldest rocks have been dated in 2,200 and 1,700 Ma, indicating that they constituted a different block to Pampia. The boundary between Pampia and the Rio de la Plata craton is not exposed. However, a strong gravimetric anomaly identified in the central part of the foothills of the Sierras de Córdoba indicates a first order crustal discontinuity that has been related to their collision in Neoproterozoic times. This work focuses on the determination of mass heterogeneities over the Pampean flat slab zone using gravity anomaly and vertical gravity gradient, with the aim to determine discontinuities in the pattern of terrain amalgamation that conformed the basement. Satellite gravimetry is highly sensitive to these variations. Recent satellite missions, (CHAMP, GRACE, and GOCE) have introduced an extraordinary improvement in the global mapping of the gravity field. We control the quality of the terrestrial data entering the EGM2008 by a comparison analysis with the satellite only gravitational model of GOCE up to degree N=250. Using the global model EGM2008, the vertical gravity gradient and the gravity anomaly for South Central Andes are calculated. We correct the observations for the topographic effect using tesseroids by using a 1-arc minute global relief model of earth's surface. Results are compared to a schematic geological map of the South Central Andes region, which includes main geological features with regional dimensions presumably accompanied by crustal density variations. We clearly depict the geological structures and delineation of significant terrains such as Pampia, Cuyania, and Chilenia terranes. Of great interest is the contact between the Rio de la Plata craton and the Pampia Terrain, a boundary that has not been clearly defined till now. Our work aims to highlight the potential of this new tool of satellite gravimetry, with the addition of topographic correction, to achieve tectonic interpretation of medium to long wavelength of a determined study region. We demonstrate that the new gravity fields can be used for identifying geological boundaries related to density differences, in a regional dimension and thus are a new useful tool in geophysical exploration.

Hořava Gravity in the Effective Field Theory formalism: From cosmology to observational constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frusciante, Noemi; Raveri, Marco; Vernieri, Daniele; Hu, Bin; Silvestri, Alessandra

2016-09-01

We consider Hořava gravity within the framework of the effective field theory (EFT) of dark energy and modified gravity. We work out a complete mapping of the theory into the EFT language for an action including all the operators which are relevant for linear perturbations with up to sixth order spatial derivatives. We then employ an updated version of the EFTCAMB/EFTCosmoMC package to study the cosmology of the low-energy limit of Hořava gravity and place constraints on its parameters using several cosmological data sets. In particular we use cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature-temperature and lensing power spectra by Planck 2013, WMAP low- ℓ polarization spectra, WiggleZ galaxy power spectrum, local Hubble measurements, Supernovae data from SNLS, SDSS and HST and the baryon acoustic oscillations measurements from BOSS, SDSS and 6dFGS. We get improved upper bounds, with respect to those from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, on the deviation of the cosmological gravitational constant from the local Newtonian one. At the level of the background phenomenology, we find a relevant rescaling of the Hubble rate at all epoch, which has a strong impact on the cosmological observables; at the level of perturbations, we discuss in details all the relevant effects on the observables and find that in general the quasi-static approximation is not safe to describe the evolution of perturbations. Overall we find that the effects of the modifications induced by the low-energy Hořava gravity action are quite dramatic and current data place tight bounds on the theory parameters.

Oil gravity distribution in the diatomite at South Belridge Field, Kern County, CA: Implications for oil sourcing and migration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hill, D.W.; Sande, J.J.; Doe, P.H.

1995-04-01

Understanding oil gravity distribution in the Belridge Diatomite has led to economic infill development and specific enhanced recovery methods for targeted oil properties. To date more than 100 wells have provided samples used to determining vertical and areal distribution of oil gravity in the field. Detailed geochemical analyses were also conducted on many of the oil samples to establish different oil types, relative maturities, and to identify transformed oils. The geochemical analysis also helped identify source rock expulsion temperatures and depositional environments. The data suggests that the Belridge diatomite has been charged by a single hydrocarbon source rock type andmore » was generated over a relatively wide range of temperatures. Map and statistical data support two distinct oil segregation processes occurring post expulsion. Normal gravity segregation within depositional cycles of diatomite have caused lightest oils to migrate to the crests of individual cycle structures. Some data suggests a loss of the light end oils in the uppermost cycles to the Tulare Formation above, or through early biodegradation. Structural rotation post early oil expulsion has also left older, heavier oils concentrated on the east flank of the structure. With the addition of other samples from the south central San Joaquin area, we have been able to tie the Belridge diatomite hydrocarbon charge into a regional framework. We have also enhanced our ability to predict oil gravity and well primary recovery by unraveling some key components of the diatomite oil source and migration history.« less

Crustal Structure Picture of Deception Island [western Bransfield Strait] From Gravimetric and Magnetic Data.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catalán, M.; Carbó, A.; Martín, Davila; Muñoz, A.; Agudo, L.

Bransfield Strait constitutes a marginal basin that separates the South Shetland archipielago from the Antarctic Peninsula. Since the beginning of its geological record, due to the presence of several submarine and above sea surface volcanoes, eruptions could be appointed easily. All these aspects turn the area as one of the most active at Antarctic region. During 1999 austral summer a seismic crisis was developed. It caused the organisation of a geophysical campaign called DECVOL, where several Spanish scientific institutions participated. Along this, several kinds of studies were carried out. Onland: geodesic GPS and gravity measurements, sampling and gases analysis, continuous seismic recording and geomagnetic measurements. Additionally a geophysical marine campaign [inside and outside Deception island] was carried out. Bathymetry and geopotential information [earth gravity field and geomagnetis m data] were acquired. The multi-disciplinar campaign goal was to perform a fast geophysical evaluation of the volcanic risk. This aspect was important particularly, because the emplacement of Spanish and Argentinean semi -permanent stations around its inner bay. In this study, potential field data recorded along this cruise have been used, together with satellite borne altimetry derived data for gravity, seismic bibliography information of the area, and finally magnetic data compiled in previous campaigns, that were processed until homogeneity could be guaranteed. All these gives a deep detail vision of the structure of the crust at Deception surroundings. In this communication the Bouguer gravity anomaly and scalar magnetic maps are presented, compared and discussed, as well as three gravity and magnetic marine profiles are 2D 1/2 modelled.

The Role of GRAIL Orbit Determination in Preprocessing of Gravity Science Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kruizinga, Gerhard; Asmar, Sami; Fahnestock, Eugene; Harvey, Nate; Kahan, Daniel; Konopliv, Alex; Oudrhiri, Kamal; Paik, Meegyeong; Park, Ryan; Strekalov, Dmitry;

Earth and ocean physics. [results of ERTS-1 imagery for determining earth gravity and tectonic conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

A procedure for obtaining a parameterization of the marine geoid for suitable orthogonality properties in altimetry data is discussed. The application of the technique to the Puerto Rico trench is explained and a map of the data is developed. The Goddard Earth Model (GEM-6) is described to show the method for determining the earth gravity field using data obtained from satellite tracking stations. The derivation of a global ocean tide model from satellite data is explained. The influence of solid earth and ocean tides on the inclination of GEOS-1 is plotted. The delineation of the geographical fracture pattern and boundary system of the tectonic plates using ERTS satellite is shown.

Structure of the St. Francois Mountains and surrounding lead belt, S. E. Missouri: Inferences from thermal IR and other data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arvidson, R. E. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) in the form of an apparent thermal inertia image were merged with shaded relief maps and Bouguer gravity maps. The HCMM data show that the dominant structural grain in Missouri strikes in a northwesterly direction. The strike is the same as a major basement fault or flexure identified on the basis of gravity images.

Preliminary isostatic residual gravity map of the Newfoundland Mountains 30' by 60' quadrangle and east part of the Wells 30' by 60' quadrangle, Box Elder County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, Victoria; Athens, N.D.; Churchel, B.A.; Willis, H.; Knepprath, N.E.; Rosario, Jose J.; Roza, J.; Kraushaar, S.M.; Hardwick, C.L.

2013-01-01

A new isostatic residual gravity map of the Newfoundland Mountains and east of the Wells 30×60 quadrangles of Utah is based on compilation of preexisting data and new data collected by the Utah and U.S. Geological Surveys. Pronounced gravity lows occur over Grouse Creek Valley and locally beneath the Great Salt Lake Desert, indicating significant thickness of low-density Tertiary sedimentary rocks and deposits. Gravity highs coincide with exposures of dense pre-Cenozoic rocks in the Newfoundland, Silver Island, and Little Pigeon Mountains. Gravity values measured on pre-Tertiary basement to the north in the Bovine and Hogup Mountains are as much as 10mGal lower. Steep, linear gravity gradients may define basin-bounding faults concealed along the margins of the Newfoundland, Silver Island, and Little Pigeon Mountains, Lemay Island and the Pilot Range.

Potential Geophysical Field Transformations and Combined 3D Modelling for Estimation the Seismic Site Effects on Example of Israel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eppelbaum, Lev; Meirova, Tatiana

2015-04-01

It is well-known that the local seismic site effects may have a significant contribution to the intensity of damage and destruction (e.g., Hough et al., 1990; Regnier et al., 2000; Bonnefoy-Claudet et al., 2006; Haase et al., 2010). The thicknesses of sediments, which play a large role in amplification, usually are derived from seismic velocities. At the same time, thickness of sediments may be determined (or defined) on the basis of 3D combined gravity-magnetic modeling joined with available geological materials, seismic data and borehole section examination. Final result of such investigation is a 3D physical-geological model (PGM) reflecting main geological peculiarities of the area under study. Such a combined study needs in application of a reliable 3D mathematical algorithm of computation together with advanced methodology of 3D modeling. For this analysis the developed GSFC software was selected. The GSFC (Geological Space Field Calculation) program was developed for solving a direct 3-D gravity and magnetic prospecting problem under complex geological conditions (Khesin et al., 1996; Eppelbaum and Khesin, 2004). This program has been designed for computing the field of Δg (Bouguer, free-air or observed value anomalies), ΔZ, ΔX, ΔY , ΔT , as well as second derivatives of the gravitational potential under conditions of rugged relief and inclined magnetization. The geological space can be approximated by (1) three-dimensional, (2) semi-infinite bodies and (3) those infinite along the strike closed, L.H. non-closed, R.H. on-closed and open). Geological bodies are approximated by horizontal polygonal prisms. The program has the following main advantages (besides abovementioned ones): (1) Simultaneous computing of gravity and magnetic fields; (2) Description of the terrain relief by irregularly placed characteristic points; (3) Computation of the effect of the earth-air boundary by the method of selection directly in the process of interpretation; (4) Modeling of the selected profiles flowing over rugged relief or at various arbitrary levels (using characteristic points); (5) Simultaneous modeling of several profiles; (6) Description of a large number of geological bodies and fragments. The basic algorithm realized in the GSFC program is the solution of the direct 3-D problem of gravity and magnetic prospecting for horizontal polygonal prism limited in the strike direction. In the developed algorithm integration over a volume is realized on the surface limiting the anomalous body. It is necessary to note that when we apply a series of interpreting profiles, we can compile several detailed maps of thicknesses of sedimentary or intrusive associations for the area under study. Such an experience was obtained for Carmel and Maanit areas (Eppelbaum and Katz, 2012a). Taking into account that seismic site effects must have an obvious correlation with tectonic pattern (in regional, middle and detailed scales), satellite (gravity), airborne (magnetic measurements at 1 and 5 km levels) and land (both gravity and magnetic) data were processed by the use of different methodologies. For instance, it was shown that magnetic gradient computations from airborne magnetic observations (1 km level) enable to classify the region under study to areas with thick sedimentary cover and areas with shallow intrusive rock location. Self-adjusting and adaptive filtering of gravity satellite obtained and magnetic airborne (1 and 5 km) data enabled to reveal the areas with quasi-homogeneous characteristics. Satellite derived gravity data were processed by the use of numerous algorithms: entropy, adaptive filtering, wavelet, and information approach (Eppelbaum and Katz, 2015a, 2015b, Eppelbaum et al., 2014), and strike angle and virtual deformations (Klokočník et al., 2014). Application of these methods was effective not only for tectono-geological setting sharpening, but also for calculation of such parameters as 'dominant location of subsurface masses', areas of 'compression' and 'dilatation'. Land gravity and magnetic data were processed by the use of abovementioned algorithms including procedures of downward continuation and computation of third derivatives of gravitational potential. For this investigation was utilized the recently constructed map of the Neogene-Quaternary structural stage (indicating thicknesses of these deposits) of Israel and the eastern Mediterranean (Eppelbaum and Katz, 2014b). Results of other map compilation (Palaeogene, Late and Early Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic structural stages, hypsometric map of the base of the newest (Post-Jurassic) tectonic complex as well as map of Lower Mesozoic wells and outcrop locations) (Eppelbaum and Katz, 2011, 2012a, 2012b, 2014a, 2014b, 2015a, 2015b) were taken into consideration for 3D PGMs construction. Acknowledgements This research was carried out under grant No. 214-17-016 from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources of Israel. References Bonnefoy-Claudet, S., Cotton, F. and Bard, P.-Y., 2006. The nature of noise wavefield and its applications for site effects studies. A literature review. Earth Sciences Review, 79, 205-227. Eppelbaum, L. and Katz, Y., 2011. Tectonic-Geophysical Mapping of Israel and eastern Mediterranean: Implication for Hydrocarbon Prospecting. Positioning, 2, No. 1, doi: 10.4236/pos.2011.21004, 36-54. Eppelbaum, L.V., Katz, Y.I., 2012a. Mineral deposits in Israel: A contemporary view, In: (Eds. Ya'ari, A. and Zahavi, E.D.), Israel: Social, Economic and Political Developments, Nova Science Publ, NY, USA, 1-41. Eppelbaum, L.V. and Katz, Y.I., 2012b. Key Features of Seismo-Neotectonic Pattern of the Eastern Mediterranean. Izv. Acad. Sci. Azerb. Rep., Ser.: Earth Sciences, No. 3, 29-40. Eppelbaum, L.V. and Katz, Y.I., 2014a. First Paleomagnetic Map of the Easternmost Mediterranean Derived from Combined Geophysical-Geological Analysis. Trans. of the 10th EUG Meet., Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 16, EGU2014-2424, Vienna, Austria, 1-5. Eppelbaum, L.V. and Katz, Y.I., 2014b. First Maps of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Structural-Sedimentation Floors of the Easternmost Mediterranean and their Relationship with the Deep Geophysical-Geological Zonation. Proceed. of the 19th Intern. Congress of Sedimentologists, Geneva, Switzerland, 1-3. Eppelbaum, L.V. and Katz, Yu.I., 2015a. Newly Developed Paleomagnetic Map of the Easternmost Mediterranean Unmasks Geodynamic History of this Region. Central European Jour. of Geosciences, 6, No. 4 (in Press). Eppelbaum, L.V. and Katz, Yu.I., 2015b. Application of Integrated Geological-Geophysical Analysis for Development of Paleomagnetic Maps of the Easternmost Mediterranean. In: (Eppelbaum L., Ed.), New Developments in Paleomagnetism Research, Nova Publisher, NY (in Press). Eppelbaum, L.V. and Khesin, B.E., 2004. Advanced 3-D modelling of gravity field unmasks reserves of a pyrite-polymetallic deposit: A case study from the Greater Caucasus. First Break, 22, No. 11, 53-56. Eppelbaum, L.V., Nikolaev, A.V. and Katz, Y.I., 2014. Space location of the Kiama paleomagnetic hyperzone of inverse polarity in the crust of the eastern Mediterranean. Doklady Earth Sciences (Springer), 457, No. 6, 710-714. Haase, J.S., Park, C.H., Nowack, R.L. and Hill, J.R., 2010. Probabilistic seismic hazard estimates incorporating site effects - An example from Indiana, U.S.A. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, 16, No. 4, 369-388. Hough, S.E., Borcherdt, R. D., Friberg, P. A., Busby, R., Field, E. and Jacob, K. N., 1990. The role of sediment-induced amplification in the collapse of the Nimitz freeway. Nature, 344, 853-855. Khesin, B.E. Alexeyev, V.V. and Eppelbaum, L.V., 1996. Interpretation of Geophysical Fields in Complicated Environments. Kluwer Academic Publ., Ser.: Advanced Appr. in Geophysics, Dordrecht - London - Boston. Klokočník, J., Kostelecký, J., Eppelbaum, L. and Bezděk, A., 2014. Gravity Disturbances, the Marussi Tensor, Invariants and Other Functions of the Geopotential Represented by EGM 2008. Journal of Earth Science Research, 2, No. 3, 88-101. Regnier, M., Moris, S. Shapira, A., Malitzky, A. and Shorten, G., 2000. Microzonation of the expected seismic site effects across Port Vila, Vanuatu. Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 4, No. 2, 215-231.

High-frequency analysis of Earth gravity field models based on terrestrial gravity and GPS/levelling data: a case study in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papanikolaou, T. D.; Papadopoulos, N.

2015-06-01

The present study aims at the validation of global gravity field models through numerical investigation in gravity field functionals based on spherical harmonic synthesis of the geopotential models and the analysis of terrestrial data. We examine gravity models produced according to the latest approaches for gravity field recovery based on the principles of the Gravity field and steadystate Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) and Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite missions. Furthermore, we evaluate the overall spectrum of the ultra-high degree combined gravity models EGM2008 and EIGEN-6C3stat. The terrestrial data consist of gravity and collocated GPS/levelling data in the overall Hellenic region. The software presented here implements the algorithm of spherical harmonic synthesis in a degree-wise cumulative sense. This approach may quantify the bandlimited performance of the individual models by monitoring the degree-wise computed functionals against the terrestrial data. The degree-wise analysis performed yields insight in the short-wavelengths of the Earth gravity field as these are expressed by the high degree harmonics.

10. The surface and interior of venus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Masursky, H.; Kaula, W.M.; McGill, G.E.; Pettengill, G.H.; Phillips, R.J.; Russell, C.T.; Schubert, G.; Shapiro, I.I.

1977-01-01

Present ideas about the surface and interior of Venus are based on data obtained from (1) Earth-based radio and radar: temperature, rotation, shape, and topography; (2) fly-by and orbiting spacecraft: gravity and magnetic fields; and (3) landers: winds, local structure, gamma radiation. Surface features, including large basins, crater-like depressions, and a linear valley, have been recognized from recent ground-based radar images. Pictures of the surface acquired by the USSR's Venera 9 and 10 show abundant boulders and apparent wind erosion. On the Pioneer Venus 1978 Orbiter mission, the radar mapper experiment will determine surface heights, dielectric constant values and small-scale slope values along the sub-orbital track between 50??S and 75??N. This experiment will also estimate the global shape and provide coarse radar images (40-80 km identification resolution) of part of the surface. Gravity data will be obtained by radio tracking. Maps combining radar altimetry with spacecraft and ground-based images will be made. A fluxgate magnetometer will measure the magnetic fields around Venus. The radar and gravity data will provide clues to the level of crustal differentiation and tectonic activity. The magnetometer will determine the field variations accurately. Data from the combined experiments may constrain the dynamo mechanism; if so, a deeper understanding of both Venus and Earth will be gained. ?? 1977 D. Reidel Publishing Company.

Geologic map of the Monrovia Quadrangle, Liberia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thorman, Charles H.

1974-01-01

As part of a program undertaken cooperatively by the Liberian Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey, under the sponsorship of the Government of Liberia and the Agency for International Development, U. S. Department of State, Liberia was mapped by geologic and geophysical methods during the period 1965 to 1972.- The resulting geologic and geophysical maps are published in ten folios, each covering one quadrangle (see index map). The Monrovia quadrangle was systematically mapped by the author from June 1971 to July 1972. Field data provided by private companies and other members of the LGS-USGS project were used in map compilation, and are hereby acknowledged. Interpretation of gravity data (Behrendt and Wotorson, 1974, c), and total-intensity aeromagnetic and total count gamma radiation surveys (Behrendt and Wotorson, 1974, a, and b) were also used in the compilation, as were other unpublished geophysical data furnished by Behrendt and Wotorson (near-surface, regional magnetic component, and geologic correlations based on aeromagnetic and radiometric characteristics).

Preprocessing of gravity gradients at the GOCE high-level processing facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouman, Johannes; Rispens, Sietse; Gruber, Thomas; Koop, Radboud; Schrama, Ernst; Visser, Pieter; Tscherning, Carl Christian; Veicherts, Martin

2009-07-01

One of the products derived from the gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer (GOCE) observations are the gravity gradients. These gravity gradients are provided in the gradiometer reference frame (GRF) and are calibrated in-flight using satellite shaking and star sensor data. To use these gravity gradients for application in Earth scienes and gravity field analysis, additional preprocessing needs to be done, including corrections for temporal gravity field signals to isolate the static gravity field part, screening for outliers, calibration by comparison with existing external gravity field information and error assessment. The temporal gravity gradient corrections consist of tidal and nontidal corrections. These are all generally below the gravity gradient error level, which is predicted to show a 1/ f behaviour for low frequencies. In the outlier detection, the 1/ f error is compensated for by subtracting a local median from the data, while the data error is assessed using the median absolute deviation. The local median acts as a high-pass filter and it is robust as is the median absolute deviation. Three different methods have been implemented for the calibration of the gravity gradients. All three methods use a high-pass filter to compensate for the 1/ f gravity gradient error. The baseline method uses state-of-the-art global gravity field models and the most accurate results are obtained if star sensor misalignments are estimated along with the calibration parameters. A second calibration method uses GOCE GPS data to estimate a low-degree gravity field model as well as gravity gradient scale factors. Both methods allow to estimate gravity gradient scale factors down to the 10-3 level. The third calibration method uses high accurate terrestrial gravity data in selected regions to validate the gravity gradient scale factors, focussing on the measurement band. Gravity gradient scale factors may be estimated down to the 10-2 level with this method.

Mars Observer: Mission toward a basic understanding of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Albee, Arden L.

1992-01-01

The Mars Observer Mission will provide a spacecraft platform about Mars from which the entire Martian surface and atmosphere will be observed and mapped by remote sensing instruments for at least 1 Martian year. The scientific objectives for the Mission emphasize qualitative and quantitative determination of the elemental and mineralogical composition of the surface; measurement of the global surface topography, gravity field, and magnetic field; and the development of a synoptic data base of climatological conditions. The Mission will provide basic global understanding of Mars as it exists today and will provide a framework for understanding its past.

The JPL Mars gravity field, Mars50c, based upon Viking and Mariner 9 Doppler tracking data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Konopliv, Alexander S.; Sjogren, William L.

1995-01-01

This report summarizes the current JPL efforts of generating a Mars gravity field from Viking 1 and 2 and Mariner 9 Doppler tracking data. The Mars 50c solution is a complete gravity field to degree and order 50 with solutions as well for the gravitational mass of Mars, Phobos, and Deimos. The constants and models used to obtain the solution are given and the method for determining the gravity field is presented. The gravity field is compared to the best current gravity GMM1 of Goddard Space Flight Center.

From Mars to Greenland: Charting gravity with space and airborne instruments - Fields, tides, methods, results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colombo, Oscar L. (Editor)

1992-01-01

This symposium on space and airborne techniques for measuring gravity fields, and related theory, contains papers on gravity modeling of Mars and Venus at NASA/GSFC, an integrated laser Doppler method for measuring planetary gravity fields, observed temporal variations in the earth's gravity field from 16-year Starlette orbit analysis, high-resolution gravity models combining terrestrial and satellite data, the effect of water vapor corrections for satellite altimeter measurements of the geoid, and laboratory demonstrations of superconducting gravity and inertial sensors for space and airborne gravity measurements. Other papers are on airborne gravity measurements over the Kelvin Seamount; the accuracy of GPS-derived acceleration from moving platform tests; airborne gravimetry, altimetry, and GPS navigation errors; controlling common mode stabilization errors in airborne gravity gradiometry, GPS/INS gravity measurements in space and on a balloon, and Walsh-Fourier series expansion of the earth's gravitational potential.

Basement characterization and crustal structure beneath the Arabia-Eurasia collision (Iran): A combined gravity and magnetic study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mousavi, Naeim; Ebbing, Jörg

2018-04-01

We present a study on the depth to basement and magnetic crustal domains beneath the Iranian Plateau by modeling aeromagnetic and gravity data. First, field processing of the aeromagnetic data was undertaken to estimate the general characteristics of the magnetic basement. Afterwards, inverse modeling of aeromagnetic data was carried out to estimate the depth to basement. The obtained model of basement was refined using combined gravity and magnetic forward modeling. Hereby, we were able to distinguish different magnetic domains in the uppermost crust (10-20 km depths) influencing the medium to long wavelength trends of the magnetic anomalies. Magnetic basement mapping shows that prominent shallow magnetic features are furthermore located in the volcanic areas, e.g. the Urumieh Dokhtar Magmatic Assemblage. The presence of ophiolite outcrops in SE Iran implies that shallow oceanic crust (with high magnetization) is the main source of one of the biggest magnetic anomalies in entire Iran area located north of the Makran.

GRAIL Gravity Map of Orientale Basin

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-27

This color-coded map shows the strength of surface gravity around Orientale basin on Earth's moon, derived from data obtained by NASA's GRAIL mission. The GRAIL mission produced a very high-resolution map of gravity over the surface of the entire moon. This plot is zoomed in on the part of that map that features Orientale basin, where the two GRAIL spacecraft flew extremely low near the end of their mission. Their close proximity to the basin made the probes' measurements particularly sensitive to the gravitational acceleration there (due to the inverse squared law). The color scale plots the gravitational acceleration in units of "gals," where 1 gal is one centimeter per second squared, or about 1/1000th of the gravitational acceleration at Earth's surface. (The unit was devised in honor of the astronomer Galileo). Labels on the x and y axes represent latitude and longitude. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21050

Atom Interferometer Technologies in Space for Gravity Mapping and Gravity Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Jason; Chiow, Sheng-Wey; Kellogg, James; Kohel, James; Yu, Nan

2015-05-01

Atom interferometers utilize the wave-nature of atomic gases for precision measurements of inertial forces, with potential applications ranging from gravity mapping for planetary science to unprecedented tests of fundamental physics with quantum gases. The high stability and sensitivity intrinsic to these devices already place them among the best terrestrial sensors available for measurements of gravitational accelerations, rotations, and gravity gradients, with the promise of several orders of magnitude improvement in their detection sensitivity in microgravity. Consequently, multiple precision atom-interferometer-based projects are under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including a dual-atomic-species interferometer that is to be integrated into the Cold Atom Laboratory onboard the International Space Station and a highly stable gravity gradiometer in a transportable design relevant for earth science measurements. We will present JPL's activities in the use of precision atom interferometry for gravity mapping and gravitational wave detection in space. Our recent progresses bringing the transportable JPL atom interferometer instrument to be competitive with the state of the art and simulations of the expected capabilities of a proposed flight project will also be discussed. This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Bulk entanglement gravity without a boundary: Towards finding Einstein's equation in Hilbert space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, ChunJun; Carroll, Sean M.

2018-04-01

We consider the emergence from quantum entanglement of spacetime geometry in a bulk region. For certain classes of quantum states in an appropriately factorized Hilbert space, a spatial geometry can be defined by associating areas along codimension-one surfaces with the entanglement entropy between either side. We show how radon transforms can be used to convert these data into a spatial metric. Under a particular set of assumptions, the time evolution of such a state traces out a four-dimensional spacetime geometry, and we argue using a modified version of Jacobson's "entanglement equilibrium" that the geometry should obey Einstein's equation in the weak-field limit. We also discuss how entanglement equilibrium is related to a generalization of the Ryu-Takayanagi formula in more general settings, and how quantum error correction can help specify the emergence map between the full quantum-gravity Hilbert space and the semiclassical limit of quantum fields propagating on a classical spacetime.

KSC-2011-6822

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, members of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) launch team monitor GRAIL's launch countdown from the Mission Directors Center in Hangar AE. From left are Dana Grieco, launch operations manager, Analex, NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP); Bruce Reid, GRAIL mission manager, LSP; Al Sierra, manager of the Flight Project Office, LSP; Omar Baez, GRAIL assistant launch director, LSP; and Tim Dunn, GRAIL launch director, LSP; David Lehman, spacecraft mission director and GRAIL project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); and John Henk, GRAIL program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8 from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Classical gluon and graviton radiation from the bi-adjoint scalar double copy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberger, Walter D.; Prabhu, Siddharth G.; Thompson, Jedidiah O.

2017-09-01

We find double-copy relations between classical radiating solutions in Yang-Mills theory coupled to dynamical color charges and their counterparts in a cubic bi-adjoint scalar field theory which interacts linearly with particles carrying bi-adjoint charge. The particular color-to-kinematics replacements we employ are motivated by the Bern-Carrasco-Johansson double-copy correspondence for on-shell amplitudes in gauge and gravity theories. They are identical to those recently used to establish relations between classical radiating solutions in gauge theory and in dilaton gravity. Our explicit bi-adjoint solutions are constructed to second order in a perturbative expansion, and map under the double copy onto gauge theory solutions which involve at most cubic gluon self-interactions. If the correspondence is found to persist to higher orders in perturbation theory, our results suggest the possibility of calculating gravitational radiation from colliding compact objects, directly from a scalar field with vastly simpler (purely cubic) Feynman vertices.

KSC-2011-6887

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Managers of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission participate in a post-launch news conference in the Press Site television auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are Jim Adams, deputy director, Planetary Science Division, NASA's Science Mission Directorate; Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and David Lehman, GRAIL project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Liftoff of the twin GRAIL spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket was at 9:08:52 EDT Sept. 10 from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

What can be learned about the lunar mantle from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuber, M. T.; Smith, D. E.; Asmar, S. W.; Konopliv, A. S.; Lemoine, F. G.; Melosh, J.; Neumann, G. A.; Phillips, R. J.; Solomon, S. C.; Watkins, M. M.; Wieczorek, M. A.; Williams, J. G.; Andrews-Hanna, J. C.; Garrick-Bethell, I.; Head, J. W.; Kiefer, W. S.; Matsuyama, I.; McGovern, P. J.; Nimmo, F.; Soderblom, J. M.; Taylor, J.; Weber, R. C.; Goossens, S. J.; Kruizinga, G. L.; Mazarico, E.; Park, R. S.; Yuan, D.

2013-12-01

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), a dual-spacecraft, gravity-mapping mission that is a component of NASA's Discovery Program, has successfully concluded its Primary and Extended Missions, and is currently in the science analysis phase. In order to safely navigate the dual spacecraft at an average altitude of 22.5 km above the lunar surface during the Extended Mission phase in the fall of 2012, and to derive the greatest information from the full mission data set, the focus had been on the production of gravitational fields with the highest-possible resolution. Spherical harmonic models of the Moon's gravitational field, produced by separate software systems at the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, now include observations from both the Primary and Extended Missions. The highest-resolution models to date are to degree and order 900, corresponding to a spatial block size of 6 km, and are ideally suited to study the structure of the Moon's crust in extraordinary detail. GRAIL has achieved all measurement objectives for the Primary Mission, enabling all science investigations to be addressed. One of these investigations is to study the lunar hemispherical asymmetry, i.e., the difference between the nearside and farside. In this study we explore the nearside and farside mantle by isolating the long-wavelength gravity field. We accomplish this objective by removing plausible short-wavelength contributions from the crust that were based on the full resolution of high-degree and -order models, and by considering constraints from crustal compositions and volumes of mare basalt deposits. We localize the power spectral contributions of the nearside and farside to constrain lateral density variations, such as those associated with melting from the source regions of the mare basalts.

Detecting Batholithic Structures That Influence Seismogenic Processes in the North Chile Seismic Gap With Seismological and Gravity Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobiesiak, M.; Schaller, T.; Götze, H. J.; Gutknecht, B. D.

2016-12-01

Ever since the occurrence of the last M9 event in 1877 defining the North Chile Seismic Gap, a great earthquake of M≥9 has been expected to happen. Still, this great event has not yet taken place. Instead, the entire area was repeatedly ruptured through major earthquakes like the 2007 Mw 7.9 Tocopilla earthquake and the 2014 Pisagua/ Iquique earthquake sequence of Mw 8.3 and Mw 7.6, leaving large parts of the North Chile Seismic Gap undisturbed. The question remains if the remaining parts will rupture in a relatively small event or if a large event rupturing the entire gap will occur.To answer this question, we study the interplay between geological structure, tectonic setting and the stress/ strain fields, which result in the observed patterns of past seismic events in this area. We will show results of a pilot study of the 1995 Mw 8.1 Antofagasta earthquake occurring directly adjacent to the North Chile Seismic Gap as well as a case study of the area around the Pisagua/ Iquique earthquake sequence using seismological data (b-value map, source time function, moment release), the gravity isostatic residual anomaly field, vertical stress load and subsurface density modeling. These studies show a strong spatial correlation between the seismological parameters characterizing these earthquakes and the distribution of maxima and minima of the gravity isostatic residual and corresponding stress anomaly fields. Thus, we postulate a common cause being high density bodies situated in the crust of the South American plate. This theory is supported by gravity inferred density modeling and surface geology.

Imaging the Buried Chicxulub Crater with Gravity Gradients and Cenotes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hildebrand, A. R.; Pilkington, M.; Halpenny, J. F.; Ortiz-Aleman, C.; Chavez, R. E.; Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J.; Connors, M.; Graniel-Castro, E.; Camara-Zi, A.; Vasquez, J.

1995-09-01

Differing interpretations of the Bouguer gravity anomaly over the Chicxulub crater, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, have yielded diameter estimates of 170 to 320 km. Knowing the crater's size is necessary to quantify the lethal perturbations to the Cretaceous environment associated with its formation. The crater's size (and internal structure) is revealed by the horizontal gradient of the Bouguer gravity anomaly over the structure, and by mapping the karst features of the Yucatan region. To improve our resolution of the crater's gravity signature we collected additional gravity measurements primarily along radial profiles, but also to fill in previously unsurveyed areas. Horizontal gradient analysis of Bouguer gravity data objectively highlights the lateral density contrasts of the impact lithologies and suppresses regional anomalies which may obscure the gravity signature of the Chicxulub crater lithologies. This gradient technique yields a striking circular structure with at least 6 concentric gradient features between 25 and 85 km radius. These features are most distinct in the southwest probably because of denser sampling of the gravity field. Our detailed profiles detected an additional feature and steeper gradients (up to 5 mGal/km) than the original survey. We interpret the outer four gradient maxima to represent concentric faults in the crater's zone of slumping as is also revealed by seismic reflection data. The inner two probably represent the margin of the central uplift and the peak ring and or collapsed transient cavity. Radial gradients in the SW quadrant over the inferred ~40 km-diameter central uplift (4) may represent structural "puckering" as revealed at eroded terrestrial craters. Gradient features related to regional gravity highs and lows are visible outside the crater, but no concentric gradient features are apparent at distances > 90 km radius. The marginal gradient features may be modelled by slump faults as observed in large complex craters on the other terrestrial planets. A modeled fault of 1.5 km displacement (slightly slumped block exterior and impact breccia interior) reproduces the steepest gradient feature. This model is incompatible with models that place these gradient features inside the collapsed transient cavity. Locations of the karst features of the northern Yucatan region were digitized from 1:50,000 topographic maps, which show most but not all the water-filled sinkholes (locally known as cenotes). A prominent ring of cenotes is visible over the crater that is spatially correlated to the outer steep gravity gradient feature. The mapped cenotes constitute an unbiased sampling of the region's karst surface features of >50 m diameter. The gradient maximum and the cenote ring both meander with amplitudes of up to 2 km. The wiggles in the gradient feature and the cenote distribution probably correspond to the "scalloping" observed at the headwall of terraces in large complex craters. A second partial cenote ring exterior to the southwest side of the main ring corresponds to a less-prominent gravity gradient feature. No concentric structure is observable in the distribution of karst features at radii >90 km. The cenote ring is bounded by the outer peripheral steep gradient feature and must be related to it; the slump faults must have been reactivated sufficiently to create fracturing in the overlying and much younger sediment. Long term subsidence, as found at other terrestrial craters is a possible mechanism for the reactivation. Such long term subsidence may be caused by differential compaction or thermal relaxation. Elevations acquired during gravity surveys show that the cenote ring also corresponds to a topographic low along some of its length that probably reflects preferential erosion.

Geophysical Data (Gravity and Magnetic) from the Area Between Adana, Kahramanmaras and Hatay in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Tectonic Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Over, Semir; Akin, Ugur; Sen, Rahime

2018-01-01

The gravity and magnetic maps of the area between Adana-Kahramanmaras-Hatay provinces were produced from a compilation of data gathered during the period between 1973 and 1989. Reduced to the pole (RTP) and pseudo-gravity transformation (PGT) methods were applied to the magnetic data, while derivative ratio (DR) processing was applied to both gravity and magnetic data, respectively. Bouguer, RTP and PGT maps show the image of a buried structure corresponding to ophiolites under undifferentiated Quaternary deposits in the Adana depression and Iskenderun Gulf. DR maps show two important faults which reflect the tectonic framework in the study area: (1) the Karatas-Osmaniye Fault extending from Osmaniye to Karatas in the south between Adana and Iskenderun depressions and (2) Amanos Fault (southern part of East Anatolian Fault) in the Hatay region running southward from Turkoglu to Amik Basin along Amanos Mountain forming the actual plate boundary between the Anatolian block (part of Eurasian plate) and Arabian plate.

Gravity, Topography, and Magnetic Field of Mercury from Messenger

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neumann, Gregory A.; Solomon, Sean C.; Zuber, Maria T.; Phillips, Roger J.; Barnouin, Olivier; Ernst, Carolyn; Goosens, Sander; Hauck, Steven A., II; Head, James W., III; Johnson, Catherine L.;

The potential of quantum technology gravity sensors in civil engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuckwell, G.; Metje, N.; Boddice, D.; Usher, C.

2017-12-01

Potential field techniques have advantages over active geophysical techniques as they are not limited to the depth they can image features, provided the signals of interest are detectable amongst the other variations recorded by the instrument. A new generation of gravity instruments based on quantum technology promise greatly increased measurement sensitivity, but with this comes significant challenges in data processing and noise suppression. In the UK Innovate UK funded SIGMA project (http://www.rsksigma.co.uk/) the field of opportunity for a step change in gravity sensor accuracy has been evaluated by comparison with existing geophysical sensors, identifying the range of targets and depths of interest to commercial end users that are currently undetectable and might become visible. Forward modelling was used to quantify the potential of a Quantum Technology (QT) gravity and gravity gradiometer sensor. A substantive improvement in detectability of targets is predicted, which can be considered as a factor of 1.5 to 2 increase in the depth of detectability, or in the reduction of the size of the feature of interest. To take further advantage of new instrument sensitivity, new survey workflows are required. The accuracy of measured gravity maps is limited by environmental vibration noise, and by the accuracy with which tidal variations and terrain signals can be removed. It is still common practice in engineering scale surveys for gravity values to be reduced to Bouguer residuals. However, with a more sensitive instrument comes the need to measure the terrain more accurately. This can be achieved within a commercially viable workflow using a laser scanner for rapid data acquisition and advanced processing to produce an accurate DEM. Initial tests on 4 commercial sites have shown that an improvement of 10s of mGal can be achieved if applying a full digital terrain model correction to the microgravity data even on sites with very minor topographic height variations. At the same time, the new algorithms developed by the project can reduce the computational time by a factor of 20. This will have implications on the commercial viability of a QT gravity instrument.

Improving the geological interpretation of magnetic and gravity satellite anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinze, W. J.; Braile, L. W. (Principal Investigator); Vonfrese, R. R. B.

1985-01-01

Current limitations in the quantitative interpretation of satellite-elevation geopotential field data and magnetic anomaly data were investigated along with techniques to overcome them. A major result was the preparation of an improved scalar magnetic anomaly map of South America and adjacent marine areas directly from the original MAGSAT data. In addition, comparisons of South American and Euro-African data show a strong correlation of anomalies along the Atlantic rifted margins of the continents.

Geophysical Monitoring Methods Evaluation for the FutureGen 2.0 Project

DOE PAGES

Strickland, Chris E.; USA, Richland Washington; Vermeul, Vince R.; ...

2014-12-31

A comprehensive monitoring program will be needed in order to assess the effectiveness of carbon sequestration at the FutureGen 2.0 carbon capture and storage (CCS) field-site. Geophysical monitoring methods are sensitive to subsurface changes that result from injection of CO 2 and will be used for: (1) tracking the spatial extent of the free phase CO 2 plume, (2) monitoring advancement of the pressure front, (3) identifying or mapping areas where induced seismicity occurs, and (4) identifying and mapping regions of increased risk for brine or CO 2 leakage from the reservoir. Site-specific suitability and cost effectiveness were evaluated formore » a number of geophysical monitoring methods including: passive seismic monitoring, reflection seismic imaging, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, pulsed neutron capture logging, cross-borehole seismic, electrical resistivity tomography, magnetotellurics and controlled source electromagnetics. The results of this evaluation indicate that CO 2 injection monitoring using reflection seismic methods would likely be difficult at the FutureGen 2.0 site. Electrical methods also exhibited low sensitivity to the expected CO 2 saturation changes and would be affected by metallic infrastructure at the field site. Passive seismic, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, and pulsed neutron capture monitoring were selected for implementation as part of the FutureGen 2.0 storage site monitoring program.« less

Geophysical Monitoring Methods Evaluation for the FutureGen 2.0 Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Strickland, Chris E.; USA, Richland Washington; Vermeul, Vince R.

A comprehensive monitoring program will be needed in order to assess the effectiveness of carbon sequestration at the FutureGen 2.0 carbon capture and storage (CCS) field-site. Geophysical monitoring methods are sensitive to subsurface changes that result from injection of CO 2 and will be used for: (1) tracking the spatial extent of the free phase CO 2 plume, (2) monitoring advancement of the pressure front, (3) identifying or mapping areas where induced seismicity occurs, and (4) identifying and mapping regions of increased risk for brine or CO 2 leakage from the reservoir. Site-specific suitability and cost effectiveness were evaluated formore » a number of geophysical monitoring methods including: passive seismic monitoring, reflection seismic imaging, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, pulsed neutron capture logging, cross-borehole seismic, electrical resistivity tomography, magnetotellurics and controlled source electromagnetics. The results of this evaluation indicate that CO 2 injection monitoring using reflection seismic methods would likely be difficult at the FutureGen 2.0 site. Electrical methods also exhibited low sensitivity to the expected CO 2 saturation changes and would be affected by metallic infrastructure at the field site. Passive seismic, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, and pulsed neutron capture monitoring were selected for implementation as part of the FutureGen 2.0 storage site monitoring program.« less

Major results of gravity and magnetic studies at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oliver, H.W.; Ponce, D.A.; Sikora, R.F.; ,

1991-01-01

About 4,000 gravity stations have been obtained at Yucca Mountain and vicinity since the beginning of radioactive-waste studies there in 1978. These data have been integrated with data from about 29,000 stations previously obtained in the surrounding region to produce a series of Bouguer and isostatic-residual-gravity maps of the Nevada Test Site and southeastern Nevada. Yucca Mountain is characterized by a WNW-dipping gravity gradient whereby residual values of -10 mGal along the east edge of Yucca Mountain decrease to about -38 mGal over Crater Flat. Using these gravity data, two-dimensional modeling predicted the depth to pre-Cenozoic rocks near the proposed repository to be about 1,220??150 m, an estimate that was subsequently confirmed by drilling to be 1,244 m. Three-dimensional modeling of the gravity low over Crater Flat indicates the thickness of Cenozoic volcanic rocks and alluvial cover to be about 3,000 m. Gravity interpretations also identified the Silent Canyon caldera before geologic mapping of Pahute Mesa and provided an estimate of the thickness of the volcanic section there of nearly 5 km.

Preliminary isostatic residual gravity map of the Tremonton 30' x 60' quadrangle, Box Elder and Cache Counties, Utah, and Franklin and Oneida Counties, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, Victoria; Oaks, R.Q.; Willis, H.; Hiscock, A.I.; Chuchel, Bruce A.; Rosario, Jose J.; Hardwick, C.L.

2014-01-01

A new isostatic residual gravity map of the Tremonton 30' x 60' quadrangle of Utah is based on compilation of preexisting data and new data collected by the Utah and U.S. Geological Surveys. Pronounced gravity lows occur over North Bay, northwest of Brigham City, and Malad and Blue Creek Valleys, indicating significant thickness of low-density Tertiary sedimentary rocks and deposits. Gravity highs coincide with exposures of dense pre-Cenozoic rocks in the Promontory, Clarkston, and Wellsville Mountains. The highest gravity values are located in southern Curlew Valley and may be produced in part by deeper crustal density variations or crustal thinning. Steep, linear gravity gradients coincide with Quaternary faults bounding the Wellsville and Clarkston Mountains. Steep gradients also coincide with the margins of the Promontory Mountains, Little Mountain, West Hills, and the eastern margin of the North Promontory Mountains and may define concealed basin-bounding faults.

Performance of FFT methods in local gravity field modelling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forsberg, Rene; Solheim, Dag

1989-01-01

Fast Fourier transform (FFT) methods provide a fast and efficient means of processing large amounts of gravity or geoid data in local gravity field modelling. The FFT methods, however, has a number of theoretical and practical limitations, especially the use of flat-earth approximation, and the requirements for gridded data. In spite of this the method often yields excellent results in practice when compared to other more rigorous (and computationally expensive) methods, such as least-squares collocation. The good performance of the FFT methods illustrate that the theoretical approximations are offset by the capability of taking into account more data in larger areas, especially important for geoid predictions. For best results good data gridding algorithms are essential. In practice truncated collocation approaches may be used. For large areas at high latitudes the gridding must be done using suitable map projections such as UTM, to avoid trivial errors caused by the meridian convergence. The FFT methods are compared to ground truth data in New Mexico (xi, eta from delta g), Scandinavia (N from delta g, the geoid fits to 15 cm over 2000 km), and areas of the Atlantic (delta g from satellite altimetry using Wiener filtering). In all cases the FFT methods yields results comparable or superior to other methods.

First independent lunar gravity field solution in the framework of project GRAZIL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirnsberger, Harald; Krauss, Sandro; Klinger, Beate; Mayer-Gürr, Torsten

2017-04-01

The twin satellite mission Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) aims to recovering the lunar gravity field by means of intersatellite Ka-band ranging (KBR) observations. In order to exploit the potential of KBR data, absolute position information of the two probes is required. Hitherto, the Graz lunar gravity field models (GrazLGM) relies on the official orbit products provided by NASA. In this contribution, we present for the first time a completely independent Graz lunar gravity field model to spherical harmonic degree and order 420. The reduced dynamic orbits of the two probes are determined using variational equations following a batch least squares differential adjustment process. These orbits are based on S-band radiometric tracking data collected by the Deep Space Network and are used for the independent GRAIL gravity field recovery. To reveal a highly accurate lunar gravity field, an integral equation approach using short orbital arcs is adopted to process the KBR data. A comparison to state-of-the-art lunar gravity models computed at NASA-GSFC, NASA-JPL and AIUB demonstrate the progress of Graz lunar gravity field models derived within the project GRAZIL.

Middle Atmosphere Program. Handbook for MAP, volume 20

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowhill, S. A. (Editor); Edwards, B. (Editor)

1986-01-01

Various topics related to investigations of the middle atmosphere are discussed. Numerical weather prediction, performance characteristics of weather profiling radars, determination of gravity wave and turbulence parameters, case studies of gravity-wave propagation, turbulence and diffusion due to gravity waves, the climatology of gravity waves, mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere radar, antenna arrays, and data management techniques are among the topics discussed.

Seismic hazard of American Samoa and neighboring South Pacific Islands--methods, data, parameters, and results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petersen, Mark D.; Harmsen, Stephen C.; Rukstales, Kenneth S.; Mueller, Charles S.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Luco, Nicolas; Walling, Melanie

2012-01-01

American Samoa and the neighboring islands of the South Pacific lie near active tectonic-plate boundaries that host many large earthquakes which can result in strong earthquake shaking and tsunamis. To mitigate earthquake risks from future ground shaking, the Federal Emergency Management Agency requested that the U.S. Geological Survey prepare seismic hazard maps that can be applied in building-design criteria. This Open-File Report describes the data, methods, and parameters used to calculate the seismic shaking hazard as well as the output hazard maps, curves, and deaggregation (disaggregation) information needed for building design. Spectral acceleration hazard for 1 Hertz having a 2-percent probability of exceedance on a firm rock site condition (Vs30=760 meters per second) is 0.12 acceleration of gravity (1 second, 1 Hertz) and 0.32 acceleration of gravity (0.2 seconds, 5 Hertz) on American Samoa, 0.72 acceleration of gravity (1 Hertz) and 2.54 acceleration of gravity (5 Hertz) on Tonga, 0.15 acceleration of gravity (1 Hertz) and 0.55 acceleration of gravity (5 Hertz) on Fiji, and 0.89 acceleration of gravity (1 Hertz) and 2.77 acceleration of gravity (5 Hertz) on the Vanuatu Islands.

The gravity field of the Red Sea and East Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makris, Jannis; Henke, Christian H.; Egloff, Frank; Akamaluk, Thomas

1991-11-01

Reevaluation of all gravity data from the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and East Africa permitted the compilation of a new Bouguer anomaly map. The intensity of the gravity field and its regional pattern correlate closely with the topographic features of the region. The maximum Bouguer values (> + 100 mGal) are located over the median troughs of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Dense juvenile oceanic crust in these rifts and intruding magmas in stretched continental areas produce excess mass responsible for the anomaly highs. In the Red Sea the orientation of the gravity highs is NW-SE in the south, turning to NE-SW in the north, almost parallel to the Aqaba-Dead Sea strike. This pattern reveals that the present basin axis is not identical with that which formed the Tertiary coastal margins and the pre-Red Sea zones of crustal weakness. In the Gulf of Aden, new oceanic crust along the Tadjura Trench and its eastward extension is also expressed in the Bouguer anomaly map by gravity highs and a sharp bending of the isolines. A maximum of approx. +150 mGal is located over the central section of the Sheba Ridge. Bouguer gravity values over the East African and Yemen Plateaus are of the order of -180 to -240 mGal, indicating significant crustal thickening. On the Somali Plateau, the Marda Fault also has a strong gravity signature that can be traced towards Somalia. By constraining crustal thickness and structure with seismic data and density values from the velocity distribution by means of the Nafe-Drake and Birch relationships, we computed density models for the crust and upper mantle. The crustal thickness is of the order of 40 km beneath the plateaus and only 5 to 6 km at the oceanized parts in the central and southern portions of the Red Sea median trough. The flanks of the southern Red Sea and the corresponding Arabian side are underlain by 12 to 16 km thick stretched continental type crust. Oceanization offshore Sudan and Egypt is asymmetrical. The continental crust terminates abruptly at about 20 km off the coastline, followed by an oceanic crust of early Miocene age that was produced in pull-apart basins. By contrast, the eastern side of the Red Sea trough offshore Saudi Arabia is floored by stretched continental crust that extends far into the sea. Seafloor spreading and the generation of oceanic crust in organized spreading centres are limited to the median troughs off Sudan and the northern part of Ethiopia and commenced approx. 5 m.y. BP. They are absent in the northern Red Sea, where crustal fracturing occurs only in pull-apart basins of Dead Sea-Aqaba orientation distributed in en-echelon pattern.

Active Response Gravity Offload and Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dungan, Larry K. (Inventor); Lieberman, Asher P. (Inventor); Shy, Cecil (Inventor); Bankieris, Derek R. (Inventor); Valle, Paul S. (Inventor); Redden, Lee (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A variable gravity field simulator can be utilized to provide three dimensional simulations for simulated gravity fields selectively ranging from Moon, Mars, and micro-gravity environments and/or other selectable gravity fields. The gravity field simulator utilizes a horizontally moveable carriage with a cable extending from a hoist. The cable can be attached to a load which experiences the effects of the simulated gravity environment. The load can be a human being or robot that makes movements that induce swinging of the cable whereby a horizontal control system reduces swinging energy. A vertical control system uses a non-linear feedback filter to remove noise from a load sensor that is in the same frequency range as signals from the load sensor.

Gravity gradient preprocessing at the GOCE HPF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouman, J.; Rispens, S.; Gruber, T.; Schrama, E.; Visser, P.; Tscherning, C. C.; Veicherts, M.

2009-04-01

One of the products derived from the GOCE observations are the gravity gradients. These gravity gradients are provided in the Gradiometer Reference Frame (GRF) and are calibrated in-flight using satellite shaking and star sensor data. In order to use these gravity gradients for application in Earth sciences and gravity field analysis, additional pre-processing needs to be done, including corrections for temporal gravity field signals to isolate the static gravity field part, screening for outliers, calibration by comparison with existing external gravity field information and error assessment. The temporal gravity gradient corrections consist of tidal and non-tidal corrections. These are all generally below the gravity gradient error level, which is predicted to show a 1/f behaviour for low frequencies. In the outlier detection the 1/f error is compensated for by subtracting a local median from the data, while the data error is assessed using the median absolute deviation. The local median acts as a high-pass filter and it is robust as is the median absolute deviation. Three different methods have been implemented for the calibration of the gravity gradients. All three methods use a high-pass filter to compensate for the 1/f gravity gradient error. The baseline method uses state-of-the-art global gravity field models and the most accurate results are obtained if star sensor misalignments are estimated along with the calibration parameters. A second calibration method uses GOCE GPS data to estimate a low degree gravity field model as well as gravity gradient scale factors. Both methods allow to estimate gravity gradient scale factors down to the 10-3 level. The third calibration method uses high accurate terrestrial gravity data in selected regions to validate the gravity gradient scale factors, focussing on the measurement band. Gravity gradient scale factors may be estimated down to the 10-2 level with this method.

Simulation-based evaluation of a cold atom interferometry gradiometer concept for gravity field recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douch, Karim; Wu, Hu; Schubert, Christian; Müller, Jürgen; Pereira dos Santos, Franck

2018-03-01

The prospects of future satellite gravimetry missions to sustain a continuous and improved observation of the gravitational field have stimulated studies of new concepts of space inertial sensors with potentially improved precision and stability. This is in particular the case for cold-atom interferometry (CAI) gradiometry which is the object of this paper. The performance of a specific CAI gradiometer design is studied here in terms of quality of the recovered gravity field through a closed-loop numerical simulation of the measurement and processing workflow. First we show that mapping the time-variable field on a monthly basis would require a noise level below 5mE /√{Hz } . The mission scenarios are therefore focused on the static field, like GOCE. Second, the stringent requirement on the angular velocity of a one-arm gradiometer, which must not exceed 10-6 rad/s, leads to two possible modes of operation of the CAI gradiometer: the nadir and the quasi-inertial mode. In the nadir mode, which corresponds to the usual Earth-pointing satellite attitude, only the gradient Vyy , along the cross-track direction, is measured. In the quasi-inertial mode, the satellite attitude is approximately constant in the inertial reference frame and the 3 diagonal gradients Vxx,Vyy and Vzz are measured. Both modes are successively simulated for a 239 km altitude orbit and the error on the recovered gravity models eventually compared to GOCE solutions. We conclude that for the specific CAI gradiometer design assumed in this paper, only the quasi-inertial mode scenario would be able to significantly outperform GOCE results at the cost of technically challenging requirements on the orbit and attitude control.

Structural controls on geothermal circulation in Surprise Valley, California: A re-evaluation of the Lake City fault zone

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anne E. Egger,; Glen, Jonathan; McPhee, Darcy K.

2014-01-01

Faults and fractures play an important role in the circulation of geothermal fluids in the crust, and the nature of that role varies according to structural setting and state of stress. As a result, detailed geologic and geophysical mapping that relates thermal springs to known structural features is essential to modeling geothermal systems. Published maps of Surprise Valley in northeastern California suggest that the “Lake City fault” or “Lake City fault zone” is a significant structural feature, cutting obliquely across the basin and connecting thermal springs across the valley. Newly acquired geophysical data (audio-magnetotelluric, gravity, and magnetic), combined with existing geochemical and geological data, suggest otherwise. We examine potential field profiles and resistivity models that cross the mapped Lake City fault zone. While there are numerous geophysical anomalies that suggest subsurface structures, they mostly do not coincide with the mapped traces of the Lake City fault zone, nor do they show a consistent signature in gravity, magnetics, or resistivities that would suggest a through-going fault that would promote connectivity through lateral fluid flow. Instead of a single, continuous fault, we propose the presence of a deformation zone associated with the growth of the range-front Surprise Valley fault. The implication for geothermal circulation is that this is a zone of enhanced porosity but lacks length-wise connectivity that could conduct fluids across the valley. Thermal fluid circulation is most likely controlled primarily by interactions between N-S–trending normal faults.

Using the Multiplicative Schwarz Alternating Algorithm (MSAA) for Solving the Large Linear System of Equations Related to Global Gravity Field Recovery up to Degree and Order 120

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safari, A.; Sharifi, M. A.; Amjadiparvar, B.

2010-05-01

The GRACE mission has substantiated the low-low satellite-to-satellite tracking (LL-SST) concept. The LL-SST configuration can be combined with the previously realized high-low SST concept in the CHAMP mission to provide a much higher accuracy. The line of sight (LOS) acceleration difference between the GRACE satellite pair is the mostly used observable for mapping the global gravity field of the Earth in terms of spherical harmonic coefficients. In this paper, mathematical formulae for LOS acceleration difference observations have been derived and the corresponding linear system of equations has been set up for spherical harmonic up to degree and order 120. The total number of unknowns is 14641. Such a linear equation system can be solved with iterative solvers or direct solvers. However, the runtime of direct methods or that of iterative solvers without a suitable preconditioner increases tremendously. This is the reason why we need a more sophisticated method to solve the linear system of problems with a large number of unknowns. Multiplicative variant of the Schwarz alternating algorithm is a domain decomposition method, which allows it to split the normal matrix of the system into several smaller overlaped submatrices. In each iteration step the multiplicative variant of the Schwarz alternating algorithm solves linear systems with the matrices obtained from the splitting successively. It reduces both runtime and memory requirements drastically. In this paper we propose the Multiplicative Schwarz Alternating Algorithm (MSAA) for solving the large linear system of gravity field recovery. The proposed algorithm has been tested on the International Association of Geodesy (IAG)-simulated data of the GRACE mission. The achieved results indicate the validity and efficiency of the proposed algorithm in solving the linear system of equations from accuracy and runtime points of view. Keywords: Gravity field recovery, Multiplicative Schwarz Alternating Algorithm, Low-Low Satellite-to-Satellite Tracking

A 70th Degree Lunar Gravity Model (GLGM-2) from Clementine and other tracking data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lemonie, Frank G. R.; Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.; Neumann, Gregory A.

1997-01-01

A spherical harmonic model of the lunar gravity field complete to degree and order 70 has been developed from S band Doppler tracking data from the Clementine mission, as well as historical tracking data from Lunar Orbiters 1-5 and the Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellites. The model combines 361,000 Doppler observations from Clementine with 347,000 historical observations. The historical data consist of mostly 60-s Doppler with a noise of 0.25 to several mm/s. The Clementine data consist of mostly 10-s Doppler data, with a data noise of 0.25 mm/s for the observations from the Deep Space Network, and 2.5 mm/s for the data from a naval tracking station at Pomonkey, Maryland. Observations provided Clementine, provide the strongest satellite constraint on the Moon's low-degree field. In contrast the historical data, collected by spacecraft that had lower periapsis altitudes, provide distributed regions of high-resolution coverage within +/- 29 deg of the nearside lunar equator. To obtain the solution for a high-degree field in the absence of a uniform distribution of observations, we applied an a priori power law constraint of the form 15 x 10(exp -5)/sq l which had the effect of limiting the gravitational power and noise at short wavelengths. Coefficients through degree and order 18 are not significantly affected by the constraint, and so the model permits geophysical analysis of effects of the major basins at degrees 10-12. The GLGM-2 model confirms major features of the lunar gravity field shown in previous gravitational field models but also reveals significantly more detail, particularly at intermediate wavelengths (10(exp 3) km). Free-air gravity anomaly maps derived from the new model show the nearside and farside highlands to be gravitationally smooth, reflecting a state of isostatic compensation. Mascon basins (including Imbrium, Serenitatis, Crisium, Smythii, and Humorum) are denoted by gravity highs first recognized from Lunar Orbiter tracking. All of the major mascons are bounded by annuli of negative anomalies representing significant subsurface mass deficiencies. Mare Orientale appears as a minor mascon surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped gravity low centered on the Inner and Outer Rook rings that is evidence of significant subsurface structural heterogeneity. Although direct tracking is not available over a significant part of the lunar farside, GLGM-2 resolves negative anomalies that correlate with many farside basins, including South Pole-Aitken, Hertzsprung, Korolev, Moscoviense, Tsiolkovsky, and Freundlich-Sharonov.

Establishment of National Gravity Base Network of Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatam Chavari, Y.; Bayer, R.; Hinderer, J.; Ghazavi, K.; Sedighi, M.; Luck, B.; Djamour, Y.; Le Moign, N.; Saadat, R.; Cheraghi, H.

2009-04-01

A gravity base network is supposed to be a set of benchmarks uniformly distributed across the country and the absolute gravity values at the benchmarks are known to the best accessible accuracy. The gravity at the benchmark stations are either measured directly with absolute devices or transferred by gravity difference measurements by gravimeters from known stations. To decrease the accumulation of random measuring errors arising from these transfers, the number of base stations distributed across the country should be as small as possible. This is feasible if the stations are selected near to the national airports long distances apart but faster accessible and measurable by a gravimeter carried in an airplane between the stations. To realize the importance of such a network, various applications of a gravity base network are firstly reviewed. A gravity base network is the required reference frame for establishing 1st , 2nd and 3rd order gravity networks. Such a gravity network is used for the following purposes: a. Mapping of the structure of upper crust in geology maps. The required accuracy for the measured gravity values is about 0.2 to 0.4 mGal. b. Oil and mineral explorations. The required accuracy for the measured gravity values is about 5 µGal. c. Geotechnical studies in mining areas for exploring the underground cavities as well as archeological studies. The required accuracy is about 5 µGal and better. d. Subsurface water resource explorations and mapping crustal layers which absorb it. An accuracy of the same level of previous applications is required here too. e. Studying the tectonics of the Earth's crust. Repeated precise gravity measurements at the gravity network stations can assist us in identifying systematic height changes. The accuracy of the order of 5 µGal and more is required. f. Studying volcanoes and their evolution. Repeated precise gravity measurements at the gravity network stations can provide valuable information on the gradual upward movement of lava. g. Producing precise mean gravity anomaly for precise geoid determination. Replacing precise spirit leveling by the GPS leveling using precise geoid model is one of the forth coming application of the precise geoid. A gravity base network of 28 stations established over Iran. The stations were built mainly at bedrocks. All stations were measured by an FG5 absolute gravimeter, at least 12 hours at each station, to obtain an accuracy of a few micro gals. Several stations were repeated several times during recent years to estimate the gravity changes.

A contrastive study on the influences of radial and three-dimensional satellite gravity gradiometry on the accuracy of the Earth's gravitational field recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Wei; Hsu, Hou-Tse; Zhong, Min; Yun, Mei-Juan

2012-10-01

The accuracy of the Earth's gravitational field measured from the gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer (GOCE), up to 250 degrees, influenced by the radial gravity gradient Vzz and three-dimensional gravity gradient Vij from the satellite gravity gradiometry (SGG) are contrastively demonstrated based on the analytical error model and numerical simulation, respectively. Firstly, the new analytical error model of the cumulative geoid height, influenced by the radial gravity gradient Vzz and three-dimensional gravity gradient Vij are established, respectively. In 250 degrees, the GOCE cumulative geoid height error measured by the radial gravity gradient Vzz is about 2½ times higher than that measured by the three-dimensional gravity gradient Vij. Secondly, the Earth's gravitational field from GOCE completely up to 250 degrees is recovered using the radial gravity gradient Vzz and three-dimensional gravity gradient Vij by numerical simulation, respectively. The study results show that when the measurement error of the gravity gradient is 3 × 10-12/s2, the cumulative geoid height errors using the radial gravity gradient Vzz and three-dimensional gravity gradient Vij are 12.319 cm and 9.295 cm at 250 degrees, respectively. The accuracy of the cumulative geoid height using the three-dimensional gravity gradient Vij is improved by 30%-40% on average compared with that using the radial gravity gradient Vzz in 250 degrees. Finally, by mutual verification of the analytical error model and numerical simulation, the orders of magnitude from the accuracies of the Earth's gravitational field recovery make no substantial differences based on the radial and three-dimensional gravity gradients, respectively. Therefore, it is feasible to develop in advance a radial cold-atom interferometric gradiometer with a measurement accuracy of 10-13/s2-10-15/s2 for precisely producing the next-generation GOCE Follow-On Earth gravity field model with a high spatial resolution.

Recent results on modelling the spatial and temporal structure of the Earth's gravity field.

PubMed

Moore, P; Zhang, Q; Alothman, A

2006-04-15

The Earth's gravity field plays a central role in sea-level change. In the simplest application a precise gravity field will enable oceanographers to capitalize fully on the altimetric datasets collected over the past decade or more by providing a geoid from which absolute sea-level topography can be recovered. However, the concept of a static gravity field is now redundant as we can observe temporal variability in the geoid due to mass redistribution in or on the total Earth system. Temporal variability, associated with interactions between the land, oceans and atmosphere, can be investigated through mass redistributions with, for example, flow of water from the land being balanced by an increase in ocean mass. Furthermore, as ocean transport is an important contributor to the mass redistribution the time varying gravity field can also be used to validate Global Ocean Circulation models. This paper will review the recent history of static and temporal gravity field recovery, from the 1980s to the present day. In particular, mention will be made of the role of satellite laser ranging and other space tracking techniques, satellite altimetry and in situ gravity which formed the basis of gravity field determination until the last few years. With the launch of Challenging Microsatellite Payload and Gravity and Circulation Experiment (GRACE) our knowledge of the spatial distribution of the Earth's gravity field is taking a leap forward. Furthermore, GRACE is now providing insight into temporal variability through 'monthly' gravity field solutions. Prior to this data we relied on satellite tracking, Global Positioning System and geophysical models to give us insight into the temporal variability. We will consider results from these methodologies and compare them to preliminary results from the GRACE mission.

Electromagnetic fields of slowly rotating magnetized compact stars in conformal gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turimov, Bobur; Ahmedov, Bobomurat; Abdujabbarov, Ahmadjon; Bambi, Cosimo

2018-06-01

In this paper we investigate the exterior vacuum electromagnetic fields of slow-rotating magnetized compact stars in conformal gravity. Assuming the dipolar magnetic field configuration, we obtain an analytical solution of the Maxwell equations for the magnetic and the electric fields outside a slowly rotating magnetized star in conformal gravity. Furthermore, we study the dipolar electromagnetic radiation and energy losses from a rotating magnetized star in conformal gravity. In order to get constraints on the L parameter of conformal gravity, the theoretical results for the magnetic field of a magnetized star in conformal gravity are combined with the precise observational data of radio pulsar period slowdown, and it is found that the maximum value of the parameter of conformal gravity is less than L ≲9.5 ×105 cm (L /M ≲5 ).

The mineralogy of global magnetic anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haggerty, S. E. (Principal Investigator)

1984-01-01

Experimental and analytical data on magnetic mineralogy was provided as an aid to the interpretation of magnetic anomaly maps. An integrated program, ranging from the chemistry of materials from 100 or more km depth within the Earth, to an examination of the MAGSAT anomaly maps at about 400 km above the Earth's surface, was undertaken. Within this framework, a detailed picture of the pertinent mineralogical and magnetic relationships for the region of West Africa was provided. Efforts were directed toward: (1) examining the geochemistry, mineralogy, magnetic properties, and phases relations of magnetic oxides and metal alloys in rocks demonstrated to have originated in the lower crust of upper mantle, (2) examining the assumption that these rocks portray the nature of their source regions; and (3) examining the regional geology, tectonics, gravity field and the MAGSAT anomaly maps for West Africa.

Cap integration in spectral gravity forward modelling: near- and far-zone gravity effects via Molodensky's truncation coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bucha, Blažej; Hirt, Christian; Kuhn, Michael

2018-04-01

Spectral gravity forward modelling is a technique that converts a band-limited topography into its implied gravitational field. This conversion implicitly relies on global integration of topographic masses. In this paper, a modification of the spectral technique is presented that provides gravity effects induced only by the masses located inside or outside a spherical cap centred at the evaluation point. This is achieved by altitude-dependent Molodensky's truncation coefficients, for which we provide infinite series expansions and recurrence relations with a fixed number of terms. Both representations are generalized for an arbitrary integer power of the topography and arbitrary radial derivative. Because of the altitude-dependency of the truncation coefficients, a straightforward synthesis of the near- and far-zone gravity effects at dense grids on irregular surfaces (e.g. the Earth's topography) is computationally extremely demanding. However, we show that this task can be efficiently performed using an analytical continuation based on the gradient approach, provided that formulae for radial derivatives of the truncation coefficients are available. To demonstrate the new cap-modified spectral technique, we forward model the Earth's degree-360 topography, obtaining near- and far-zone effects on gravity disturbances expanded up to degree 3600. The computation is carried out on the Earth's surface and the results are validated against an independent spatial-domain Newtonian integration (1 μGal RMS agreement). The new technique is expected to assist in mitigating the spectral filter problem of residual terrain modelling and in the efficient construction of full-scale global gravity maps of highest spatial resolution.

Decomposing Worldwide Complete Spherical Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Using 2-D Empirical Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firdaus, Ruhul; Mey Ekawati, Gestin

2017-04-01

Currently available worldwide gravity anomaly data provides a high-resolution (2’×2’) of Complete Spherical Bouguer Anomaly (CSBA) based on the available information of the Earth gravity field from surface and satellite measurements. The data has not only been provided and processed thoroughly but it also has been claimed to be appropriate for various geophysical applications. Therefore, the analysis of gravity anomaly is becoming increasingly significant for the earth sciences as a whole and assisting both shallow and deep geological problems. Earth gravity anomaly has to be analyzed carefully as it has very complex data due to anomaly mixing of the density masses spread over the Earth horizontally and vertically. The bigger the spatial coverage of data (e.g. global scale data), the more severe the data from anomaly mixing due to various wavelength. BEMD is an empirical method supposedly suitable with highly oscillation-mixing data. It can effectively isolate each local anomaly in details and is analogized as successively reverse moving average with local windowing. BEMD is designed to reduce multi-component, non-linear gravity field data to a series of single local anomaly contributions. Anomaly from a single body was assumed as a mono-component signal. The main advantage of BEMD processing techniques is to present the subtle details in the data which are not clearly identified in anomaly maps, without specifying any prior information about the nature of the source bodies. As the result, we have identified regional anomalies due to the drift of continental and oceanic masses considered as crust-regional anomaly (CRA). We remove the CRA from the CBA to provide surface-residual anomaly (SRA) where shallow geologic bodies reveal. Meanwhile, the CRA itself can be used as reference to reduce this high magnitude anomaly from any measurement data to exhibit only shallow body anomaly. Further analysis can be carried out to build a general understanding of the details and parameters of the shallower or deeper causative body distributions.

Gravity field information from Gravity Probe-B

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, D. E.; Lerch, F. J.; Colombo, O. L.; Everitt, C. W. F.

1989-01-01

The Gravity Probe-B Mission will carry the Stanford Gyroscope relativity experiment into orbit in the mid 1990's, as well as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver whose tracking data will be used to study the earth gravity field. Estimates of the likely quality of a gravity field model to be derived from the GPS data are presented, and the significance of this experiment to geodesy and geophysics are discussed.

Renormalization of Einstein gravity through a derivative-dependent field redefinition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slovick, Brian

2018-01-01

This work explores an alternative solution to the problem of renormalizability in Einstein gravity. In the proposed approach, Einstein gravity is transformed into the renormalizable theory of four-derivative gravity by applying a local field redefinition containing an infinite number of higher derivatives. It is also shown that the current-current amplitude is invariant with the field redefinition, and thus the unitarity of Einstein gravity is preserved.

Some aspects of reconstruction using a scalar field in f( T) gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakrabarti, Soumya; Said, Jackson Levi; Farrugia, Gabriel

2017-12-01

General relativity characterizes gravity as a geometric property exhibited on spacetime by massive objects, while teleparallel gravity achieves the same results at the level of equations, by taking a torsional perspective of gravity. Similar to the f( R) theory teleparallel gravity can also be generalized to f( T), with the resulting field equations being inherently distinct from f( R) gravity in that they are second order, while in the former case they turn out to be fourth order. In the present case, a minimally coupled scalar field is investigated in the f( T) gravity context for several forms of the scalar field potential. A number of new f( T) solutions are found for these potentials. Their respective state parameters are also being examined.

Measurement of the gravity-field curvature by atom interferometry.

PubMed

Rosi, G; Cacciapuoti, L; Sorrentino, F; Menchetti, M; Prevedelli, M; Tino, G M

2015-01-09

We present the first direct measurement of the gravity-field curvature based on three conjugated atom interferometers. Three atomic clouds launched in the vertical direction are simultaneously interrogated by the same atom interferometry sequence and used to probe the gravity field at three equally spaced positions. The vertical component of the gravity-field curvature generated by nearby source masses is measured from the difference between adjacent gravity gradient values. Curvature measurements are of interest in geodesy studies and for the validation of gravitational models of the surrounding environment. The possibility of using such a scheme for a new determination of the Newtonian constant of gravity is also discussed.

Global Gravity Field Determination by Combination of terrestrial and Satellite Gravity Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fecher, T.; Pail, R.; Gruber, T.

2011-12-01

A multitude of impressive results document the success of the satellite gravity field mission GOCE with a wide field of applications in geodesy, geophysics and oceanography. The high performance of GOCE gravity field models can be further improved by combination with GRACE data, which is contributing the long wavelength signal content of the gravity field with very high accuracy. An example for such a consistent combination of satellite gravity data are the satellite-only models GOCO01S and GOCO02S. However, only the further combination with terrestrial and altimetric gravity data enables to expand gravity field models up to very high spherical harmonic degrees and thus to achieve a spatial resolution down to 20-30 km. First numerical studies for high-resolution global gravity field models combining GOCE, GRACE and terrestrial/altimetric data on basis of the DTU10 model have already been presented. Computations up to degree/order 600 based on full normal equations systems to preserve the full variance-covariance information, which results mainly from different weights of individual terrestrial/altimetric data sets, have been successfully performed. We could show that such large normal equations systems (degree/order 600 corresponds to a memory demand of almost 1TByte), representing an immense computational challenge as computation time and memory requirements put high demand on computational resources, can be handled. The DTU10 model includes gravity anomalies computed from the global model EGM08 in continental areas. Therefore, the main focus of this presentation lies on the computation of high-resolution combined gravity field models based on real terrestrial gravity anomaly data sets. This is a challenge due to the inconsistency of these data sets, including also systematic error components, but a further step to a real independent gravity field model. This contribution will present our recent developments and progress by using independent data sets at certain land areas, which are combined with DTU10 in the ocean areas, as well as satellite gravity data. Investigations have been made concerning the preparation and optimum weighting of the different data sources. The results, which should be a major step towards a GOCO-C model, will be validated using external gravity field data and by applying different validation methods.

Gravity anomalies, plate tectonics and the lateral growth of Precambrian North America

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, M. D.; Grieve, R. A. F.; Sharpton, V. L.

1988-01-01

The widespread gravity coverage of North America provides a picture of the gross structural fabric of the continent via the trends of gravity anomalies. The structural picture so obtained reveals a mosaic of gravity trend domains, many of which correlate closely with structural provinces and orogenic terranes. The gravity trend map, interpreted in the light of plate-tectonic theory, thus provides a new perspective for examining the mode of assembly and growth of North America. Suture zones, palaeosubduction directions, and perhaps, contrasting tectonic histories may be identified using gravity patterns.

Exploring the Moon and Mars Using an Orbiting Superconducting Gravity Gradiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paik, Ho Jung; Strayer, Donald M.

2004-01-01

Gravity measurement is fundamental to understanding the interior structure, dynamics, and evolution of planets. High-resolution gravity maps will also help locating natural resources, including subsurface water, and underground cavities for astronaut habitation on the Moon and Mars. Detecting the second spatial derivative of the potential, a gravity gradiometer mission tends to give the highest spatial resolution and has the advantage of requiring only a single satellite. We discuss gravity missions to the Moon and Mars using an orbiting Superconducting Gravity Gradiometer and discuss the instrument and spacecraft control requirements.

Seismicity and gravimetric studies of Cyrenaica platform and adjacent regions, northeastern Libya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Suleman, abdunnur

2013-04-01

Cyrenaica, located in northeastern Libya, consists of two distinct tectonic provinces; the tectonically unstable northern Cyrenaica and the more stable Cyernaican platform to the south. This study represents detailed investigations that aim to focus on the structure and tectonic setting through a detailed Seismicity and gravity analysis. Seismicity of northeastern Libya is documented back to 262 A.D. when an earthquake destroyed the city of Ceryne. The same area was destroyed by an earthquake in 365 A.D, The city of Al-Maraj was heavily damaged in 1963 by an earthquake measuring 5,3 in the Richter scale. Data collected by the recently established Libyan National Seismograph Network confirms that northeastern Libya is seismically active with most of the activity concentrates on the northern part particularly in the city of Al-Maraj area. Seismic activity is also noticeable in the offshore area. Focal mechanism studies for a number of earthquakes recorded by the Libyan National Seismograph Network suggest that normal faulting is predominant. A gravity data base collected from a variety of sources was compiled to generate a Bouguer gravity anomaly map that represents the basic map used in the overall interpretations, as well as in generating more specialized gravity maps used in the detailed investigations. The Bouguer gravity map demonstrates that the northern inverted basins of Cyrenaica and the coastal plain of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar show a raped northward increase in gravity values to up to 130 Mgal. In addition a series of steep faults that separates the unstable Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar from the more stable Cyrenaica platform as well as other faults within the platform were well delineated.

Gravity and magnetic data across the Ghost Dance Fault in WT-2 Wash, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oliver, H.W.; Sikora, R.F.

1994-12-31

Detailed gravity and ground magnetic data were obtained in September 1993 along a 4,650 ft-long profile across the Ghost Dance Fault system in WT-2 Wash. Gravity stations were established every 150 feet along the profile. Total-field magnetic measurements made initially every 50 ft along the profile, then remade every 20 ft through the fault zone. These new data are part of a geologic and geophysical study of the Ghost Dance Fault (GDF) which includes detailed geologic mapping, seismic reflection, and some drilling including geologic and geophysical logging. The Ghost Dance Fault is the only through-going fault that has been identifiedmore » within the potential repository for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Preliminary gravity results show a distinct decrease of 0.1 to 0.2 mGal over a 600-ft-wide zone to the east of and including the mapped fault. The gravity decrease probably marks a zone of brecciation. Another fault-offset located about 2,000 ft to the east of the GDF was detected by seismic reflection data and is also marked by a distinct gravity low. The ground magnetic data show a 200-ft-wide magnetic low of about 400 nT centered about 100 ft east of the Ghost Dance Fault. The magnetic low probably marks a zone of brecciation within the normally polarized Topopah Spring Tuff, the top of which is about 170 ft below the surface, and which is known from drilling to extend to a depth of about 1,700 ft. Three-component magnetometer logging in drill hole WT-2 located about 2,700 ft east of the Ghost Dance Fault shows that the Topopah Spring Tuff is strongly polarized magnetically in this area, so that fault brecciation of a vertical zone within the Tuff could provide an average negative magnetic contrast of the 4 Am{sup {minus}1} needed to produce the 400 nT low observed at the surface.« less

Detailed petrophysical characterization enhances geological mapping of a buried substratum using aeromagnetic and gravity data; application to the southwestern Paris basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baptiste, Julien; Martelet, Guillaume; Faure, Michel; Beccaletto, Laurent; Chen, Yan; Reninger, Pierre-Alexandre

2016-04-01

Mapping the geometries (structure and lithology) of a buried basement is a key for targeting resources and for improving the regional geological knowledge. The Paris basin is a Mesozoic to Cenozoic intraplate basin set up on a Variscan substratum, which crops out in the surrounding massifs. We focus our study on the southwestern part of the Paris basin at its junction with the Aquitaine basin. This Mezo-Cenozoic cover separates the Armorican Massif and the Massif Central which compose of several litho-tectonic units bounded by crustal-scale shear zones. In spite of several lithological and structural correlations between various domains of the two massifs, their geological connection, hidden below the Paris basin sedimentary cover, is still largely debated. Potential field geophysics have proven effective for mapping buried basin/basement interfaces. In order to enhance the cartographic interpretation of these data, we have set up a detailed petrophysical library (field magnetic susceptibility data and density measurements on rock samples) of the Paleozoic rocks outcropping in the Variscan massifs. The combination of aeromagnetic and gravity data supported by the petrophysical signatures and field/borehole geological information, is carried out to propose a new map of the architecture of the Variscan substratum. The new synthetic map of geophysical signature of the Paris basin basement combines: i) the magnetic anomaly reduced to the pole, ii) the vertical gradient of the Bouguer anomaly and iii) the tilt derivative of the magnetic anomaly reduced to the pole. Based on this information, the Eastern extension of the major shear zones below the sedimentary cover is assessed. The petrophysical signatures were classified in three classes of magnetic susceptibility and density: low, intermediate and high. Basic rocks have high magnetization and density values whereas granite, migmatite and orthogneiss show low magnetization and density values, Proterozoic and Paleozoic sediments, micaschists and metagrauwackes have intermediate to low magnetization and density values. Detailed lithological attribution of geophysical anomalies was achieved separately for each geological sub-domain (in between 2 major structures). This methodology will be generalized at the scale of the entire Paris basin in order to propose a tectonic reconstruction of this segment of the Variscan belt, and provide guides for the exploration of hidden resources.

International Symposium on Airborne Geophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mogi, Toru; Ito, Hisatoshi; Kaieda, Hideshi; Kusunoki, Kenichiro; Saltus, Richard W.; Fitterman, David V.; Okuma, Shigeo; Nakatsuka, Tadashi

2006-05-01

Airborne geophysics can be defined as the measurement of Earth properties from sensors in the sky. The airborne measurement platform is usually a traditional fixed-wing airplane or helicopter, but could also include lighter-than-air craft, unmanned drones, or other specialty craft. The earliest history of airborne geophysics includes kite and hot-air balloon experiments. However, modern airborne geophysics dates from the mid-1940s when military submarine-hunting magnetometers were first used to map variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The current gamut of airborne geophysical techniques spans a broad range, including potential fields (both gravity and magnetics), electromagnetics (EM), radiometrics, spectral imaging, and thermal imaging.

Integration of potential-field and digital geologic data for two North American geoscience transects

USGS Publications Warehouse

Phillips, J.D.

1990-01-01

Two North American contributions to the Global Geoscience Transects Program, the Quebec-Maine-Gulf of Maine transect and the Great Lakes portion of the United States-Canadian Border transect, are among the first to produce digital geology in a form that can be combined with gridded gravity and aeromagnetic data. Maps of shaded relief and color-composite bandpass-filtered potential-field data combined with overlays of digitized geologic contacts and faults reveal significant new geologic information, including the relative thickness of plutons, the structure of poorly exposed or concealed magnetic units, and possible evidence for mineralized ground. -from Author

On resonant coupling of acoustic waves and gravity waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millet, Christophe

2017-11-01

Acoustic propagation in the atmosphere is often modeled using modes that are confined within waveguides causing the sound to propagate through multiple paths to the receiver. On the other hand, direct observations in the lower stratosphere show that the gravity wave field is intermittent, and is often dominated by rather well defined large-amplitude wave packets. In the present work, we use normal modes to describe both the gravity wave field and the acoustic field. The gravity wave spectrum is obtained by launching few monochromatic waves whose properties are chosen stochastically to mimic the intermittency. Owing to the disparity of the gravity and acoustic length scales, the interactions between the gravity wave field and each of the acoustic modes can be described using a multiple-scale analysis. The appropriate amplitude evolution equation for the acoustic field involves certain random terms that can be directly related to the gravity wave sources. We will show that the cumulative effect of gravity wave breakings makes the sensitivity of ground-based acoustic signals large, in that small changes in the gravity wave parameterization can create or destroy specific acoustic features.

The ITSG-Grace2014 Gravity Field Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvas, Andreas; Mayer-Gürr, Torsten; Zehenter, Norbert; Klinger, Beate

2015-04-01

The ITSG-Grace2014 GRACE-only gravity field model consists of a high resolution unconstrained static model (up to degree 200) with trend and annual signal, monthly unconstrained solutions with different spatial resolutions as well as daily snapshots derived by using a Kalman smoother. Apart from the estimated spherical harmonic coefficients, full variance-covariance matrices for the monthly solutions and the static gravity field component are provided. Compared to the previous release, multiple improvements in the processing chain are implemented: updated background models, better ionospheric modeling for GPS observations, an improved satellite attitude by combination of star camera and angular accelerations, estimation of K-band antenna center variations within the gravity field recovery process as well as error covariance function determination. Furthermore, daily gravity field variations have been modeled in the adjustment process to reduce errors caused by temporal leakage. This combined estimation of daily gravity variations field variations together with the static gravity field component represents a computational challenge due to the significantly increased parameter count. The modeling of daily variations up to a spherical harmonic degree of 40 for the whole GRACE observation period results in a system of linear equations with over 6 million unknown gravity field parameters. A least squares adjustment of this size is not solvable in a sensible time frame, therefore measures to reduce the problem size have to be taken. The ITSG-Grace2014 release is presented and selected parts of the processing chain and their effect on the estimated gravity field solutions are discussed.

Estimation of the Earth's gravity field by combining normal equation matrices from GRACE and SLR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haberkorn, Christoph; Bloßfeld, Mathis; Bouman, Johannes

2014-05-01

Since 2002, GRACE observes the Earth's gravity field with a spatial resolution up to 150 km. The main goal of this mission is the determination of temporal variations in the Earth's gravity field to detect mass displacements. The GRACE mission consists of two identical satellites, which observe the range along the line of sight of both satellites. GRACE observations can be linked with the Earth's gravitational potential, which is expressed in terms of spherical harmonics for global solutions. However, the estimation of low degree coefficients is difficult with GRACE. In contrast to gravity field missions, which observe the gravity field with high spectral resolution, SLR data allow to estimate the lower degree coefficients. Therefore, the coefficient C20 is often replaced by a value derived from Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR). Instead of replacing C20, it can be determined consistently by a combined estimation using GRACE and SLR data. We compute monthly normal equation (NEQ) matrices for GRACE and SLR. Coefficients from monthly GRACE gravity field models of different institutions (Center for Space Research (CSR), USA, Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam (GFZ), Germany and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), USA) and coefficients from monthly gravity field models of our SLR processing are then combined using the NEQ matrices from both techniques. We will evaluate several test scenarios with gravity field models from different institutions and with different set ups for the SLR NEQ matrices. The effect of the combination on the estimated gravity field will be analysed and presented.

Joint Interpretation of Bathymetric and Gravity Anomaly Maps Using Cross and Dot-Products.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jilinski, Pavel; Fontes, Sergio Luiz

2010-05-01

0.1 Summary We present the results of joint map interpretation technique based on cross and dot-products applied to bathymetric and gravity anomaly gradients maps. According to the theory (Gallardo, Meju, 2004) joint interpretation of different gradient characteristics help to localize and empathize patterns unseen on one image interpretation and gives information about the correlation of different spatial data. Values of angles between gradients and their cross and dot-product were used. This technique helps to map unseen relations between bathymetric and gravity anomaly maps if they are analyzed separately. According to the method applied for the southern segment of Eastern-Brazilian coast bathymetrical and gravity anomaly gradients indicates a strong source-effect relation between them. The details of the method and the obtained results are discussed. 0.2 Introduction We applied this method to investigate the correlation between bathymetric and gravity anomalies at the southern segment of the Eastern-Brazilian coast. Gridded satellite global marine gravity data and bathymetrical data were used. The studied area is located at the Eastern- Brazilian coast between the 20° W and 30° W meridians and 15° S and 25° S parallels. The volcanic events responsible for the uncommon width of the continental shelf at the Abrolhos bank also were responsible for the formation of the Abrolhos islands and seamounts including the major Vitoria-Trindade chain. According to the literature this volcanic structures are expected to have a corresponding gravity anomaly (McKenzie, 1976, Zembruscki, S.G. 1979). The main objective of this study is to develop and test joint image interpretation method to compare spatial data and analyze its relations. 0.3 Theory and Method 0.3.1 Data sources The bathymetrical satellite data were derived bathymetry 2-minute grid of the ETOPO2v2 obtained from NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov). The satellite marine gravity 1-minute gridded data were obtained from the Satellite Geodesy at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Smith & Sandwell (1997; http://topex.ucsd.edu. Gravity anomaly data were re-gridded using the ETOPO2v2 grid. All calculations and maps were made using MatLab 2007 software. 0.3.2 Cross-Product Cross-product is the result of multiplication of bathymetric and gravity anomaly gradient magnitudes by the sine of the angle between them. According to the definition of gradient cross-product minimal values are expected to be found in points where the angle between gradients is close to zero or where one or both of the gradient magnitudes have values close to zero. It creates an ambiguity and a problem for data interpretation since there is no exact correspondence between bathymetric structures and gravity anomalies. 0.3.3 Dot-Product Dot-product is the result of multiplication of bathymetric and gravity anomaly magnitudes by the cosine on the angle between them. According to the definition of dot-product, values close to zero can be generated by near perpendicular orientation of the gradients or small magnitudes of one or both gradients. So, the results are mutually increased in areas with larger magnitudes or smaller angles between gradients. Due to this mutual amplification dot-products are less affected by the ambiguity of cross-product explained above. The same statistical separation of cross-product was used to support the conclusions. 0.3.4 Statistics and Significance Criteria Statistical analysis was made in order to sort the data into two groups to reduce ambiguity effect: first group - data with magnitudes that could be considered anomalous (where the main minimizing source is the angle between the gradients and the second group - data with magnitudes variations that could be considered as (non significant or background (where cross-product value is determined by the small magnitude). It was chosen to use the mean value and standard deviation (std) to sort the data in such two groups. These values were determined for bathymetric and gravity anomaly gradient magnitudes creating two data sets - one where one or both gradient magnitudes are one standard deviation larger than the mean value with a total of 7831 (anomalous) and a second one where both magnitudes differ smaller than one standard deviation from the mean value with 85584 (background ). Statistical analysis of distribution patterns for both groups was made. 0.4 Examples of Method Application 0.4.1 Map of Angles Between Gradients Figure 1 shows the map of angle values. The angle values were divided into 4 equal intervals. The statistical distribution of angles between gradient in the given intervals is the following (percents of the total): 0 to 60° - 51.39% of the values; 60° to 90° -12.08%; 90° to 120° -14.92%; 120° to 180° -21.18%. It can be seen that 51% of the gradients have a small angle between them, 72% of gradients can be considered as parallel (72%) with angles smaller than 60° or bigger than 120° between them. After statistical separation in the anomalous group almost 91% of the gradients have an angle smaller than 60° while in the background group just 48.6%. From these results we can make a conclusion that the majority of the bathymetric and gravity anomaly gradients are related. Regions with higher gradient magnitudes are characterized by cosine values close to 1 (indicating a small angle between them). The size of the areas characterized by small angles between gradients exceed the size of bathymetric and gravity anomaly isolines characterizing the area of influence of the structures and their effects. Regions with no significant anomalies show uncorrelated value spots. 0.4.2 Map of Cross-Product The resulting map shows small spots of higher cross-product magnitudes following magnitude isolines. About 90% of the values are close to minimum. As was mentioned before, we can presume that areas where bathymetry and gravity anomaly gradient cross-products have smallest magnitudes there is a good correspondence between them indicating a good correspondence between shapes. According to these results for the studied area the shapes and positions of bathymetric structures and gravity anomalies are well correlated suggesting strong correlation between source and its effect. 0.4.3 Map of Dot-Product The resulting map resembles bathymetric and gravity anomaly isolines. All the sea mounts, banks, continental slope and other notable geomorphologic structures and gravity anomalies are well delimitated in the dot-product map eliminating uncorrelated areas where gradient orientations can be considered as near perpendicular. The dot-product map of the studied area suggests a strong source-effect between bathymetry and gravity anomaly. 0.5 Conclusions The joint image interpretation technique uses three different criteria that are sensitive to different gradient properties. Angles between gradients are a good indicator of areas where data are related and it is not sensitive to the magnitudes of the gradients. Angles maps can be used to find areas with direct and inverse relation between mapped properties and contour areas of influence of anomalies unseen on gradient magnitude maps alone. Statistical measures of distribution of angles can be an indicator of relation between data sets as show using significance criteria. Cross-product map has a spotted character of contours. To reduce the effects of the ambiguity the separation into two groups proved to be useful. It helps to separate the cross-product values that are minimized due to gradient magnitudes from those that minimize due to sine values which is a measure of correlation between them. Dot-product values contour areas where gradients are correlated. According to joint image interpretation technique applied bathymetric structures especially the volcanic seamounts and banks in the southern part of East-Brazilian Coast are closely related to the observed gravity anomalies and can be interpreted as sources and effect. This technique also helps to evaluate the shape and dispersion of the gravitational effect from a bathymetrical source. 0.6 References Dehlinger P., Marine Gravity, Elsevier, 1978. Gallardo, L. A., and M. A. Meju., Joint 2D cross-gradient imaging of magnetotelluric and seismic travel-time data for structural and lithological classification, Geophys. J. Int., 169, 1261-1272. (2007) Gallardo, L.A., M. A. Meju (2004), Joint two-dimensional dc resistivity and seismic traveltime inversion with cross-gradients constraints, J. Geophys. Res., 109, B03311, doi:10.1029/2003JB002716 Jacoby, W., and Smilde P. L., Gravity Interpretation, Springer, 2009. McKenzie D. & Bowin C. 1976. The relationship between bathymetry and gravity in Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research, 81: 1903-1915. Roy. K. K., Potential Theory in Applied Geophysics, Springer, 2008. Smith, W. H. F., and D. T. Sandwell, Global seafloor topography from satellite altimetry and ship depth soundings, Science, v. 277, p. 1957-1962, 26 Sept., 1997. Sandwell, D. T., and W. H. F. Smith, Global marine gravity from retracked Geosat and ERS-1 altimetry: Ridge Segmentation versus spreading rate, J. Geophys. Res., 114, B01411, doi:10.1029/2008JB006008, 2009. Zembruscki, S.G. 1979. Geomorfologia da Margem Continental Sul Brasileira e das Bacias Oceânicas Adjacentes. In: Geomorfologia da margem continental brasileira e das áreas oceânicas adjacentes. Série Projeto REMAC, N° 7.

A special case of the Poisson PDE formulated for Earth's surface and its capability to approximate the terrain mass density employing land-based gravity data, a case study in the south of Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

AllahTavakoli, Yahya; Safari, Abdolreza; Vaníček, Petr

2016-12-01

This paper resurrects a version of Poisson's Partial Differential Equation (PDE) associated with the gravitational field at the Earth's surface and illustrates how the PDE possesses a capability to extract the mass density of Earth's topography from land-based gravity data. Herein, first we propound a theorem which mathematically introduces this version of Poisson's PDE adapted for the Earth's surface and then we use this PDE to develop a method of approximating the terrain mass density. Also, we carry out a real case study showing how the proposed approach is able to be applied to a set of land-based gravity data. In the case study, the method is summarized by an algorithm and applied to a set of gravity stations located along a part of the north coast of the Persian Gulf in the south of Iran. The results were numerically validated via rock-samplings as well as a geological map. Also, the method was compared with two conventional methods of mass density reduction. The numerical experiments indicate that the Poisson PDE at the Earth's surface has the capability to extract the mass density from land-based gravity data and is able to provide an alternative and somewhat more precise method of estimating the terrain mass density.

Accurate Initial State Estimation in a Monocular Visual–Inertial SLAM System

PubMed Central

Chen, Jing; Zhou, Zixiang; Leng, Zhen; Fan, Lei

2018-01-01

The fusion of monocular visual and inertial cues has become popular in robotics, unmanned vehicles and augmented reality fields. Recent results have shown that optimization-based fusion strategies outperform filtering strategies. Robust state estimation is the core capability for optimization-based visual–inertial Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) systems. As a result of the nonlinearity of visual–inertial systems, the performance heavily relies on the accuracy of initial values (visual scale, gravity, velocity and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) biases). Therefore, this paper aims to propose a more accurate initial state estimation method. On the basis of the known gravity magnitude, we propose an approach to refine the estimated gravity vector by optimizing the two-dimensional (2D) error state on its tangent space, then estimate the accelerometer bias separately, which is difficult to be distinguished under small rotation. Additionally, we propose an automatic termination criterion to determine when the initialization is successful. Once the initial state estimation converges, the initial estimated values are used to launch the nonlinear tightly coupled visual–inertial SLAM system. We have tested our approaches with the public EuRoC dataset. Experimental results show that the proposed methods can achieve good initial state estimation, the gravity refinement approach is able to efficiently speed up the convergence process of the estimated gravity vector, and the termination criterion performs well. PMID:29419751

Lensing-induced morphology changes in CMB temperature maps in modified gravity theories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Munshi, D.; Coles, P.; Hu, B.

2016-04-01

Lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) changes the morphology of pattern of temperature fluctuations, so topological descriptors such as Minkowski Functionals can probe the gravity model responsible for the lensing. We show how the recently introduced two-to-two and three-to-one kurt-spectra (and their associated correlation functions), which depend on the power spectrum of the lensing potential, can be used to probe modified gravity theories such as f ( R ) theories of gravity and quintessence models. We also investigate models based on effective field theory, which include the constant-Ω model, and low-energy Hořava theories. Estimates of the cumulative signal-to-noise formore » detection of lensing-induced morphology changes, reaches O(10{sup 3}) for the future planned CMB polarization mission COrE{sup +}. Assuming foreground removal is possible to ℓ{sub max}=3000, we show that many modified gravity theories can be rejected with a high level of significance, making this technique comparable in power to galaxy weak lensing or redshift surveys. These topological estimators are also useful in distinguishing lensing from other scattering secondaries at the level of the four-point function or trispectrum. Examples include the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect which shares, with lensing, a lack of spectral distortion. We also discuss the complication of foreground contamination from unsubtracted point sources.« less

Regional models of the gravity field from terrestrial gravity data of heterogeneous quality and density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talvik, Silja; Oja, Tõnis; Ellmann, Artu; Jürgenson, Harli

2014-05-01

Gravity field models in a regional scale are needed for a number of applications, for example national geoid computation, processing of precise levelling data and geological modelling. Thus the methods applied for modelling the gravity field from surveyed gravimetric information need to be considered carefully. The influence of using different gridding methods, the inclusion of unit or realistic weights and indirect gridding of free air anomalies (FAA) are investigated in the study. Known gridding methods such as kriging (KRIG), least squares collocation (LSCO), continuous curvature (CCUR) and optimal Delaunay triangulation (ODET) are used for production of gridded gravity field surfaces. As the quality of data collected varies considerably depending on the methods and instruments available or used in surveying it is important to somehow weigh the input data. This puts additional demands on data maintenance as accuracy information needs to be available for each data point participating in the modelling which is complicated by older gravity datasets where the uncertainties of not only gravity values but also supplementary information such as survey point position are not always known very accurately. A number of gravity field applications (e.g. geoid computation) demand foran FAA model, the acquisition of which is also investigated. Instead of direct gridding it could be more appropriate to proceed with indirect FAA modelling using a Bouguer anomaly grid to reduce the effect of topography on the resulting FAA model (e.g. near terraced landforms). The inclusion of different gridding methods, weights and indirect FAA modelling helps to improve gravity field modelling methods. It becomes possible to estimate the impact of varying methodical approaches on the gravity field modelling as statistical output is compared. Such knowledge helps assess the accuracy of gravity field models and their effect on the aforementioned applications.

Lineaments in the Shamakhy-Gobustan and Absheron hydrocarbon containing areas using gravity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmas, Ali; Karsli, Hakan; Kadirov, Fakhraddin A.

2017-12-01

In this study, we purposed to investigate the edge of geostructures and position of existing faults of the Shamakhy-Gobustan and Absheron hydrocarbon containing regions in Azerbaijan. For this purpose, the horizontal gradient, analytic signal, tilt angle, and hyperbolic of tilt angle methods were applied to the first vertical derivative of gravity data instead of Bouguer gravity data. We obtained the maps that show the previous lineaments which were designated by considering the maximum contours of horizontal gradient, analytic signal maps, and zero values of tilt angle, hyperbolic of tilt angle maps. The geometry of basement interface was also modeled utilizing the Parker-Oldenburg algorithm to understand the sediment thickness and coherency or incoherency between the gravity values and basement topography. The lineaments were held a candle to most current tectonic structure map of the study area. It was seen that the techniques used in this study are very effective to determine the old and new lineaments in the Shamakhy-Gobustan and Absheron regions. The epicenter distribution of earthquakes within the study area supports the new lineaments which are extracted by our interpretation. We concluded that better comprehension of Azerbaijan geostructures and its effect on the large scale works will be provided by means of this study.

Lineaments in the Shamakhy-Gobustan and Absheron hydrocarbon containing areas using gravity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmas, Ali; Karsli, Hakan; Kadirov, Fakhraddin A.

2018-02-01

In this study, we purposed to investigate the edge of geostructures and position of existing faults of the Shamakhy-Gobustan and Absheron hydrocarbon containing regions in Azerbaijan. For this purpose, the horizontal gradient, analytic signal, tilt angle, and hyperbolic of tilt angle methods were applied to the first vertical derivative of gravity data instead of Bouguer gravity data. We obtained the maps that show the previous lineaments which were designated by considering the maximum contours of horizontal gradient, analytic signal maps, and zero values of tilt angle, hyperbolic of tilt angle maps. The geometry of basement interface was also modeled utilizing the Parker-Oldenburg algorithm to understand the sediment thickness and coherency or incoherency between the gravity values and basement topography. The lineaments were held a candle to most current tectonic structure map of the study area. It was seen that the techniques used in this study are very effective to determine the old and new lineaments in the Shamakhy-Gobustan and Absheron regions. The epicenter distribution of earthquakes within the study area supports the new lineaments which are extracted by our interpretation. We concluded that better comprehension of Azerbaijan geostructures and its effect on the large scale works will be provided by means of this study.

Gravity Field of Venus and Comparison with Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowin, C.

1985-01-01

The acceleration (gravity) anomaly estimates by spacecraft tracking, determined from Doppler residuals, are components of the gravity field directed along the spacecraft Earth line of sight (LOS). These data constitute a set of vector components of a planet's gravity field, the specific component depending upon where the Earth happened to be at the time of each measurement, and they are at varying altitudes above the planet surface. From this data set the gravity field vector components were derived using the method of harmonic splines which imposes a smoothness criterion to select a gravity model compatible with the LOS data. Given the piecewise model it is now possible to upward and downward continue the field quantities desired with a few parameters unlike some other methods which must return to the full dataset for each desired calculation.

Microwave ac Zeeman force for ultracold atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fancher, C. T.; Pyle, A. J.; Rotunno, A. P.; Aubin, S.

2018-04-01

We measure the ac Zeeman force on an ultracold gas of 87Rb due to a microwave magnetic field targeted to the 6.8 GHz hyperfine splitting of these atoms. An atom chip produces a microwave near field with a strong amplitude gradient, and we observe a force over three times the strength of gravity. Our measurements are consistent with a simple two-level theory for the ac Zeeman effect and demonstrate its resonant, bipolar, and spin-dependent nature. We observe that the dressed-atom eigenstates gradually mix over time and have mapped out this behavior as a function of magnetic field and detuning. We demonstrate the practical spin selectivity of the force by pushing or pulling a specific spin state while leaving other spin states unmoved.

On holographic Rényi entropy in some modified theories of gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dey, Anshuman; Roy, Pratim; Sarkar, Tapobrata

2018-04-01

We perform a detailed analysis of holographic entanglement Rényi entropy in some modified theories of gravity with four dimensional conformal field theory duals. First, we construct perturbative black hole solutions in a recently proposed model of Einsteinian cubic gravity in five dimensions, and compute the Rényi entropy as well as the scaling dimension of the twist operators in the dual field theory. Consistency of these results are verified from the AdS/CFT correspondence, via a corresponding computation of the Weyl anomaly on the gravity side. Similar analyses are then carried out for three other examples of modified gravity in five dimensions that include a chemical potential, namely Born-Infeld gravity, charged quasi-topological gravity and a class of Weyl corrected gravity theories with a gauge field, with the last example being treated perturbatively. Some interesting bounds in the dual conformal field theory parameters in quasi-topological gravity are pointed out. We also provide arguments on the validity of our perturbative analysis, whenever applicable.

Principal Facts for 463 Gravity Stations in the Vicinity of Tangle Lakes, East-Central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morin, Robert L.; Glen, Jonathan M.G.

2002-01-01

During the summer of 2001, a gravity survey was conducted in the vicinity of Tangle Lakes, east-central Alaska. Measurements of 87 gravity stations were made. The Tangle Lakes area is located about 25 km west of Paxson and north of the Denali Highway. The gravity survey is located on the southwest corner of the Mt. Hayes and the northwest corner of the Gulkana 1:250,000 scale USGS topographic maps. The boundaries of the study area are 62 deg 30' to 63 deg 30' N. latitude and 145 deg 30' to 147 deg 00' W. longitude. A map showing the location of the study area is shown in figure 1. One gravity base station was used for control for this survey. This base station, TLIN is located at the Tangle Lakes Inn. The observed gravity of this station was calculated based on multiple ties to base stations ANCU in Anchorage, PALH in Palmer, BD27 in Gulkana, and base stations D42, and D57 along the Denali Highway.

Structure of the midcontinent basement. Topography, gravity, seismic, and remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guinness, E. A.; Strebeck, J. W.; Arvidson, R. E.; Scholz, K.; Davies, G. F.

1981-01-01

Some 600,000 discrete Bouguer gravity estimates of the continental United States were spatially filtered to produce a continuous tone image. The filtered data were also digitally painted in color coded form onto a shaded relief map. The resultant image is a colored shaded relief map where the hue and saturation of a given image element is controlled by the value of the Bouguer anomaly. Major structural features (e.g., midcontinent gravity high) are readily discernible in these data, as are a number of subtle and previously unrecognized features. A linear gravity low that is approximately 120 to 150 km wide extends from southeastern Nebraska, at a break in the midcontinent gravity high, through the Ozark Plateau, and across the Mississippi embayment. The low is also aligned with the Lewis and Clark lineament (Montana to Washington), forming a linear feature of approximately 2800 km in length. In southeastern Missouri the gravity low has an amplitude of 30 milligals, a value that is too high to be explained by simple valley fill by sedimentary rocks.

A harmonic analysis of lunar gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bills, B. G.; Ferrari, A. J.

1980-01-01

An improved model of lunar global gravity has been obtained by fitting a sixteenth-degree harmonic series to a combination of Doppler tracking data from Apollo missions 8, 12, 15, and 16, and Lunar Orbiters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and laser ranging data to the lunar surface. To compensate for the irregular selenographic distribution of these data, the solution algorithm has also incorporated a semi-empirical a priori covariance function. Maps of the free-air gravity disturbance and its formal error are presented, as are free-air anomaly and Bouguer anomaly maps. The lunar gravitational variance spectrum has the form V(G; n) = O(n to the -4th power), as do the corresponding terrestrial and martian spectra. The variance spectra of the Bouguer corrections (topography converted to equivalent gravity) for these bodies have the same basic form as the observed gravity; and, in fact, the spectral ratios are nearly constant throughout the observed spectral range for each body. Despite this spectral compatibility, the correlation between gravity and topography is generally quite poor on a global scale.

Geologic map of the Mound Spring quadrangle, Nye and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lundstrom, Scott C.; Mahan, Shannon; Blakely, Richard J.; Paces, James B.; Young, Owen D.; Workman, Jeremiah B.; Dixon, Gary L.

2003-01-01

The Mound Spring quadrangle, the southwestern-most 7.5' quadrangle of the area of the Las Vegas 1:100,000-scale quadrangle, is entirely within the Pahrump Valley, spanning the Nevada/California State line. New geologic mapping of the predominantly Quaternary materials is combined with new studies of gravity and geochronology in this quadrangle. Eleven predominantly fine-grained units are delineated, including playa sediment, dune sand, and deposits associated with several cycles of past groundwater discharge and distal fan sedimentation. These units are intercalated with 5 predominantly coarse-grained alluvial-fan and wash gravel units mainly derived from the Spring Mountains. The gravel units are distinguished on the basis of soil development and associated surficial characteristics. Thermoluminescence and U-series geochronology constrain most of the units to the Holocene and late and middle Pleistocene. Deposits of late Pleistocene groundwater discharge in the northeast part of the quadrangle are associated with a down-to-the-southwest fault zone that is expressed by surface fault scarps and a steep gravity gradient. The gravity field also defines a northwest-trending uplift along the State line, in which the oldest sediments are poorly exposed. About 2 km to the northeast a prominent southwest-facing erosional escarpment is formed by resistant beds in middle Pleistocene fine-grained sediments that dip northeast away from the uplift. These sediments include cycles of groundwater discharge that were probably caused by upwelling of southwesterly groundwater flow that encountered the horst.

Mean gravity anomalies and sea surface heights derived from GEOS-3 altimeter data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rapp, R. H.

1978-01-01

Approximately 2000 GEOS-3 altimeter arcs were analyzed to improve knowledge of the geoid and gravity field. An adjustment procedure was used to fit the sea surface heights (geoid undulations) in an adjustment process that incorporated cross-over constraints. The error model used for the fit was a one or two parameter model which was designed to remove altimeter bias and orbit error. The undulations on the adjusted arcs were used to produce geoid maps in 20 regions. The adjusted data was used to derive 301 5 degree equal area anomalies and 9995 1 x 1 degree anomalies in areas where the altimeter data was most dense, using least squares collocation techniques. Also emphasized was the ability of the altimeter data to imply rapid anomaly changes of up to 240 mgals in adjacent 1 x 1 degree blocks.

Ionospheric effects of thunderstorms and lightning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lay, Erin H.

2014-02-03

Tropospheric thunderstorms have been reported to disturb the lower ionosphere (~65-90 km) by convective atmospheric gravity waves and by electromagnetic field changes produced by lightning discharges. However, due to the low electron density in the lower ionosphere, active probing of its electron distribution is difficult, and the various perturbative effects are poorly understood. Recently, we have demonstrated that by using remotely-detected ?me waveforms of lightning radio signals it is possible to probe the lower ionosphere and its fluctuations in a spatially and temporally-resolved manner. Here we report evidence of gravity wave effects on the lower ionosphere originating from the thunderstorm.more » We also report variations in the nighttime ionosphere atop a small thunderstorm and associate the variations with the storm’s electrical activity. Finally, we present a data analysis technique to map ionospheric acoustic waves near thunderstorms.« less

Satellite-Altitude Geopotential Study of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Patrick T.; Kim, Hyung Rae; vonFrese, Ralph R. B.; Potts, Laramie V.; Frawley, James J.

2003-01-01

With the successful launch of the Orsted, SAC-C and CHAMP satellites we are able to make both magnetic and gravity anomaly maps of the Earth's crust; magnetic from all three missions and gravity with CHAMP. We have used these data to study the KMA area of Russia. This is an important region for several reasons: (1) we have already made satellite magnetic anomaly maps of this region and they can be integrated with the gravity data from CHAMP for a comprehensive interpretation; (2) KMA contains the largest know reserves of iron-ore in the world; and (3) there are significant ground truth data available for this region from aeromagnetic, balloon surveys and geophysical mapping, including extensive rock magnetic/paleo-magnetic and geologic studies. Utilizing the gravity observations, collocated with the magnetic data enabled us to make a joint interpretation. While there is a high amplitude magnetic anomaly recorded over the KMA the gravity anomaly at satellite altitude revealed by CHAMP is only around 3-6 mGal but is not centered on the magnetic high. This would indicate that despite the fact that in the region of the KMA the rocks have a higher percentage of iron than in the surrounding formations the entire area is Archean-Proterozoic in age and therefore very dense.

Digital Geologic Map of the Nevada Test Site and Vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slate, Janet L.; Berry, Margaret E.; Rowley, Peter D.; Fridrich, Christopher J.; Morgan, Karen S.; Workman, Jeremiah B.; Young, Owen D.; Dixon, Gary L.; Williams, Van S.; McKee, Edwin H.; Ponce, David A.; Hildenbrand, Thomas G.; Swadley, W.C.; Lundstrom, Scott C.; Ekren, E. Bartlett; Warren, Richard G.; Cole, James C.; Fleck, Robert J.; Lanphere, Marvin A.; Sawyer, David A.; Minor, Scott A.; Grunwald, Daniel J.; Laczniak, Randell J.; Menges, Christopher M.; Yount, James C.; Jayko, Angela S.

1999-01-01

This digital geologic map of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and vicinity, as well as its accompanying digital geophysical maps, are compiled at 1:100,000 scale. The map compilation presents new polygon (geologic map unit contacts), line (fault, fold axis, metamorphic isograd, dike, and caldera wall) and point (structural attitude) vector data for the NTS and vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California. The map area covers two 30 x 60-minute quadrangles-the Pahute Mesa quadrangle to the north and the Beatty quadrangle to the south-plus a strip of 7.5-minute quadrangles on the east side-72 quadrangles in all. In addition to the NTS, the map area includes the rest of the southwest Nevada volcanic field, part of the Walker Lane, most of the Amargosa Desert, part of the Funeral and Grapevine Mountains, some of Death Valley, and the northern Spring Mountains. This geologic map improves on previous geologic mapping of the same area (Wahl and others, 1997) by providing new and updated Quaternary and bedrock geology, new geophysical interpretations of faults beneath the basins, and improved GIS coverages. Concurrent publications to this one include a new isostatic gravity map (Ponce and others, 1999) and a new aeromagnetic map (Ponce, 1999).

Physics of Gravitational Interaction: Geometry of Space or Quantum Field in Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baryshev, Yurij

2006-03-01

Thirring-Feynman's tensor field approach to gravitation opens new understanding on the physics of gravitational interaction and stimulates novel experiments on the nature of gravity. According to Field Gravity, the universal gravity force is caused by exchange of gravitons - the quanta of gravity field. Energy of this field is well-defined and excludes the singularity. All classical relativistic effects are the same as in General Relativity. The intrinsic scalar (spin 0) part of gravity field corresponds to ``antigravity'' and only together with the pure tensor (spin 2) part gives the usual Newtonian force. Laboratory and astrophysical experiments which may test the predictions of FG, will be performed in near future. In particular, observations at gravity observatories with bar and interferometric detectors, like Explorer, Nautilus, LIGO and VIRGO, will check the predicted scalar gravitational waves from supernova explosions. New types of cosmological models in Minkowski space are possible too.

Evaluation of global satellite gravity models using terrestrial gravity observations over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia A. Alothman and B. Elsaka

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alothman, Abdulaziz; Elsaka, Basem

The gravity field models from the GRACE and GOCE missions have increased the knowledge of the earth’s global gravity field. The latter GOCE mission has provided accuracies of about 1-2 cm and 1milli-Gal level in the global geoid and gravity anomaly, respectively. However, determining all wavelength ranges of the gravity field spectrum cannot be only achieved from satellite gravimetry but from the allowed terrestrial gravity data. In this contribution, we use a gravity network of 42 first-order absolute gravity stations, observed by LaCosta Romberg gravimeter during the period 1967-1969 by Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, to validate the GOCE gravity models in order to gain more detailed regional gravity information. The network stations are randomly distributed all over the country with a spacing of about 200 km apart. The results show that the geoid height and gravity anomaly determined from terrestrial gravity data agree with the GOCE based models and give additional information to the satellite gravity solutions.

Geologic map of the Bell Regio Quadrangle (V-9), Venus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Campbell, Bruce A.; Campbell, Patricia G.

2002-01-01

The Magellan spacecraft orbited Venus from August 10, 1990, until it plunged into the venusian atmosphere on October 12, 1994. Magellan had the objectives of (1) improving knowledge of the geologic processes, surface properties, and geologic history of Venus by analysis of surface radar characteristics, topography, and morphology and (2) improving knowledge of the geophysics of Venus by analysis of venusian gravity. The Magellan spacecraft carried a 12.6-cm radar system to map the surface of Venus. The transmitter and receiver systems were used to collect three datasets: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the surface, passive microwave thermal emission observations, and measurements of the backscattered power at small angles of incidence, which were processed to yield altimetric data. Radar imaging and altimetric and radiometric mapping of the venusian surface were done in mission cycles 1, 2, and 3, from September 1990 until September 1992. Ninety-eight percent of the surface was mapped with radar resolution of approximately 120 meters. The SAR observations were projected to a 75-m nominal horizontal resolution; these full-resolution data compose the image base used in geologic mapping. The primary polarization mode was horizontal-transmit, horizontal-receive (HH), but additional data for selected areas were collected for the vertical polarization sense. Incidence angles varied from about 20° to 45°. High-resolution Doppler tracking of the spacecraft was done from September 1992 through October 1994 (mission cycles 4, 5, 6). High-resolution gravity observations from about 950 orbits were obtained between September 1992 and May 1993, while Magellan was in an elliptical orbit with a periapsis near 175 kilometers and an apoapsis near 8,000 kilometers. Observations from an additional 1,500 orbits were obtained following orbitcircularization in mid-1993. These data exist as a 75° by 75° harmonic field.

Geologic/geomorphic map of the Galindo Quadrangle (V-40), Venus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chapman, Mary G.

2000-01-01

The Magellan spacecraft orbited Venus from August 10, 1990, until it plunged into the venusian atmosphere on October 12, 1994. Magellan had the objectives of (1) improving knowledge of the geologic processes, surface properties, and geologic history of Venus by analysis of surface radar characteristics, topography, and morphology and (2) improving knowledge of the geophysics of Venus by analysis of venusian gravity. The Magellan spacecraft carried a 12.6-cm radar system to map the surface of Venus. The transmitter and receiver systems were used to collect three datasets: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the surface, passive microwave thermal emission observations, and measurements of the backscattered power at small angles of incidence, which were processed to yield altimetric data. Radar imaging and altimetric and radiometric mapping of the venusian surface were done in mission cycles 1, 2, and 3, from September 1990 until September 1992. Ninety-eight percent of the surface was mapped with radar resolution of approximately 120 meters. The SAR observations were projected to a 75-m nominal horizontal resolution; these full-resolution data compose the image base used in geologic mapping. The primary polarization mode was horizontal-transmit, horizontal-receive (HH), but additional data for selected areas were collected for the vertical polarization sense. Incidence angles varied from about 20° to 45°. High-resolution Doppler tracking of the spacecraft was done from September 1992 through October 1994 (mission cycles 4, 5, 6). High-resolution gravity observations from about 950 orbits were obtained between September 1992 and May 1993, while Magellan was in an elliptical orbit with a periapsis near 175 kilometers and an apoapsis near 8,000 kilometers. Observations from an additional 1,500 orbits were obtained following orbitcircularization in mid-1993. These data exist as a 75° by 75° harmonic field.

Geologic map of the Carson Quadrangle (V-43), Venus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bender, Kelly C.; Senske, David A.; Greeley, Ronald

2000-01-01

The Magellan spacecraft orbited Venus from August 10, 1990, until it plunged into the venusian atmosphere on October 12, 1994. Magellan had the objectives of (1) improving knowledge of the geologic processes, surface properties, and geologic history of Venus by analysis of surface radar characteristics, topography, and morphology and (2) improving knowledge of the geophysics of Venus by analysis of venusian gravity. The Magellan spacecraft carried a 12.6-cm radar system to map the surface of Venus. The transmitter and receiver systems were used to collect three datasets: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the surface, passive microwave thermal emission observations, and measurements of the backscattered power at small angles of incidence, which were processed to yield altimetric data. Radar imaging and altimetric and radiometric mapping of the venusian surface were done in mission cycles 1, 2, and 3, from September 1990 until September 1992. Ninety-eight percent of the surface was mapped with radar resolution of approximately 120 meters. The SAR observations were projected to a 75-m nominal horizontal resolution; these full-resolution data compose the image base used in geologic mapping. The primary polarization mode was horizontal-transmit, horizontal-receive (HH), but additional data for selected areas were collected for the vertical polarization sense. Incidence angles varied from about 20° to 45°. High-resolution Doppler tracking of the spacecraft was done from September 1992 through October 1994 (mission cycles 4, 5, 6). High-resolution gravity observations from about 950 orbits were obtained between September 1992 and May 1993, while Magellan was in an elliptical orbit with a periapsis near 175 kilometers and an apoapsis near 8,000 kilometers. Observations from an additional 1,500 orbits were obtained following orbitcircularization in mid-1993. These data exist as a 75° by 75° harmonic field.

Geological map of the Kaiwan Fluctus Quadrangle (V-44), Venus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bridges, Nathan T.; McGill, George E.

2002-01-01

Introduction The Magellan spacecraft orbited Venus from August 10, 1990, until it plunged into the Venusian atmosphereon October 12, 1994. Magellan had the objectives of: (1) improving knowledge of the geologic processes, surface properties, and geologic history of Venus by analysis of surface radar characteristics, topography, and morphology and (2) improving knowledge of the geophysics of Venus by analysis of Venusian gravity. The Magellan spacecraft carried a 12.6-cm radar system to map the surface of Venus. The transmitter and receiver systems were used to collect three datasets: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the surface, passive microwave thermal emission observations, and measurements of the backscattered power at small angles of incidence, which were processed to yield altimetric data. Radar imaging and altimetric and radiometric mapping of the Venusian surface were done in mission cycles 1, 2, and 3, from September 1990 until September of 1992. Ninety-eight percent of the surface was mapped with radar resolution of approximately 120 meters. The SAR observations were projected to a 75-m nominal horizontal resolution; these full-resolution data compose the image base used in geologic mapping. The primary polarization mode was horizontal-transmit, horizontal receive (HH), but additional data for selected areas were collected for the vertical polarization sense. Incidence angles varied from about 20? to 45?. High-resolution Doppler tracking of the spacecraft was done from September 1992 through October 1994 (mission cycles 4, 5, 6). High-resolution gravity observations from about 950 orbits were obtained between September 1992 and May 1993, while Magellan was in an elliptical orbit with a periapsis near 175 kilometers and an apoapsis near 8,000 kilometers. Observations from an additional 1,500 orbits were obtained following orbit-circularization in mid-1993. These data exist as a 75? by 75? harmonic field.

Geologic map of the Pandrosos Dorsa Quadrangle (V-5), Venus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rosenberg, Elizabeth; McGill, George E.

2001-01-01

Introduction The Magellan spacecraft orbited Venus from August 10, 1990, until it plunged into the Venusian atmosphere on October 12, 1994. Magellan had the objectives of (1) improving knowledge of the geologic processes, surface properties, and geologic history of Venus by analysis of surface radar characteristics, topography, and morphology and (2) improving knowledge of the geophysics of Venus by analysis of Venusian gravity. The Magellan spacecraft carried a 12.6-cm radar system to map the surface of Venus. The transmitter and receiver systems were used to collect three datasets: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the surface, passive microwave thermal emission observations, and measurements of the backscattered power at small angles of incidence, which were processed to yield altimetric data. Radar imaging and altimetric and radiometric mapping of the Venusian surface were done in mission cycles 1, 2, and 3, from September 1990 until September 1992. Ninety-eight percent of the surface was mapped with radar resolution of approximately 120 meters. The SAR observations were projected to a 75-m nominal horizontal resolution; these full-resolution data compose the image base used in geologic mapping. The primary polarization mode was horizontal-transmit, horizontal-receive (HH), but additional data for selected areas were collected for the vertical polarization sense. Incidence angles varied from about 20? to 45?. High-resolution Doppler tracking of the spacecraft was done from September 1992 through October 1994 (mission cycles 4, 5, 6). High-resolution gravity observations from about 950 orbits were obtained between September 1992 and May 1993, while Magellan was in an elliptical orbit with a periapsis near 175 kilometers and an apoapsis near 8,000 kilometers. Observations from an additional 1,500 orbits were obtained following orbitcircularization in mid-1993. These data exist as a 75? by 75? harmonic field.

The Phobos information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karachevtseva, I. P.; Oberst, J.; Zubarev, A. E.; Nadezhdina, I. E.; Kokhanov, A. A.; Garov, A. S.; Uchaev, D. V.; Uchaev, Dm. V.; Malinnikov, V. A.; Klimkin, N. D.

2014-11-01

We have developed a Geo-information system (GIS) for Phobos, based on data from the Mars Express and Viking Orbiter missions, which includes orthoimages, global maps, terrain- and gravity field models, all referenced to the Phobos coordinate system. The data are conveniently stored in the ArcGIS software system, which provides an environment for mapping and which allows us to carry out joint data analysis and miscellaneous data cross-comparisons. We have compiled catalogs of Phobos craters using manual and automated techniques, which includes about 5500 and 6400 craters correspondingly. While crater numbers are biased by available image data resolution and illumination, we estimate that our catalog of manually detected craters contains all Phobos craters with diameters D>250 m which is a total of 1072 and catalog of automated detected craters are complete for craters D>400 m (360 craters). Statistical analysis of these large craters reveals a surplus of craters on the anti-Mars hemisphere, whereas differences in crater abundance between leading and trailing hemisphere cannot be confirmed. This in contrast to previous papers, where no such asymmetry was found (Schmedemann et al., 2014). But we cannot rule out remaining biases due to resolution, viewing angles or illumination effects. Using digital terrain model (DTM) derived from photogrammetry image processing we estimate depths of 25 craters larger than 2 km using geometric and dynamic heights (for discussion of Phobos crater morphometry see Kokhanov et al., 2014). We also have compiled catalogs of lineaments, and boulders. In particular, we mapped 546 individual grooves or crater chains, which extend in length from 0.3 km to 16.2 km. We identified and determined the sizes and locations of 1379 boulders near crater Stickney. Cross-comparisons of gravity field models against distribution patterns of grooves and boulders are currently under way and may shed light on their possible origins. Finally, we have developed a Geo-portal, which allows the science community to conveniently search for, analyze, and download data of interest from our system. Additionally we provide access to color electronic maps (e-maps) with support for layers based on Phobos geodatabase and ArcGIS tools.

Crustal thickness of Antarctica estimated using data from gravimetric satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Llubes, Muriel; Seoane, Lucia; Bruinsma, Sean; Rémy, Frédérique

2018-04-01

Computing a better crustal thickness model is still a necessary improvement in Antarctica. In this remote continent where almost all the bedrock is covered by the ice sheet, seismic investigations do not reach a sufficient spatial resolution for geological and geophysical purposes. Here, we present a global map of Antarctic crustal thickness computed from space gravity observations. The DIR5 gravity field model, built from GOCE and GRACE gravimetric data, is inverted with the Parker-Oldenburg iterative algorithm. The BEDMAP products are used to estimate the gravity effect of the ice and the rocky surface. Our result is compared to crustal thickness calculated from seismological studies and the CRUST1.0 and AN1 models. Although the CRUST1.0 model shows a very good agreement with ours, its spatial resolution is larger than the one we obtain with gravimetric data. Finally, we compute a model in which the crust-mantle density contrast is adjusted to fit the Moho depth from the CRUST1.0 model. In East Antarctica, the resulting density contrast clearly shows higher values than in West Antarctica.

Advancing Venus Geophysics with the NF4 VOX Gravity Investigation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iess, L.; Mazarico, E.; Andrews-Hanna, J. C.; De Marchi, F.; Di Achille, G.; Di Benedetto, M.; Smrekar, S. E.

2017-12-01

The Venus Origins Explorer is a JPL-led New Frontiers 4 mission proposal to Venus to answer critical questions about the origin and evolution of Venus. Venus stands out among other planets as Earth's twin planet, and is a natural target to better understand our own planet's place, in our own Solar System but also among the ever-increasing number of exoplanetary systems. The VOX radio science investigation will make use of an innovative Ka-band transponder provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to map the global gravity field of Venus to much finer resolution and accuracy than the current knowledge, based on the NASA Magellan mission. We will present the results of comprehensive simulations performed with the NASA GSFC orbit determination and geodetic parameter estimation software `GEODYN', based on a realistic mission scenario, tracking schedule, and high-fidelity Doppler tracking noise model. We will show how the achieved resolution and accuracy help fulfill the geophysical goals of the VOX mission, in particular through the mapping of subsurface crustal density or thickness variations that will inform the composition and origin of the tesserae and help ascertain the heat loss and importance of tectonism and subduction.

Analog gravity by an optical vortex: Resonance enhancement of Hawking radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ornigotti, Marco; Bar-Ad, Shimshon; Szameit, Alexander; Fleurov, Victor

2018-01-01

Propagation of coherent light in a Kerr nonlinear medium can be mapped onto a flow of an equivalent fluid. Here we use this mapping to model the conditions in the vicinity of a rotating black hole as a Laguerre-Gauss vortex beam. We describe weak fluctuations of the phase and amplitude of the electric field by wave equations in curved space, with a metric that is similar to the Kerr metric. We find the positions of event horizons and ergoregion boundaries, and the conditions for the onset of superradiance, which are simultaneously the conditions for a resonance in the analog Hawking radiation. The resonance strongly enhances the otherwise exponentially weak Hawking radiation at certain frequencies and makes its experimental observation feasible.

NV PFA Regional Data

DOE Data Explorer

James Faulds

2015-10-28

This project focused on defining geothermal play fairways and development of a detailed geothermal potential map of a large transect across the Great Basin region (96,000 km2), with the primary objective of facilitating discovery of commercial-grade, blind geothermal fields (i.e. systems with no surface hot springs or fumaroles) and thereby accelerating geothermal development in this promising region. Data included in this submission consists of: structural settings (target areas, recency of faulting, slip and dilation potential, slip rates, quality), regional-scale strain rates, earthquake density and magnitude, gravity data, temperature at 3 km depth, permeability models, favorability models, degree of exploration and exploration opportunities, data from springs and wells, transmission lines and wilderness areas, and published maps and theses for the Nevada Play Fairway area.

Short-Arc Analysis of Intersatellite Tracking Data in a Gravity Mapping Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rowlands, David D.; Ray, Richard D.; Chinn, Douglas S.; Lemoine, Frank G.; Smith, David E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

A technique for the analysis of low-low intersatellite range-rate data in a gravity mapping mission is explored. The technique is based on standard tracking data analysis for orbit determination but uses a spherical coordinate representation of the 12 epoch state parameters describing the baseline between the two satellites. This representation of the state parameters is exploited to allow the intersatellite range-rate analysis to benefit from information provided by other tracking data types without large simultaneous multiple data type solutions. The technique appears especially valuable for estimating gravity from short arcs (e.g., less than 15 minutes) of data. Gravity recovery simulations which use short arcs are compared with those using arcs a day in length. For a high-inclination orbit, the short-arc analysis recovers low-order gravity coefficients remarkably well, although higher order terms, especially sectorial terms, are less accurate. Simulations suggest that either long or short arcs of GRACE data are likely to improve parts of the geopotential spectrum by orders of magnitude.

Gravity quantized: Loop quantum gravity with a scalar field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Domagala, Marcin; Kaminski, Wojciech; Giesel, Kristina

2010-11-15

...''but we do not have quantum gravity.'' This phrase is often used when analysis of a physical problem enters the regime in which quantum gravity effects should be taken into account. In fact, there are several models of the gravitational field coupled to (scalar) fields for which the quantization procedure can be completed using loop quantum gravity techniques. The model we present in this paper consists of the gravitational field coupled to a scalar field. The result has similar structure to the loop quantum cosmology models, except that it involves all the local degrees of freedom of the gravitational fieldmore » because no symmetry reduction has been performed at the classical level.« less

Recovering the time-variable gravitational field using satellite gradiometry: requirements and gradiometer concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douch, Karim; Müller, Jürgen; Heinzel, Gerhard; Wu, Hu

2017-04-01

The successful GRACE mission and its far-reaching benefits have highlighted the interest to continue and extend the mapping of the Earth's time-variable gravitational field with follow-on missions and ideally a higher spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we would like to put forward satellite gravitational gradiometry as an alternative solution to satellite-to-satellite tracking for future missions. Besides the higher sensitivity to smaller scales compared to GRACE-like missions, a gradiometry mission would only require one satellite and would provide a direct estimation of a functional of the gravitational field. GOCE, the only gradiometry mission launched so far, was not sensitive enough to map the time-variable part of the gravity field. However, the unprecedented precision of the state-of-the-art optical metrology system on-board the LISA PATHFINDER satellite has opened the way to more performant space inertial sensors. We will therefore examine whether it is technically possible to go beyond GOCE performances and to quantify to what extent the time-variable gravitational field could be determined. First, we derive the requirements on the knowledge of the attitude and the position of the satellite and on the measured gradients in terms of sensitivity and calibration accuracy for a typical repeat low-orbit. We conclude in particular that a noise level smaller than 0.1 mE/√Hz- is required in the measurement bandwidth [5x10-4 ; 10-2]Hz so as to be sensitive to the time-variable gravity signal. We introduce then the design and characteristics of the new gradiometer concept and give an assessment of its noise budget. Contrary to the GOCE electrostatic gradiometer, the position of the test-mass in the accelerometer is measured here by laser interferometry rather than by a capacitive readout system, which improves the overall measurement chain. Finally, the first results of a performance analysis carried out thanks to an end-to-end simulator are discussed and compared to the previously defined requirements.

The Gravity Field of Mars From MGS, Mars Odyssey, and MRO Radio Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Genova, Antonio; Goossens, Sander; Lemoine, Frank G.; Mazarico, Erwan; Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.

2015-01-01

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) missions have enabled NASA to conduct reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit for sixteen consecutive years. These radio systems on these spacecraft enabled radio science in orbit around Mars to improve the knowledge of the static structure of the Martian gravitational field. The continuity of the radio tracking data, which cover more than a solar cycle, also provides useful information to characterize the temporal variability of the gravity field, relevant to the planet's internal dynamics and the structure and dynamics of the atmosphere [1]. MGS operated for more than 7 years, between 1999 and 2006, in a frozen sun-synchronous, near-circular, polar orbit with the periapsis at approximately 370 km altitude. ODY and MRO have been orbiting Mars in two separate sun-synchronous orbits at different local times and altitudes. ODY began its mapping phase in 2002 with the periapis at approximately 390 km altitude and 4-5pm Local Solar Time (LST), whereas the MRO science mission started in November 2006 with the periapis at approximately 255 km altitude and 3pm LST. The 16 years of radio tracking data provide useful information on the atmospheric density in the Martian upper atmosphere. We used ODY and MRO radio data to recover the long-term periodicity of the major atmospheric constituents -- CO2, O, and He -- at the orbit altitudes of these two spacecraft [2]. The improved atmospheric model provides a better prediction of the annual and semi-annual variability of the dominant species. Therefore, the inclusion of the recovered model leads to improved orbit determination and an improved gravity field model of Mars with MGS, ODY, and MRO radio tracking data.

Gravity Field Recovery from the Cartwheel Formation by the Semi-analytical Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Huishu; Reubelt, Tilo; Antoni, Markus; Sneeuw, Nico; Zhong, Min; Zhou, Zebing

2016-04-01

Past and current gravimetric satellite missions have contributed drastically to our knowledge of the Earth's gravity field. Nevertheless, several geoscience disciplines push for even higher requirements on accuracy, homogeneity and time- and space-resolution of the Earth's gravity field. Apart from better instruments or new observables, alternative satellite formations could improve the signal and error structure. With respect to other methods, one significant advantage of the semi-analytical approach is its effective pre-mission error assessment for gravity field missions. The semi-analytical approach builds a linear analytical relationship between the Fourier spectrum of the observables and the spherical harmonic spectrum of the gravity field. The spectral link between observables and gravity field parameters is given by the transfer coefficients, which constitutes the observation model. In connection with a stochastic model, it can be used for pre-mission error assessment of gravity field mission. The cartwheel formation is formed by two satellites on elliptic orbits in the same plane. The time dependent ranging will be considered in the transfer coefficients via convolution including the series expansion of the eccentricity functions. The transfer coefficients are applied to assess the error patterns, which are caused by different orientation of the cartwheel for range-rate and range acceleration. This work will present the isotropy and magnitude of the formal errors of the gravity field coefficients, for different orientations of the cartwheel.

The Dawn Gravity Investigation at Vesta and Ceres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Konopliv, A. S.; Asmar, S.W.; Bills, B. G.; Mastrodemos, N.; Park, R. S.; Raymond, C. A.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

2011-01-01

The objective of the Dawn gravity investigation is to use high precision X-band Doppler tracking and landmark tracking from optical images to measure the gravity fields of Vesta and Ceres to a half-wavelength surface resolution better than 90-km and 300-km, respectively. Depending on the Doppler tracking assumptions, the gravity field will be determined to somewhere between harmonic degrees 15 and 25 for Vesta and about degree 10 for Ceres. The gravity fields together with shape models determined from Dawn's framing camera constrain models of the interior from the core to the crust. The gravity field is determined jointly with the spin pole location. The second degree harmonics together with assumptions on obliquity or hydrostatic equilibrium may determine the moments of inertia.

Contribution of gravity data and Sentinel-1 image for structural mapping. Case of Beni Mellal Atlas and Beni Moussa plain (Morocco).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boutirame, Ikram; Boukdir, Ahmed; Akhssas, Ahmed; Boutirame, Fatima; Manar, Ahmed; Aghzzaf, Brahim

2018-05-01

The present work is a combined study of gravity and Sentine-1 data for fracture mapping in the karstic massif of Beni Mellal Atlas and the adjacent plain of Beni Moussa. In order to locate the various faults that contribute to the study area structuring, the gravimetric contacts analysis method, based on the joint use of the horizontal gradient and the upward continuation at different altitudes, has been applied to the gravity data. To optimize the structural mapping in the study area, the gravimetric lineaments obtained were completed and correlated with the lineaments got from Sentinel-1 image. Four faults families of NE-SW; E-O; N-S and NWSE directions have been highlighted. There fault families are perfectly combined with the studied area's surface water network, moreover, they corroborate with the previous geological and structural studies.

Toward higher order tests of the gravitational interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nordtvedt, Ken

1989-01-01

Analyses and interpretations of experiments which test post-Newtonian gravity are usually done under the assumption that gravity is a metric field phenomenon - a manifestation of space-time geometry. This, however, is unnecessary and one can start at a more primitive level - that there simply exists a phenomenological, gravitational, many-body equation of motion which must be determined by a package of observations. In fact, over the last couple decades, a diverse collection of solar system interbody tracking observations, supplemented by data from the binary pulsar system PSR 1913 + 16, has completely mapped out the first post-Newtonian order. After the fact, using empirically determined equations of motion, along with some observed properties of nongravitational clocks and rulers and conservation laws for energy, momentum and angular momentum, a post-Newtonian Lagrangian can be constructed, a geometrical space-time metric field conceptual interpretation can be developed, Lorentz invariance of the equations of motion can be shown, and the equations of motion are found to agree with the predictions of Einstein's gravitational theory, General Relativity, within experimental accuracy.

Emergence of gravity, fermion, gauge and Chern-Simons fields during formation of N-dimensional manifolds from joining point-like ones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sepehri, Alireza; Shoorvazi, Somayyeh

In this paper, we will consider the birth and evolution of fields during formation of N-dimensional manifolds from joining point-like ones. We will show that at the beginning, only there are point-like manifolds which some strings are attached to them. By joining these manifolds, 1-dimensional manifolds are appeared and gravity, fermion, and gauge fields are emerged. By coupling these manifolds, higher dimensional manifolds are produced and higher orders of fermion, gauge fields and gravity are emerged. By decaying N-dimensional manifold, two child manifolds and a Chern-Simons one are born and anomaly is emerged. The Chern-Simons manifold connects two child manifolds and leads to the energy transmission from the bulk to manifolds and their expansion. We show that F-gravity can be emerged during the formation of N-dimensional manifold from point-like manifolds. This type of F-gravity includes both type of fermionic and bosonic gravity. G-fields and also C-fields which are produced by fermionic strings produce extra energy and change the gravity.

EGSIEM: Combination of GRACE monthly gravity models on normal equation level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Ulrich; Jean, Yoomin; Jäggi, Adrian; Mayer-Gürr, Torsten; Neumayer, Hans; Lemoine, Jean-Michel

2016-04-01

One of the three geodetic services to be realized in the frame of the EGSIEM project is a scientific combination service. Each associated processing center (AC) will follow a set of common processing standards but will apply its own, independent analysis method. Therefore the quality, robustness and reliability of the combined monthly gravity fields is expected to improve significantly compared to the individual solutions. The Monthly GRACE gravity fields of all ACs are combined on normal equation level. The individual normal equations are weighted depending on pairwise comparisons of the individual gravity field solutions. To derive these weights and for quality control of the individual contributions first a combination of the monthly gravity fields on solution level is performed. The concept of weighting and of the combination on normal equation level is introduced and the formats used for normal equation exchange and gravity field solutions is described. First results of the combination on normal equation level are presented and compared to the corresponding combinations on solution level. EGSIEM has an open data policy and all processing centers of GRACE gravity fields are invited to participate in the combination.

The estimation of the Earth's gravity field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szabo, Bela

1986-06-01

The various methods for the description of the Earth's gravity field from direct and/or indirect observations are reviewed. Geopotential models produced by various organizations and in use during the past 15 years are discussed in detail. Recent and future programs for the improvement of global gravity fields are reviewed and the expected improvements from new observation and data processing techniques are estimated. The regional and local gravity field is also reviewed. The various data types and their spectral properties, the sensitivities of the different gravimetric quantities to datatypes are discussed. The techniques for the estimation of gravimetric quantities and the achievable accuracies are presented (e.g., integral formulae, collocation). The results of recent works in this area by prominent authors are reviewed. The prediction of gravity outside the earth from surface data is discussed in two forms: a) prediction of gravity disturbance at high altitudes and b) upward continuation of gravity anomalies. The achievable improvements of the high frequency field by airborne gradiometry are summarized utilizing recent investigations.

Assessment of Gravity Field and Steady State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) geoid model using GPS levelling over Sabah and Sarawak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Othman, A. H.; Omar, K. M.; Din, A. H. M.; Som, Z. A. M.; Yahaya, N. A. Z.; Pa'suya, M. F.

2016-06-01

The GOCE satellite mission has significantly contributed to various applications such as solid earth physics, oceanography and geodesy. Some substantial applications of geodesy are to improve the gravity field knowledge and the precise geoid modelling towards realising global height unification. This paper aims to evaluate GOCE geoid model based on the recent GOCE Global Geopotential Model (GGM), as well as EGM2008, using GPS levelling data over East Malaysia, i.e. Sabah and Sarawak. The satellite GGMs selected in this study are the GOCE GGM models which include GOCE04S, TIM_R5 and SPW_R4, and the EGM2008 model. To assess these models, the geoid heights from these GGMs are compared to the local geometric geoid height. The GGM geoid heights was derived using EGMLAB1 software and the geometric geoid height was computed by available GPS levelling information obtained from the Department Survey and Mapping Malaysia. Generally, the GOCE models performed better than EGM2008 over East Malaysia and the best fit GOCE model for this region is the TIM_R5 model. The TIM_R5 GOCE model demonstrated the lowest R.M.S. of ± 16.5 cm over Sarawak, comparatively. For further improvement, this model should be combined with the local gravity data for optimum geoid modelling over East Malaysia.

Tectonics and crustal structure of the Saurashtra peninsula: based on Gravity and Magnetic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, A. K.; Singh, A.; Singh, U. K.

2016-12-01

The Saurashtra peninsula is located at the North Western margin of the Indian shield which occurs as a horst block between the rifts namely as Kachchh, Cambay and Narmada. It is important because of occurrence of moderate earthquake and presence of mesozoic sediments below the Deccan trap. The maps of bouguer gravity anomaly and the total intensity magnetic anomalies of Saurashtra have delineated six circular gravity highs of magnitudes 40-60 mGal and 800-1000 nT respectively. In order to understand the location, structure and depth of the source body, methods like continuous wavelet transform (CWT), Euler deconvolution and power spectrum analysis have been implemented in the potential field data. The CWT and Euler deconvolution give 16-18 km average depth of volcanic plug in Junagadh and Rajula region. From the power spectrum analysis, it is found that average Moho depth in the Saurashtra is about 36-38 km. Keeping the constraints obtained from geophysical studies like borehole, deep seismic survey, receiver function analysis and geological information, combined gravity and magnetic modeling have been performed. Detailed crustal structure of the Saurashtra region has been delineated along two profiles which pass from prominent geological features Junagadh and Rajula volcanic plugs respectively.

Terrestrial Gravity Fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harms, Jan

2015-12-01

Different forms of fluctuations of the terrestrial gravity field are observed by gravity experiments. For example, atmospheric pressure fluctuations generate a gravity-noise foreground in measurements with super-conducting gravimeters. Gravity changes caused by high-magnitude earthquakes have been detected with the satellite gravity experiment GRACE, and we expect high-frequency terrestrial gravity fluctuations produced by ambient seismic fields to limit the sensitivity of ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. Accordingly, terrestrial gravity fluctuations are considered noise and signal depending on the experiment. Here, we will focus on ground-based gravimetry. This field is rapidly progressing through the development of GW detectors. The technology is pushed to its current limits in the advanced generation of the LIGO and Virgo detectors, targeting gravity strain sensitivities better than 10-23 Hz-1/2 above a few tens of a Hz. Alternative designs for GW detectors evolving from traditional gravity gradiometers such as torsion bars, atom interferometers, and superconducting gradiometers are currently being developed to extend the detection band to frequencies below 1 Hz. The goal of this article is to provide the analytical framework to describe terrestrial gravity perturbations in these experiments. Models of terrestrial gravity perturbations related to seismic fields, atmospheric disturbances, and vibrating, rotating or moving objects, are derived and analyzed. The models are then used to evaluate passive and active gravity noise mitigation strategies in GW detectors, or alternatively, to describe their potential use in geophysics. The article reviews the current state of the field, and also presents new analyses especially with respect to the impact of seismic scattering on gravity perturbations, active gravity noise cancellation, and time-domain models of gravity perturbations from atmospheric and seismic point sources. Our understanding of terrestrial gravity fluctuations will have great impact on the future development of GW detectors and high-precision gravimetry in general, and many open questions need to be answered still as emphasized in this article.

Terrestrial Gravity Fluctuations.

PubMed

Harms, Jan

2015-01-01

Different forms of fluctuations of the terrestrial gravity field are observed by gravity experiments. For example, atmospheric pressure fluctuations generate a gravity-noise foreground in measurements with super-conducting gravimeters. Gravity changes caused by high-magnitude earthquakes have been detected with the satellite gravity experiment GRACE, and we expect high-frequency terrestrial gravity fluctuations produced by ambient seismic fields to limit the sensitivity of ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. Accordingly, terrestrial gravity fluctuations are considered noise and signal depending on the experiment. Here, we will focus on ground-based gravimetry. This field is rapidly progressing through the development of GW detectors. The technology is pushed to its current limits in the advanced generation of the LIGO and Virgo detectors, targeting gravity strain sensitivities better than 10 -23 Hz -1/2 above a few tens of a Hz. Alternative designs for GW detectors evolving from traditional gravity gradiometers such as torsion bars, atom interferometers, and superconducting gradiometers are currently being developed to extend the detection band to frequencies below 1 Hz. The goal of this article is to provide the analytical framework to describe terrestrial gravity perturbations in these experiments. Models of terrestrial gravity perturbations related to seismic fields, atmospheric disturbances, and vibrating, rotating or moving objects, are derived and analyzed. The models are then used to evaluate passive and active gravity noise mitigation strategies in GW detectors, or alternatively, to describe their potential use in geophysics. The article reviews the current state of the field, and also presents new analyses especially with respect to the impact of seismic scattering on gravity perturbations, active gravity noise cancellation, and time-domain models of gravity perturbations from atmospheric and seismic point sources. Our understanding of terrestrial gravity fluctuations will have great impact on the future development of GW detectors and high-precision gravimetry in general, and many open questions need to be answered still as emphasized in this article.

Goce and Its Role in Combined Global High Resolution Gravity Field Determination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fecher, T.; Pail, R.; Gruber, T.

2013-12-01

Combined high-resolution gravity field models serve as a mandatory basis to describe static and dynamic processes in system Earth. Ocean dynamics can be modeled referring to a high-accurate geoid as reference surface, solid earth processes are initiated by the gravity field. Also geodetic disciplines such as height system determination depend on high-precise gravity field information. To fulfill the various requirements concerning resolution and accuracy, any kind of gravity field information, that means satellite as well as terrestrial and altimetric gravity field observations have to be included in one combination process. A key role is here reserved for GOCE observations, which contribute with its optimal signal content in the long to medium wavelength part and enable a more accurate gravity field determination than ever before especially in areas, where no high-accurate terrestrial gravity field observations are available, such as South America, Asia or Africa. For our contribution we prepare a combined high-resolution gravity field model up to d/o 720 based on full normal equation including recent GOCE, GRACE and terrestrial / altimetric data. For all data sets, normal equations are set up separately, relative weighted to each other in the combination step and solved. This procedure is computationally challenging and can only be performed using super computers. We put special emphasis on the combination process, for which we modified especially our procedure to include GOCE data optimally in the combination. Furthermore we modified our terrestrial/altimetric data sets, what should result in an improved outcome. With our model, in which we included the newest GOCE TIM4 gradiometry results, we can show how GOCE contributes to a combined gravity field solution especially in areas of poor terrestrial data coverage. The model is validated by independent GPS leveling data in selected regions as well as computation of the mean dynamic topography over the oceans. Further, we analyze the statistical error estimates derived from full covariance propagation and compare them with the absolute validation with independent data sets.

A predictive penetrative fracture mapping method from regional potential field and geologic datasets, southwest Colorado Plateau, U.S.A

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gettings, M.E.; Bultman, M.W.

2005-01-01

Some aquifers of the southwest Colorado Plateau, U.S.A., are deeply buried and overlain by several impermeable units, and thus recharge to the aquifer is probably mainly by seepage down penetrative fracture systems. This purpose of this study was to develop a method to map the location of candidate deep penetrative fractures over a 120,000 km2 area using gravity and aeromagnetic anomaly data together with surficial fracture data. The resulting database constitutes a spatially registered estimate of recharge location. Candidate deep fractures were obtained by spatial correlation of horizontal gradient and analytic signal maxima of gravity and magnetic anomalies vertically with major surficial lineaments obtained from geologic, topographic, side-looking airborne radar, and satellite imagery. The maps define a sub-set of possible penetrative fractures because of limitations of data coverage and the analysis technique. The data and techniques employed do not yield any indication as to whether fractures are open or closed. Correlations were carried out using image processing software in such a way that every pixel on the resulting grids was coded to uniquely identify which datasets correlated. The technique correctly identified known deep fracture systems and many new ones. Maps of the correlations also define in detail the tectonic fabrics of the Southwestern Colorado Plateau. Copyright ?? The Society of Geomagnetism and Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences (SGEPSS); The Seismological Society of Japan; The Volcanological Society of Japan; The Geodetic Society of Japan; The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences; TERRAPUB.

GPS Observations of Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances over New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otsuka, Y.; Lee, C.; Shiokawa, K.; Tsugawa, T.; Nishioka, M.

2014-12-01

Using the GPS data obtained from dual-frequency GPS receivers in New Zealand, we have made two-dimensional maps of total electron content (TEC) in 2012 in order to reveal statistical characteristics of MSTIDs at mid-latitudes in southern hemisphere. As of 2012, approximately 40 GPS receivers are in operation in New Zealand. We found that most of the MSITDs over New Zealand propagate northwestward during nighttime in summer and northeastward during daytime in winter. The propagation direction of the nighttime MSTIDs is consistent with the theory that polarization electric fields play an important role in the generating MSTIDs. Because the daytime MSTIDs propagate equatorward, we can speculate that they could be caused by atmospheric gravity waves in the thermosphere. The propagation direction of the daytime MSTIDs also has an eastward component in addition to the equatorward component. This feature is consistent with the daytime MSTIDs observed at mid-latitudes in both northern and southern hemispheres. By carrying out model calculations, we have shown that the eastward component of the MSTID propagation direction during daytime is attributed to an interaction of gravity waves to the background neutral winds. Because most of the daytime MSTIDs appear before 14 LT, the background neutral winds could blow westward. According to the dispersion relation for atmospheric gravity waves, vertical wavelength of the gravity waves becomes larger when the gravity wave propagates in the direction opposite to the background winds. Consequently, the gravity waves having an eastward component of the propagation direction could cause larger amplitude of TEC variations compared to the gravity waves propagating westward. This could be a reason why the propagation direction of the dime MSTIDs has an eastward component.

Bubble Detachment in Variable Gravity Under the Influence of a Non-Uniform Electric Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Shinan; Herman, Cila; Iacona, Estelle

2002-01-01

The objective of the study reported in this paper is to investigate the effects of variable, reduced gravity on the formation and detachment behavior of individual air bubbles under the influence of a non-uniform electric field. For this purpose, variable gravity experiments were carried out in parabolic nights. The non-uniform electric field was generated by a spherical electrode and a plate electrode. The effect of the magnitude of the non-uniform electric field and gravity level on bubble formation, development and detachment at an orifice was investigated. An image processing code was developed that allows the measurement of bubble volume, dimensions and contact angle at detachment. The results of this research can be used to explore the possibility of enhancing boiling heat transfer in the variable and low gravity environments by substituting the buoyancy force with a force induced by the electric field. The results of experiments and measurements indicate that the level of gravity significantly affects bubble shape, size and frequency. The electric field magnitude also influences bubble detachment, however, its impact is not as profound as that of variable gravity for the range of electric field magnitudes investigated in the present study.

Future missions for observing Earth's changing gravity field: a closed-loop simulation tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Visser, P. N.

2008-12-01

The GRACE mission has successfully demonstrated the observation from space of the changing Earth's gravity field at length and time scales of typically 1000 km and 10-30 days, respectively. Many scientific communities strongly advertise the need for continuity of observing Earth's gravity field from space. Moreover, a strong interest is being expressed to have gravity missions that allow a more detailed sampling of the Earth's gravity field both in time and in space. Designing a gravity field mission for the future is a complicated process that involves making many trade-offs, such as trade-offs between spatial, temporal resolution and financial budget. Moreover, it involves the optimization of many parameters, such as orbital parameters (height, inclination), distinction between which gravity sources to observe or correct for (for example are gravity changes due to ocean currents a nuisance or a signal to be retrieved?), observation techniques (low-low satellite-to-satellite tracking, satellite gravity gradiometry, accelerometers), and satellite control systems (drag-free?). A comprehensive tool has been developed and implemented that allows the closed-loop simulation of gravity field retrievals for different satellite mission scenarios. This paper provides a description of this tool. Moreover, its capabilities are demonstrated by a few case studies. Acknowledgments. The research that is being done with the closed-loop simulation tool is partially funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). An important component of the tool is the GEODYN software, kindly provided by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

V-GRAM: Magellan bulletin about Venus and the radar mapping mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jasnow, Mona (Editor)

1993-01-01

Papers on the following topics are presented: Magellan project update; summary of Magellan science findings; excerpt from 'Acquisition and Analysis of Magellan Gravity Data'; Magellan gravity; and Magellan stereo image data.

Shape and Gravity of Vesta South Pole

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-04-25

This set of images from NASA Dawn spacecraft shows topography of the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta and a map of Vesta gravity variations that have been adjusted to account for Vesta shape.

High-Resolution Gravity Field Modeling for Mercury to Estimate Crust and Lithospheric Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goossens, S.; Mazarico, E.; Genova, A.; James, P. B.

2018-05-01

We estimate a gravity field model for Mercury using line-of-sight data to improve the gravity field model at short wavelengths. This can be used to infer crustal density and infer the support mechanism of the lithosphere.

Gravity Fields and Interiors of the Saturnian Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rappaport, N. J.; Armstrong, J. W.; Asmar, Sami W.; Iess, L.; Tortora, P.; Somenzi, L.; Zingoni, F.

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the Gravity Science Objectives and accomplishments of the Cassini Radio Science Team: (1) Mass and density of icy satellites (2) Quadrupole field of Titan and Rhea (3) Dynamic Love number of Titan (4) Moment of inertia of Titan (in collaboration with the Radar Team) (5) Gravity field of Saturn. The proposed measurements for the extended tour are: (1) Quadrupole field of Enceladus (2) More accurate measurement of Titan k2 (3) Local gravity/topography correlations for Iapetus (4) Verification/disproof of "Pioneer anomaly".

Geologic structure of the Yucaipa area inferred from gravity data, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mendez, Gregory O.; Langenheim, V.E.; Morita, Andrew; Danskin, Wesley R.

2016-09-30

In the spring of 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, began working on a gravity survey in the Yucaipa area to explore the three-dimensional shape of the sedimentary fill (alluvial deposits) and the surface of the underlying crystalline basement rocks. As water use has increased in pace with rapid urbanization, water managers have need for better information about the subsurface geometry and the boundaries of groundwater subbasins in the Yucaipa area. The large density contrast between alluvial deposits and the crystalline basement complex permits using modeling of gravity data to estimate the thickness of alluvial deposits. The bottom of the alluvial deposits is considered to be the top of crystalline basement rocks. The gravity data, integrated with geologic information from surface outcrops and 51 subsurface borings (15 of which penetrated basement rock), indicated a complex basin configuration where steep slopes coincide with mapped faults―such as the Crafton Hills Fault and the eastern section of the Banning Fault―and concealed ridges separate hydrologically defined subbasins.Gravity measurements and well logs were the primary data sets used to define the thickness and structure of the groundwater basin. Gravity measurements were collected at 256 new locations along profiles that totaled approximately 104.6 km (65 mi) in length; these data supplemented previously collected gravity measurements. Gravity data were reduced to isostatic anomalies and separated into an anomaly field representing the valley fill. The ‘valley-fill-deposits gravity anomaly’ was converted to thickness by using an assumed, depth-varying density contrast between the alluvial deposits and the underlying bedrock.To help visualize the basin geometry, an animation of the elevation of the top of the basement-rocks was prepared. The animation “flies over” the Yucaipa groundwater basin, viewing the land surface, geology, faults, and ridges and valleys of the shaded-relief elevation of the top of the basement complex.

Correlation of Aerogravity and BHT Data to Develop a Geothermal Gradient Map of the Northern Western Desert of Egypt using an Artificial Neural Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, Haby S.; Abdel Zaher, Mohamed; Senosy, Mahmoud M.; Saibi, Hakim; El Nouby, Mohamed; Fairhead, J. Derek

2015-06-01

The northern part of the Western Desert of Egypt represents the second most promising area of hydrocarbon potential after the Gulf of Suez province. An artificial neural network (ANN) approach was used to develop a new predictive model for calculation of the geothermal gradients in this region based on gravity and corrected bottom-hole temperature (BHT) data. The best training data set was obtained with an ANN architecture composed of seven neurons in the hidden layer, which made it possible to predict the geothermal gradient with satisfactory efficiency. The BHT records of 116 deep oil wells (2,000-4,500 m) were used to evaluate the geothermal resources in the northern Western Desert. Corrections were applied to the BHT data to obtain the true formation equilibrium temperatures, which can provide useful constraints on the subsurface thermal regime. On the basis of these corrected data, the thermal gradient was computed for the linear sections of the temperature-versus-depth data at each well. The calculated geothermal gradient using temperature log data was generally 30 °C/km, with a few local high geothermal gradients in the northwestern parts of the study area explained by potential local geothermal fields. The Bouguer gravity values from the study area ranged from -60 mGal in the southern parts to 120 mGal in the northern areas, and exhibited NE-SW and E-W trends associated with geological structures. Although the northern Western Desert of Egypt has low regional temperature gradients (30 °C/km), several potential local geothermal fields were found (>40 °C/km). The heat flow at each well was also computed by combining sets of temperature gradients and thermal conductivity data. Aerogravity data were used to delineate the subsurface structures and tectonic framework of the region. The result of this study is a new geothermal gradient map of the northern Western Desert developed from gravity and BHT log data.

Gravity and Aeromagnetic Gradients within the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Black Mountain Tectonic Zone, Big Delta Quadrangle, east-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Saltus, R.W.; Day, W.C.

2006-01-01

The Yukon-Tanana Upland is a complex composite assemblage of variably metamorphosed crystalline rocks with strong North American affinities. At the broadest scale, the Upland has a relatively neutral magnetic character. More detailed examination, however, reveals a fundamental northeast-southwest-trending magnetic gradient, representing a 20-nT step (as measured at a flight height of 300 m) with higher values to the northwest, that extends from the Denali fault to the Tintina fault and bisects the Upland. This newly recognized geophysical gradient is parallel to, but about 100 km east of, the Shaw Creek fault. The Shaw Creek fault is mapped as a major left-lateral, strike-slip fault, but does not coincide with a geophysical boundary. A gravity gradient coincides loosely with the southwestern half of the magnetic gradient. This gravity gradient is the eastern boundary of a 30-mGal residual gravity high that occupies much of the western and central portions of the Big Delta quadrangle. The adjacent lower gravity values to the east correlate, at least in part, with mapped post-metamorphic granitic rocks. Ground-based gravity and physical property measurements were made in the southeastern- most section of the Big Delta quadrangle in 2004 to investigate these geophysical features. Preliminary geophysical models suggest that the magnetic boundary is deeper and more fundamental than the gravity boundary. The two geophysical boundaries coincide in and around the Tibbs Creek region, an area of interest to mineral exploration. A newly mapped tectonic zone (the Black Mountain tectonic zone of O'Neill and others, 2005) correlates with the coincident geophysical boundaries.

Shear-wave velocities beneath the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Saudi Arabia, using ambient seismic noise analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Civilini, F.; Mooney, W.; Savage, M. K.; Townend, J.; Zahran, H. M.

2017-12-01

We present seismic shear-velocities for Harrat Rahat, a Cenozoic bimodal alkaline volcanic field in west-central Saudi Arabia, using seismic tomography from natural ambient noise. This project is part of an overall effort by the Saudi Geological Survey and the United States Geological Survey to describe the subsurface structure and assess hazards within the Saudi Arabian shield. Volcanism at Harrat Rahat began approximately 10 Ma, with at least three pulses around 10, 5, and 2 Ma, and at least several pulses in the Quaternary from 1.9 Ma to the present. This area is instrumented by 14 broadband Nanometrics Trillium T120 instruments across an array aperture of approximately 130 kilometers. We used a year of recorded natural ambient noise to determine group and phase velocity surface wave dispersion maps with a 0.1 decimal degree resolution for radial-radial, transverse-transverse, and vertical-vertical components of the empirical Green's function. A grid-search method was used to carry out 1D shear-velocity inversions at each latitude-longitude point and the results were interpolated to produce pseudo-3D shear velocity models. The dispersion maps resolved a zone of slow surface wave velocity south-east of the city of Medina spatially correlated with the 1256 CE eruption. A crustal layer interface at approximately 20 km depth was determined by the inversions for all components, matching the results of prior seismic-refraction studies. Cross-sections of the 3D shear velocity models were compared to gravity measurements obtained in the south-east edge of the field. We found that measurements of low gravity qualitatively correlate with low values of shear-velocity below 20 km along the cross-section profile. We apply these methods to obtain preliminary tomography results on the entire Arabian Shield.

Time-Variable Gravity from Satellite Laser-Ranging: The Low-Degree Components and Their Connections with Geophysical/Climatic Changes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chao, Benjamin F.; Cox, Christopher M.

2004-01-01

Satellite laser-ranging (SLR) has been observing the tiny variations in Earth s global gravity for over 2 decades. The oblateness of the Earth's gravity field, J2, has been observed to undergo a secular decrease of J2 due mainly to the post-glacial rebound of the mantle. Sometime around 1998 this trend reversed quite suddenly. This reversal persisted until 2001, at which point the atmosphere-corrected time series appears to have reversed yet again towards normal. This anomaly signifies a large interannual change in global mass distribution. A number of possible causes have been considered, with oceanic mass redistribution as the leading candidate although other effects, such as glacial melting and core effects may be contributing. In fact, a strong correlation has been found between the J2 variability and the Pacific decadal oscillation. It is relatively more difficult to solve for corresponding signals in the shorter wavelength harmonics from the existing SLR-derived time variable gravity results, although it appears that geophysical fluid mass transport is being observed. For example, the recovered J3 time series shows remarkable agreement with NCEP-derived estimates of atmospheric gravity variations. Likewise, some of the non-zonal harmonic components have significant interannual signal that appears to be related to mass transport related to climatic effects such as El Nino Southern Oscillation. We will present recent updates on the J2 evolution, as well as a monthly time sequence of low-degree component map of the time-variable gravity complete through degree 4, and examine possible geophysical/climatic causes.

A community effort to construct a gravity database for the United States and an associated Web portal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keller, Gordon R.; Hildenbrand, T.G.; Kucks, R.; Webring, M.; Briesacher, A.; Rujawitz, K.; Hittleman, A.M.; Roman, D.R.; Winester, D.; Aldouri, R.; Seeley, J.; Rasillo, J.; Torres, R.; Hinze, W. J.; Gates, A.; Kreinovich, V.; Salayandia, L.

2006-01-01

Potential field data (gravity and magnetic measurements) are both useful and costeffective tools for many geologic investigations. Significant amounts of these data are traditionally in the public domain. A new magnetic database for North America was released in 2002, and as a result, a cooperative effort between government agencies, industry, and universities to compile an upgraded digital gravity anomaly database, grid, and map for the conterminous United States was initiated and is the subject of this paper. This database is being crafted into a data system that is accessible through a Web portal. This data system features the database, software tools, and convenient access. The Web portal will enhance the quality and quantity of data contributed to the gravity database that will be a shared community resource. The system's totally digital nature ensures that it will be flexible so that it can grow and evolve as new data, processing procedures, and modeling and visualization tools become available. Another goal of this Web-based data system is facilitation of the efforts of researchers and students who wish to collect data from regions currently not represented adequately in the database. The primary goal of upgrading the United States gravity database and this data system is to provide more reliable data that support societal and scientific investigations of national importance. An additional motivation is the international intent to compile an enhanced North American gravity database, which is critical to understanding regional geologic features, the tectonic evolution of the continent, and other issues that cross national boundaries. ?? 2006 Geological Society of America. All rights reserved.

GRACE AOD1B Product Release 06: Long-Term Consistency and the Treatment of Atmospheric Tides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobslaw, Henryk; Bergmann-Wolf, Inga; Dill, Robert; Poropat, Lea; Flechtner, Frank

2017-04-01

The GRACE satellites orbiting the Earth at very low altitudes are affected by rapid changes in the Earth's gravity field caused by mass redistribution in atmosphere and oceans. To avoid temporal aliasing of such high-frequency variability into the final monthly-mean gravity fields, those effects are typically modelled during the numerical orbit integration by appling the 6-hourly GRACE Atmosphere and Ocean De-Aliasing Level-1B (AOD1B) a priori model. In preparation of the next GRACE gravity field re-processing currently performed by the GRACE Science Data System, a new version of AOD1B has been calculated. The data-set is based on 3-hourly surface pressure anomalies from ECMWF that have been mapped to a common reference orography by means of ECMWF's mean sea-level pressure diagnostic. Atmospheric tides as well as the corresponding oceanic response at the S1, S2, S3, and L2 frequencies and its annual modulations have been fitted and removed in order to retain the non-tidal variability only. The data-set is expanded into spherical harmonics complete up to degree and order 180. In this contribution, we will demonstrate that AOD1B RL06 is now free from spurious jumps in the time-series related to occasional changes in ECMWF's operational numerical weather prediction system. We will also highlight the rationale for separating tidal signals from the AOD1B coefficients, and will finally discuss the current quality of the AOD1B forecasts that have been introduced very recently for GRACE quicklook or near-realtime applications.

Gravity field, geoid and ocean surface by space techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderle, R. J.

1978-01-01

Knowledge of the earth's gravity field continued to increase during the last four years. Altimetry data from the GEOS-3 satellite has provided the geoid over most of the ocean to an accuracy of about one meter. Increasing amounts of laser data has permitted the solution for 566 terms in the gravity field with which orbits of the GEOS-3 satellite have been computed to an accuracy of about one to two meters. The combination of satellite tracking data, altimetry and gravimetry has yielded a solution for 1360 terms in the earth's gravity field. A number of problems remain to be solved to increase the accuracy of the gravity field determination. New satellite systems would provide gravity data in unsurveyed areas and correction for topographic features of the ocean and improved computational procedures together with a more extensive laser network will considerably improve the accuracy of the results.

Reprocessing the GRACE-derived gravity field time series based on data-driven method for ocean tide alias error mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wei; Sneeuw, Nico; Jiang, Weiping

2017-04-01

GRACE mission has contributed greatly to the temporal gravity field monitoring in the past few years. However, ocean tides cause notable alias errors for single-pair spaceborne gravimetry missions like GRACE in two ways. First, undersampling from satellite orbit induces the aliasing of high-frequency tidal signals into the gravity signal. Second, ocean tide models used for de-aliasing in the gravity field retrieval carry errors, which will directly alias into the recovered gravity field. GRACE satellites are in non-repeat orbit, disabling the alias error spectral estimation based on the repeat period. Moreover, the gravity field recovery is conducted in non-strictly monthly interval and has occasional gaps, which result in an unevenly sampled time series. In view of the two aspects above, we investigate the data-driven method to mitigate the ocean tide alias error in a post-processing mode.

A no-hair theorem for black holes in f(R) gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cañate, Pedro

2018-01-01

In this work we present a no-hair theorem which discards the existence of four-dimensional asymptotically flat, static and spherically symmetric or stationary axisymmetric, non-trivial black holes in the frame of f(R) gravity under metric formalism. Here we show that our no-hair theorem also can discard asymptotic de Sitter stationary and axisymmetric non-trivial black holes. The novelty is that this no-hair theorem is built without resorting to known mapping between f(R) gravity and scalar–tensor theory. Thus, an advantage will be that our no-hair theorem applies as well to metric f(R) models that cannot be mapped to scalar–tensor theory.

Identification of Geostructures of continental crust, particularly as they relate to mineral-resource evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gryc, G. (Principal Investigator); Lathram, E. H.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Analysis of lineated lakes in the Umiat, Alaska area and comparison with known geology, gravity, and magnetic data in the the area suggest concealed structures exist at depth, possibly at or near basement, which may represent targets for petroleum exploration. Compilation of reconnaissance geologic data on 1:250,000 scale enlargements of ERTS-1 images near Corwin reveal structural and stratigraphic anomalies that suggest the Cretaceous sequence is less thick than supposed and is repeated in a series of plates superimposed by flat thrust faults. The structural style differs from that in coeval strata to the northeast, across the northwest-trending linear zone separating differing tectonic styles in older strata noted earlier. The regional extension of a fault known locally in the McCarthy area has been recognized; this fault appears to form the boundary of a significant terrane of mid-Paleozoic metamorphic rocks. ERTS-1 images are being used operationally, at 1:1,000,000 scale in the compilation of regional geologic maps, and at 1:250,000 scale in field mapping in the Brooks Range, in the study of faults in seismically active southern Alaska, in field-checking interpretations previously made from ERTS-1 imagery, and orthophoto base maps for geologic maps.

The Mystery of the Mars North Polar Gravity-Topography Correlation(Or Lack Thereof)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, R. J.; Sjogren, W. L.; Johnson, C. L.

1999-01-01

Maps of moderately high resolution gravity data obtained from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) gravity calibration orbit campaign and high precision topography obtained from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) experiment reveal relationships between gravity and topography in high northern latitudes of Mars. Figure 1 shows the results of a JPL spherical harmonic gravity model bandpass filtered between degrees 6 and 50 contoured over a MOLA topographic image. A positive gravity anomaly exists over the main North Polar cap, but there are at least six additional positive gravity anomalies, as well as a number of smaller negative anomalies, with no obvious correlation to topography. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Model parameter estimations from residual gravity anomalies due to simple-shaped sources using Differential Evolution Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ekinci, Yunus Levent; Balkaya, Çağlayan; Göktürkler, Gökhan; Turan, Seçil

2016-06-01

An efficient approach to estimate model parameters from residual gravity data based on differential evolution (DE), a stochastic vector-based metaheuristic algorithm, has been presented. We have showed the applicability and effectiveness of this algorithm on both synthetic and field anomalies. According to our knowledge, this is a first attempt of applying DE for the parameter estimations of residual gravity anomalies due to isolated causative sources embedded in the subsurface. The model parameters dealt with here are the amplitude coefficient (A), the depth and exact origin of causative source (zo and xo, respectively) and the shape factors (q and ƞ). The error energy maps generated for some parameter pairs have successfully revealed the nature of the parameter estimation problem under consideration. Noise-free and noisy synthetic single gravity anomalies have been evaluated with success via DE/best/1/bin, which is a widely used strategy in DE. Additionally some complicated gravity anomalies caused by multiple source bodies have been considered, and the results obtained have showed the efficiency of the algorithm. Then using the strategy applied in synthetic examples some field anomalies observed for various mineral explorations such as a chromite deposit (Camaguey district, Cuba), a manganese deposit (Nagpur, India) and a base metal sulphide deposit (Quebec, Canada) have been considered to estimate the model parameters of the ore bodies. Applications have exhibited that the obtained results such as the depths and shapes of the ore bodies are quite consistent with those published in the literature. Uncertainty in the solutions obtained from DE algorithm has been also investigated by Metropolis-Hastings (M-H) sampling algorithm based on simulated annealing without cooling schedule. Based on the resulting histogram reconstructions of both synthetic and field data examples the algorithm has provided reliable parameter estimations being within the sampling limits of M-H sampler. Although it is not a common inversion technique in geophysics, it can be stated that DE algorithm is worth to get more interest for parameter estimations from potential field data in geophysics considering its good accuracy, less computational cost (in the present problem) and the fact that a well-constructed initial guess is not required to reach the global minimum.

Estimating Jupiter’s Gravity Field Using Juno Measurements, Trajectory Estimation Analysis, and a Flow Model Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galanti, Eli; Durante, Daniele; Finocchiaro, Stefano; Iess, Luciano; Kaspi, Yohai

2017-07-01

The upcoming Juno spacecraft measurements have the potential of improving our knowledge of Jupiter’s gravity field. The analysis of the Juno Doppler data will provide a very accurate reconstruction of spatial gravity variations, but these measurements will be very accurate only over a limited latitudinal range. In order to deduce the full gravity field of Jupiter, additional information needs to be incorporated into the analysis, especially regarding the Jovian flow structure and its depth, which can influence the measured gravity field. In this study we propose a new iterative method for the estimation of the Jupiter gravity field, using a simulated Juno trajectory, a trajectory estimation model, and an adjoint-based inverse model for the flow dynamics. We test this method both for zonal harmonics only and with a full gravity field including tesseral harmonics. The results show that this method can fit some of the gravitational harmonics better to the “measured” harmonics, mainly because of the added information from the dynamical model, which includes the flow structure. Thus, it is suggested that the method presented here has the potential of improving the accuracy of the expected gravity harmonics estimated from the Juno and Cassini radio science experiments.

Estimating Jupiter’s Gravity Field Using Juno Measurements, Trajectory Estimation Analysis, and a Flow Model Optimization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galanti, Eli; Kaspi, Yohai; Durante, Daniele

The upcoming Juno spacecraft measurements have the potential of improving our knowledge of Jupiter’s gravity field. The analysis of the Juno Doppler data will provide a very accurate reconstruction of spatial gravity variations, but these measurements will be very accurate only over a limited latitudinal range. In order to deduce the full gravity field of Jupiter, additional information needs to be incorporated into the analysis, especially regarding the Jovian flow structure and its depth, which can influence the measured gravity field. In this study we propose a new iterative method for the estimation of the Jupiter gravity field, using a simulatedmore » Juno trajectory, a trajectory estimation model, and an adjoint-based inverse model for the flow dynamics. We test this method both for zonal harmonics only and with a full gravity field including tesseral harmonics. The results show that this method can fit some of the gravitational harmonics better to the “measured” harmonics, mainly because of the added information from the dynamical model, which includes the flow structure. Thus, it is suggested that the method presented here has the potential of improving the accuracy of the expected gravity harmonics estimated from the Juno and Cassini radio science experiments.« less

Progress towards a space-borne quantum gravity gradiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Nan; Kohel, James M.; Ramerez-Serrano, Jaime; Kellogg, James R.; Lim, Lawrence; Maleki, Lute

2004-01-01

Quantum interferometer gravity gradiometer for 3D mapping is a project for developing the technology of atom interferometer-based gravity sensor in space. The atom interferometer utilizes atomic particles as free fall test masses to measure inertial forces with unprecedented sensitivity and precision. It also allows measurements of the gravity gradient tensor components for 3D mapping of subsurface mass distribution. The overall approach is based on recent advances of laser cooling and manipulation of atoms in atomic and optical physics. Atom interferometers have been demonstrated in research laboratories for gravity and gravity gradient measurements. In this approach, atoms are first laser cooled to micro-kelvin temperatures. Then they are allowed to freefall in vacuum as true drag-free test masses. During the free fall, a sequence of laser pulses is used to split and recombine the atom waves to realize the interferometric measurements. We have demonstrated atom interferometer operation in the Phase I period, and we are implementing the second generation for a complete gradiometer demonstration unit in the laboratory. Along with this development, we are developing technologies at component levels that will be more suited for realization of a space instrument. We will present an update of these developments and discuss the future directions of the quantum gravity gradiometer project.

Insights into the Earth System mass variability from CSR-RL05 GRACE gravity fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bettadpur, S.

2012-04-01

The next-generation Release-05 GRACE gravity field data products are the result of extensive effort applied to the improvements to the GRACE Level-1 (tracking) data products, and to improvements in the background gravity models and processing methodology. As a result, the squared-error upper-bound in RL05 fields is half or less than the squared-error upper-bound in RL04 fields. The CSR-RL05 field release consists of unconstrained gravity fields as well as a regularized gravity field time-series that can be used for several applications without any post-processing error reduction. This paper will describe the background and the nature of these improvements in the data products, and provide an error characterization. We will describe the insights these new series offer in measuring the mass flux due to diverse Hydrologic, Oceanographic and Cryospheric processes.

Isostatic Gravity Map of the Battle Mountain 30 x 60 Minute Quadrangle, North Central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, D.A.; Morin, R.L.

2000-01-01

Introduction Gravity investigations of the Battle Mountain 30 x 60 minute quadrangle were begun as part of an interagency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of Land Management to help characterize the geology, mineral resources, hydrology, and ecology of the Humboldt River Basin in north-central Nevada. The Battle Mountain quadrangle is located between 40?30' and 41?N. lat. and 116? and 117?W. long. This isostatic gravity map of the Battle Mountain quadrangle was prepared from data from about 1,180 gravity stations. Most of these data are publicly available on a CD-ROM of gravity data of Nevada (Ponce, 1997) and in a published report (Jewel and others, 1997). Data from about 780 gravity stations were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1996; data from about 245 of these are unpublished (USGS, unpub. data, 1998). Data collected from the 400 gravity stations prior to 1996 are a subset of a gravity data compilation of the Winnemucca 1:250,000-scale quadrangle described in great detail by Wagini (1985) and Sikora (1991). This detailed information includes gravity meters used, dates of collection, sources, descriptions of base stations, plots of data, and a list of principal facts. A digital version of the entire data set for the Battle Mountain quadrangle is available on the World Wide Web at: http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/gump/gump.html

Linking physics with physiology in TMS: a sphere field model to determine the cortical stimulation site in TMS.

PubMed

Thielscher, Axel; Kammer, Thomas

2002-11-01

A fundamental problem of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is determining the site and size of the stimulated cortical area. In the motor system, the most common procedure for this is motor mapping. The obtained two-dimensional distribution of coil positions with associated muscle responses is used to calculate a center of gravity on the skull. However, even in motor mapping the exact stimulation site on the cortex is not known and only rough estimates of its size are possible. We report a new method which combines physiological measurements with a physical model used to predict the electric field induced by the TMS coil. In four subjects motor responses in a small hand muscle were mapped with 9-13 stimulation sites at the head perpendicular to the central sulcus in order to keep the induced current direction constant in a given cortical region of interest. Input-output functions from these head locations were used to determine stimulator intensities that elicit half-maximal muscle responses. Based on these stimulator intensities the field distribution on the individual cortical surface was calculated as rendered from anatomical MR data. The region on the cortical surface in which the different stimulation sites produced the same electric field strength (minimal variance, 4.2 +/- 0.8%.) was determined as the most likely stimulation site on the cortex. In all subjects, it was located at the lateral part of the hand knob in the motor cortex. Comparisons of model calculations with the solutions obtained in this manner reveal that the stimulated cortex area innervating the target muscle is substantially smaller than the size of the electric field induced by the coil. Our results help to resolve fundamental questions raised by motor mapping studies as well as motor threshold measurements.

Impact of tracking loop settings of the Swarm GPS receiver on gravity field recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahle, C.; Arnold, D.; Jäggi, A.

2017-06-01

The Swarm mission consists of three identical satellites equipped with GPS receivers and orbiting in near-polar low Earth orbits. Thus, they can be used to determine the Earth's gravity field by means of high-low satellite-to-satellite tracking (hl-SST). However, first results by several groups have revealed systematic errors both in precise science orbits and resulting gravity field solutions which are caused by ionospheric disturbances affecting the quality of Swarm GPS observations. Looking at gravity field solutions, the errors lead to systematic artefacts located in two bands north and south of the geomagnetic equator. In order to reduce these artefacts, erroneous GPS observations can be identified and rejected before orbit and gravity field processing, but this may also lead to slight degradations of orbit and low degree gravity field coefficient quality. Since the problems were believed to be receiver-specific, the GPS tracking loop bandwidths onboard Swarm have been widened several times starting in May 2015. The influence of these tracking loop updates on Swarm orbits and, particularly, gravity field solutions is investigated in this work. The main findings are that the first updates increasing the bandwidth from 0.25 Hz to 0.5 Hz help to significantly improve the quality of Swarm gravity fields and that the improvements are even larger than those achieved by GPS data rejection. It is also shown that these improvements are indeed due to an improved quality of GPS observations around the geomagnetic equator, and not due to missing observations in these regions. As the ionospheric activity is rather low in the most recent months, the effect of the tracking loop updates in summer 2016 cannot be properly assessed yet. Nevertheless, the quality of Swarm gravity field solutions has already improved after the first updates which is especially beneficial in view of filling the upcoming gap between the GRACE and GRACE Follow-on missions with hl-SST gravity products.

Japanese contributions to MAP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kato, S.

1989-01-01

Japan contributed much to MAP in many branches. The MU (middle and upper atmosphere) radar, in operation during the MAP period, produced various novel possibilities in observations of middle atmosphere dynamics; possibilities which were fairly well realized. Gravity wave saturation and its spectrum in the mesosphere were observed successfully. Campaign observations by radars between Kyoto and Adelaide were especially significant in tidal and planetary wave observations. In Antarctica, middle atmosphere observation of the dramatic behavior of aerosols in winter is well elucidated together with the ozone hole. Theoretical and numerical studies have been progressing actively since a time much earlier than MAP. Now it is pointed out that gravity waves play an important role in producing the weak wind region in the stratosphere as well as the mesosphere.

Detecting Taiwan's Shanchiao Active Fault Using AMT and Gravity Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, H.-C.; Yang, C.-H.

2009-04-01

Taiwan's Shanchiao normal fault runs in a northeast-southwest direction and is located on the western edge of the Taipei Basin in northern Taiwan. The overburden of the fault is late Quaternary sediment with a thickness of approximately a few tenth of a meter to several hundred meters. No detailed studies of the western side of the Shanchiao fault are available. As Taiwan is located on the Neotectonic Belt in the western Pacific, detecting active faults near the Taipei metropolitan area will provide necessary information for further disaster prevention. It is the responsibility of geologists and geophysicists in Taiwan to perform this task. Examination of the resistivity and density contrasts of subsurface layers permits a mapping of the Shanchiao fault and the deformed Tertiary strata of the Taipei Basin. The audio-frequency magnetotelluric (AMT) method and gravity method were chosen for this study. Significant resistivity and gravity anomalies were observed in the suspected fault zone. The interpretation reveals a good correlation between the features of the Shanchiao fault and resistivity and density distribution at depth. In this observation, AMT and gravity methods provides a viable means for mapping the Shanchiao fault position and studying its features associated with the subsidence of the western side of the Taipei Basin. This study indicates the AMT and gravity methods' considerable potential for accurately mapping an active fault.

Laser interferometer for space-based mapping of Earth's gravity field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehne, Marina; Sheard, Benjamin; Gerberding, Oliver; Mahrdt, Christoph; Heinzel, Gerhard; Danzmann, Karsten

2010-05-01

Laser interferometry will play a key role in the next generation of GRACE-type satellite gravity missions. The measurement concepts for future missions include a heterodyne laser interferometer. Furthermore, it is favourable to use polarising components in the laser interferometer for beam splitting. In the first step the influence of these components on the interferometer sensitivity has been investigated. Additionally, a length stability on a nm-scale has been validated. The next step will include a performance test of an interferometric SST system in an active symmetric transponder setup including two lasers and two optical benches. The design and construction of a quasi-monolithic interferometer for comparing the interferometric performance of non-polarising and polarising optics will be discussed. The results of the interferometric readout of a heterodyne configuration together with polarising optics will be presented to fulfil the phase sensitivity requirement of 1nm/√Hz-- for a typical SSI scenario.

GRAIL TCM-5 Go/No-Go: Developing Lunar Orbit Insertion Criteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Min-Kun J.

2013-01-01

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission successfully completed mapping the Moon's gravity field to an unprecedented level. The mission success was critically dependent on the success of the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI). It was somewhat unfamiliar as it involved an elliptical approach from a low-energy trans-lunar cruise trajectory via Sun-Earth three-body region rather than a more conventional hyperbolic approach from a direct Earth-to-Moon transfer. In addition, how its delivery dispersion affected the science formation of the two spacecraft was not well understood. In this paper we establish a set of LOI criteria to meet all the requirements and we use these criteria to establish Go/No-Go boundaries of the last, statistical Trajectory Correction Maneuvers (TCM-5s) for operations. In the end both spacecraft were found to be within the established boundaries and TCM-5s of both spacecraft were cancelled.

Hawking radiation and nonequilibrium quantum critical current noise.

PubMed

Sonner, Julian; Green, A G

2012-08-31

The dynamical scaling of quantum critical systems in thermal equilibrium may be inherited in the driven steady state, leading to universal out-of-equilibrium behavior. This attractive notion has been demonstrated in just a few cases. We demonstrate how holography-a mapping between the quantum critical system and a gravity dual-provides an illuminating perspective and new results. Nontrivial out-of-equilibrium universality is particularly apparent in current noise, which is dual to Hawking radiation in the gravitational system. We calculate this in a two-dimensional system driven by a strong in-plane electric field and deduce a universal scaling function interpolating between previously established equilibrium and far-from-equilibrium current noise. Since this applies at all fields, out-of-equilibrium experiments no longer require very high fields for comparison with theory.

ARISTOTELES: A European approach for an Earth gravity field recovery mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benz, R.; Faulks, H.; Langemann, M.

1989-01-01

Under contract of the European Space Agency a system study for a spaceborne gravity field recovery mission was performed, covering as a secondary mission objective geodetic point positioning in the cm range as well. It was demonstrated that under the given programmatic constraints including dual launch and a very tight development schedule, a six months gravity field mission in a 200 km near polar, dawn-dusk orbit is adequate to determine gravity anomalies to better than 5 mgal with a spatial resolution of 100 x 100 km half wavelength. This will enable scientists to determine improved spherical harmonic coefficients of the Earth gravity field equation to the order and degree of 180 or better.

Free-Air Gravity Map of the Moon

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

If the Moon were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity map would be a single, featureless color, indicating that the force of gravity at a given elevation was the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. Spacecraft in orbit around the Moon experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities. The free-air gravity map shows deviations from the mean, the gravity that a cueball Moon would have. The deviations are measured in milliGals, a unit of acceleration. On the map, dark purple is at the low end of the range, at around -400 mGals, and red is at the high end near +400 mGals. Yellow denotes the mean. These views show a part of the Moon's surface that's never visible from Earth. They are centered on lunar coordinates 29°N 142°E. The large, multi-ringed impact feature near the center is Mare Moscoviense. The crater Mendeleev is south of this. The digital elevation model for the terrain is from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter laser altimeter (LOLA). Merely for plausibility, the sun angle and starry background are accurate for specific dates (December 21, 2012, 0:00 UT and January 8, 2013, 14:00 UT, respectively). To see or download more views go to: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?4041 Credit: NASA's Goddard Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Near real-time GRACE gravity field solutions for hydrological monitoring applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvas, Andreas; Gouweleeuw, Ben; Mayer-Gürr, Torsten; Güntner, Andreas

2016-04-01

Within the EGSIEM (European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management) project, a demonstrator for a near real-time (NRT) gravity field service which provides daily GRACE gravity field solutions will be established. Compared to the official GRACE gravity products, these NRT solutions will increase the temporal resolution from one month to one day and reduce the latency from currently two months to five days. This fast availability allows the monitoring of total water storage variations and of hydrological extreme events as they occur, in contrast to a 'confirmation after occurrence' as is the situation today. The service will be jointly run by GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences) and Graz University of Technology, with each analysis center providing an independent solution. A Kalman filter framework, in which GRACE data is combined with prior information, serves as basis for the gravity field recovery in order to increase the redundancy of the gravity field estimates. The on-line nature of the NRT service necessitates a tailored smoothing algorithm as opposed to post-processing applications, where forward-backward smoothing can be applied. This contribution gives an overview on the near real-time processing chain and highlights differences between the computed NRT solutions and the standard GRACE products. We discuss the special characteristics of the Kalman filtered gravity field models as well as derived products and give an estimate of the expected error levels. Additionally, we show the added value of the NRT solutions through comparison of the first results of the pre-operational phase with in-situ data and monthly GRACE gravity field models.

The effect of dynamic topography and gravity on lithospheric effective elastic thickness estimation: a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Yongliang; Dong, Dongdong; Kirby, Jon F.; Williams, Simon E.; Wang, Zhenjie

2018-04-01

Lithospheric effective elastic thickness (Te), a proxy for plate strength, is helpful for the understanding of subduction characteristics. Affected by curvature, faulting and magma activity, lithospheric strength near trenches should be weakened but some regional inversion studies have shown much higher Te values along some trenches than in their surroundings. In order to improve Te estimation accuracy, here we discuss the long-wavelength effect of dynamic topography and gravity on Te estimation by taking the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) Trench as a case study area. We estimate the long-wavelength influence of the density and negative buoyancy of the subducting slab on observed gravity anomalies and seafloor topography. The residual topography and gravity are used to map Te using the fan-wavelet coherence method. Maps of Te, both with and without the effects of dynamic topography and slab gravity anomaly, contain a band of high-Te values along the IBM Trench, though these values and their errors are lower when slab effects are accounted for. Nevertheless, tests show that the Te map is relatively insensitive to the choice of slab-density modelling method, even though the dynamic topography and slab-induced gravity anomaly vary considerably when the slab density is modelled by different methods. The continued presence of a high-Te band along the trench after application of dynamic corrections shows that, before using 2D inversion methods to estimate Te variations in subduction zones, there are other factors that should be considered besides the slab dynamic effects on the overriding plate.

The effect of dynamic topography and gravity on lithospheric effective elastic thickness estimation: a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Yongliang; Dong, Dongdong; Kirby, Jon F.; Williams, Simon E.; Wang, Zhenjie

2018-07-01

Lithospheric effective elastic thickness (Te), a proxy for plIate strength, is helpful for the understanding of subduction characteristics. Affected by curvature, faulting and magma activity, lithospheric strength near trenches should be weakened but some regional inversion studies have shown much higher Te values along some trenches than in their surroundings. In order to improve Te-estimation accuracy, here we discuss the long-wavelength effect of dynamic topography and gravity on Te estimation by taking the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) Trench as a case study area. We estimate the long-wavelength influence of the density and negative buoyancy of the subducting slab on observed gravity anomalies and seafloor topography. The residual topography and gravity are used to map Te using the fan-wavelet coherence method. Maps of Te, both with and without the effects of dynamic topography and slab gravity anomaly, contain a band of high-Te values along the IBM Trench, though these values and their errors are lower when slab effects are accounted for. Nevertheless, tests show that the Te map is relatively insensitive to the choice of slab-density modelling method, even though the dynamic topography and slab-induced gravity anomaly vary considerably when the slab density is modelled by different methods. The continued presence of a high-Te band along the trench after application of dynamic corrections shows that, before using 2-D inversion methods to estimate Te variations in subduction zones, there are other factors that should be considered besides the slab dynamic effects on the overriding plate.

An Exact Solution of Einstein-Maxwell Gravity Coupled to a Scalar Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turyshev, S. G.

1995-01-01

The general solution to low-energy string theory representing static spherically symmetric solution of the Einstein-Maxwell gravity with a massless scalar field has been found. Some of the partial cases appear to coincide with known solutions to black holes, naked singularities, and gravity and electromagnetic fields.

GRAIL Mission Briefing

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-25

Leesa Hubbard, teacher in residence, Sally Ride Science, San Diego, speaks at a press conference about the upcoming launch to the moon of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011 in Washington. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. The mission will place two spacecraft into the same orbit around the moon which will gather information about the its gravitational field enabling scientists to create a high-resolution map. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

GRAIL Mission Briefing

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-25

Jim Green (left), director, Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters, speaks at a press conference about the upcoming launch to the moon of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011 in Washington. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. The mission will place two spacecraft into the same orbit around the moon which will gather information about the its gravitational field enabling scientists to create a high-resolution map. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

GRAIL Mission Briefing

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-25

Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters, speaks at a press conference about the upcoming launch to the moon of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011 in Washington. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. The mission will place two spacecraft into the same orbit around the moon which will gather information about the its gravitational field enabling scientists to create a high-resolution map. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

The first stage of Lunar Prospector's LMLV is erected at Pad 46, CCAS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Workers erect the first stage of a Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle-2 (LMLV-2) at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard the LMLV-2 in October for an 18-month mission that will orbit the Earth's Moon to collect data from the lunar surface. Designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, the Lunar Prospector will map the Moon's surface composition and possible polar ice deposits, measure magnetic and gravity fields, and study lunar outgassing events.

Inflation versus collapse in brane matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheltukhin, A. A.

2017-11-01

Mapping of fundamental branes to their worldsheet (ws) multiplets originating from spontaneous breaking of the Poincaré symmetry is studied. The interaction Lagrangian for fields of the Nambu-Goldstone multiplet is shown to encode R2 gravity on the ws. The power law kp ˜ Tp 3-p 2(p+1) for the SO(D - p - 1) gauge coupling kp as the function of the p-brane tension Tp is assumed. It points to the presence of asymptotic freedom and confinement phases in brane matter. Their connection with collapse and inflation of the branes is discussed.

Combination of GRACE monthly gravity field solutions from different processing strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jean, Yoomin; Meyer, Ulrich; Jäggi, Adrian

2018-02-01

We combine the publicly available GRACE monthly gravity field time series to produce gravity fields with reduced systematic errors. We first compare the monthly gravity fields in the spatial domain in terms of signal and noise. Then, we combine the individual gravity fields with comparable signal content, but diverse noise characteristics. We test five different weighting schemes: equal weights, non-iterative coefficient-wise, order-wise, or field-wise weights, and iterative field-wise weights applying variance component estimation (VCE). The combined solutions are evaluated in terms of signal and noise in the spectral and spatial domains. Compared to the individual contributions, they in general show lower noise. In case the noise characteristics of the individual solutions differ significantly, the weighted means are less noisy, compared to the arithmetic mean: The non-seasonal variability over the oceans is reduced by up to 7.7% and the root mean square (RMS) of the residuals of mass change estimates within Antarctic drainage basins is reduced by 18.1% on average. The field-wise weighting schemes in general show better performance, compared to the order- or coefficient-wise weighting schemes. The combination of the full set of considered time series results in lower noise levels, compared to the combination of a subset consisting of the official GRACE Science Data System gravity fields only: The RMS of coefficient-wise anomalies is smaller by up to 22.4% and the non-seasonal variability over the oceans by 25.4%. This study was performed in the frame of the European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management (EGSIEM; http://www.egsiem.eu) project. The gravity fields provided by the EGSIEM scientific combination service (ftp://ftp.aiub.unibe.ch/EGSIEM/) are combined, based on the weights derived by VCE as described in this article.

Arctic and N Atlantic Crustal Thickness and Oceanic Lithosphere Distribution from Gravity Inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusznir, Nick; Alvey, Andy

2014-05-01

The ocean basins of the Arctic and N. Atlantic formed during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic as a series of distinct ocean basins, both small and large, leading to a complex distribution of oceanic crust, thinned continental crust and rifted continental margins. The plate tectonic framework of this region was demonstrated by the pioneering work of Peter Ziegler in AAPG Memoir 43 " Evolution of the Arctic-North Atlantic and the Western Tethys" published in 1988. The spatial evolution of Arctic Ocean and N Atlantic ocean basin geometry and bathymetry are critical not only for hydrocarbon exploration but also for understanding regional palaeo-oceanography and ocean gateway connectivity, and its influence on global climate. Mapping crustal thickness and oceanic lithosphere distribution represents a substantial challenge for the Polar Regions. Using gravity anomaly inversion we have produced comprehensive maps of crustal thickness and oceanic lithosphere distribution for the Arctic and N Atlantic region, We determine Moho depth, crustal basement thickness, continental lithosphere thinning and ocean-continent transition location using a 3D spectral domain gravity inversion method, which incorporates a lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly correction (Chappell & Kusznir 2008). Gravity anomaly and bathymetry data used in the gravity inversion are from the NGA (U) Arctic Gravity Project and IBCAO respectively; sediment thickness is from a new regional compilation. The resulting maps of crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning factor are used to determine continent-ocean boundary location and the distribution of oceanic lithosphere. Crustal cross-sections using Moho depth from the gravity inversion allow continent-ocean transition structure to be determined and magmatic type (magma poor, "normal" or magma rich). Our gravity inversion predicts thin crust and high continental lithosphere thinning factors in the Eurasia, Canada, Makarov, Podvodnikov and Baffin Basins consistent with these basins being oceanic. Larger crustal thicknesses, in the range 20 - 30 km, are predicted for the Lomonosov, Alpha and Mendeleev Ridges. Crustal basement thicknesses of 10-15 km are predicted under the Laptev Sea which is interpreted as highly thinned continental crust formed at the eastward continuation of Eurasia Basin sea-floor spreading. Thin continental or oceanic crust of thickness 7 km or less is predicted under the North Chukchi Basin and has major implications for understanding the Mesozoic and Cenozoic plate tectonic history of the Siberian and Chukchi Amerasia Basin margins. Restoration of crustal thickness and continent-ocean boundary location from gravity inversion may be used to test and refine plate tectonic reconstructions. Using crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning factor maps with superimposed shaded-relief free-air gravity anomaly, we improve the determination of pre-breakup rifted margin conjugacy and sea-floor spreading trajectory within the Arctic and N Atlantic basins. By restoring crustal thickness & continental lithosphere thinning maps of the Eurasia Basin & NE Atlantic to their initial post-breakup configuration we show the geometry and segmentation of the rifted continental margins at their time of breakup, together with the location of highly-stretched failed breakup basins and rifted micro-continents. We interpret gravity inversion crustal thicknesses underneath Morris Jessop Rise & Yermak Plateau as continental crust which provided a barrier to the tectonic and palaeo-oceanic linkage between the Arctic & North Atlantic until the Oligocene. Before this time, we link the seafloor spreading within the Eurasia Basin to that in Baffin Bay.

Neutron stars in a perturbative f(R) gravity model with strong magnetic fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheoun, Myung-Ki; Deliduman, Cemsinan; Güngör, Can

2013-10-01

In Kaluza-Klein electromagnetism it is natural to associate modified gravity with strong electromagnetic fields. Hence, in this paper we investigate the combined effects of a strong magnetic field and perturbative f(R) gravity on the structure of neutron stars. The effect of an interior strong magnetic field of about 10{sup 17−18} G on the equation of state is derived in the context of a quantum hadrodynamics (QHD) equation of state (EoS) including effects of the magnetic pressure and energy along with occupied Landau levels. Adopting a random orientation of interior field domains, we solve the modified spherically symmetric hydrostatic equilibrium equationsmore » derived for a gravity model with f(R) = R+αR{sup 2}. Effects of both the finite magnetic field and the modified gravity are detailed for various values of the magnetic field and the perturbation parameter α along with a discussion of their physical implications. We show that there exists a parameter space of the modified gravity and the magnetic field strength, in which even a soft equation of state can accommodate a large ( > 2 M{sub s}un) maximum neutron star mass.« less

Terrain Classification on Venus from Maximum-Likelihood Inversion of Parameterized Models of Topography, Gravity, and their Relation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eggers, G. L.; Lewis, K. W.; Simons, F. J.; Olhede, S.

2013-12-01

Venus does not possess a plate-tectonic system like that observed on Earth, and many surface features--such as tesserae and coronae--lack terrestrial equivalents. To understand Venus' tectonics is to understand its lithosphere, requiring a study of topography and gravity, and how they relate. Past studies of topography dealt with mapping and classification of visually observed features, and studies of gravity dealt with inverting the relation between topography and gravity anomalies to recover surface density and elastic thickness in either the space (correlation) or the spectral (admittance, coherence) domain. In the former case, geological features could be delineated but not classified quantitatively. In the latter case, rectangular or circular data windows were used, lacking geological definition. While the estimates of lithospheric strength on this basis were quantitative, they lacked robust error estimates. Here, we remapped the surface into 77 regions visually and qualitatively defined from a combination of Magellan topography, gravity, and radar images. We parameterize the spectral covariance of the observed topography, treating it as a Gaussian process assumed to be stationary over the mapped regions, using a three-parameter isotropic Matern model, and perform maximum-likelihood based inversions for the parameters. We discuss the parameter distribution across the Venusian surface and across terrain types such as coronoae, dorsae, tesserae, and their relation with mean elevation and latitudinal position. We find that the three-parameter model, while mathematically established and applicable to Venus topography, is overparameterized, and thus reduce the results to a two-parameter description of the peak spectral variance and the range-to-half-peak variance (in function of the wavenumber). With the reduction the clustering of geological region types in two-parameter space becomes promising. Finally, we perform inversions for the JOINT spectral variance of topography and gravity, in which the INITIAL loading by topography retains the Matern form but the FINAL topography and gravity are the result of flexural compensation. In our modeling, we pay explicit attention to finite-field spectral estimation effects (and their remedy via tapering), and to the implementation of statistical tests (for anisotropy, for initial-loading process correlation, to ascertain the proper density contrasts and interface depth in a two-layer model), robustness assessment and uncertainty quantification, as well as to algorithmic intricacies related to low-dimensional but poorly scaled maximum-likelihood inversions. We conclude that Venusian geomorphic terrains are well described by their 2-D topographic and gravity (cross-)power spectra, and the spectral properties of distinct geologic provinces on Venus are worth quantifying via maximum-likelihood-based methods under idealized three-parameter Matern distributions. Analysis of fitted parameters and the fitted-data residuals reveals natural variability in the (sub)surface properties on Venus, as well as some directional anisotropy. Geologic regions tend to cluster according to terrain type in our parameter space, which we analyze to confirm their shared geologic histories and utilize for guidance in ongoing mapping efforts of Venus and other terrestrial bodies.

Venus gravity and topography: 60th degree and order model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Konopliv, A. S.; Borderies, N. J.; Chodas, P. W.; Christensen, E. J.; Sjogren, W. L.; Williams, B. G.; Balmino, G.; Barriot, J. P.

1993-01-01

We have combined the most recent Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) and Magellan (MGN) data with the earlier 1978-1982 PVO data set to obtain a new 60th degree and order spherical harmonic gravity model and a 120th degree and order spherical harmonic topography model. Free-air gravity maps are shown over regions where the most marked improvement has been obtained (Ishtar-Terra, Alpha, Bell and Artemis). Gravity versus topography relationships are presented as correlations per degree and axes orientation.

Geodesy at Mercury with MESSENGER

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria t.; Peale, Stanley J.; Phillips, Roger J.; Solomon, Sean C.

2006-01-01

In 2011 the MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft will enter Mercury orbit and begin the mapping phase of the mission. As part of its science objectives the MESSENGER mission will determine the shape and gravity field of Mercury. These observations will enable the topography and the crustal thickness to be derived for the planet and will determine the small libration of the planet about its axis, the latter critical to constraining the state of the core. These measurements require very precise positioning of the MESSENGER spacecraft in its eccentric orbit, which has a periapsis altitude as low as 200 km, an apoapsis altitude near 15,000 km, and a closest approach to the surface varying from latitude 60 to about 70 N. The X-band tracking of MESSENGER and the laser altimetry are the primary data that will be used to measure the planetary shape and gravity field. The laser altimeter, which has an expected range of 1000 to 1200 km, is expected to provide significant data only over the northern hemisphere because of MESSENGER's eccentric orbit. For the southern hemisphere, radio occultation measurements obtained as the spacecraft passes behind the planet as seen from Earth and images obtained with the imaging system will be used to provide the long-wavelength shape of the planet. Gravity, derived from the tracking data, will also have greater resolution in the northern hemisphere, but full global models for both topography and gravity will be obtained at low harmonic order and degree. The limiting factor for both gravity and topography is expected to be knowledge of the spacecraft location. Present estimations are that in a combined tracking, altimetry, and occultation solution the spacecraft position uncertainty is likely to be of order 10 m. This accuracy should be adequate for establishing an initial geodetic coordinate system for Mercury that will enable positioning of imaged features on the surface, determination of the planet's obliquity, and detection of the librational motion of the planet about its axis.

Terrestrial Water Mass Load Changes from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seo, K.-W.; Wilson, C. R.; Famiglietti, J. S.; Chen, J. L.; Rodell M.

2006-01-01

Recent studies show that data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) is promising for basin- to global-scale water cycle research. This study provides varied assessments of errors associated with GRACE water storage estimates. Thirteen monthly GRACE gravity solutions from August 2002 to December 2004 are examined, along with synthesized GRACE gravity fields for the same period that incorporate simulated errors. The synthetic GRACE fields are calculated using numerical climate models and GRACE internal error estimates. We consider the influence of measurement noise, spatial leakage error, and atmospheric and ocean dealiasing (AOD) model error as the major contributors to the error budget. Leakage error arises from the limited range of GRACE spherical harmonics not corrupted by noise. AOD model error is due to imperfect correction for atmosphere and ocean mass redistribution applied during GRACE processing. Four methods of forming water storage estimates from GRACE spherical harmonics (four different basin filters) are applied to both GRACE and synthetic data. Two basin filters use Gaussian smoothing, and the other two are dynamic basin filters which use knowledge of geographical locations where water storage variations are expected. Global maps of measurement noise, leakage error, and AOD model errors are estimated for each basin filter. Dynamic basin filters yield the smallest errors and highest signal-to-noise ratio. Within 12 selected basins, GRACE and synthetic data show similar amplitudes of water storage change. Using 53 river basins, covering most of Earth's land surface excluding Antarctica and Greenland, we document how error changes with basin size, latitude, and shape. Leakage error is most affected by basin size and latitude, and AOD model error is most dependent on basin latitude.

Reconstruction from scalar-tensor theory and the inhomogeneous equation of state in f( T) gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, Jackson Levi

2017-12-01

General relativity (GR) characterizes gravity as a geometric properly exhibited as curvature on spacetime. Teleparallelism describes gravity through torsional properties, and can reproduce GR at the level of equations. Similar to f( R) gravity, on taking a generalization, f( T) gravity can produce various modifications its gravitational mechanism. The resulting field equations are inherently distinct to f( R) gravity in that they are second order. In the present work, f( T) gravity is examined in the cosmological context with a number of solutions reconstructed by means of an auxiliary scalar field. To do this, various forms of the Hubble parameter are considered with an f( T) Lagrangian emerging for each instance. In addition, the inhomogeneous equation of state (EoS) is investigated with a particular Hubble parameter model used to show how this can be used to reconstruct the f( T) Lagrangian. Observationally, the auxiliary scalar field and the exotic terms in the FRW field equations give the same results, meaning that the variation in the Hubble parameter may be interpreted as the need to reformulate gravity in some way, as in f( T) gravity.

Effects of gravity on growth phenotype in MAPs mutants of Arabidopsis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higuchi, Sayoko; Kumasaki, Saori; Matsumoto, Shouhei; Soga, Kouichi; Wakabayashi, Kazuyuki; Hashimoto, Takashi; Hoson, Takayuki

Hypergravity suppresses elongation growth and promotes lateral expansion of stem organs in various plants. It has been shown that cortical microtubules are involved in gravity-induced modifications of growth and development. Because microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) are important in dynamics of microtubules, they may also play a role in the gravity response. In the present study, the roles of MAPs (MOR1, SPR1, SPR2, MAP65, and KTN1) in hypergravityinduced changes in growth and development were examined in Arabidopsis hypocotyls. The expression of MOR1, SPR1, SPR2 , and MAP65 genes was down-regulated, whereas that of KTN1 gene was increased transiently by hypergravity. We analyzed the growth behavior of MAPs mutants (mor1/rid5, spr1-2 , spr2-2, and katanin mutants) under hypergravity conditions. Hypergravity inhibited elongation growth of hypocotyls in spr1-2 as in wild-type. On the other hand, elongation growth of hypocotyls in mor1/rid5, spr2-2, and katanin mutants was suppressed as compared with wild-type under 1 g conditions, and was not affected further by hypergravity stimuli. Hypocotyls of mor1/rid5, spr1-2 , and spr2-2 also showed helical growth even under 1 g conditions, and in mor1/rid5 such a phenotype was intensified under hypergravity conditions. The alignment of cell line was abnormal in hypocotyls of katanin mutants under both 1 g and hypergravity conditions. The orientation of cortical microtubules in wildtype hypocotyls was changed from transverse direction to longitudinal or random directions by hypergravity stimuli. In mor1/rid5 hypocotyls, the orientation of microtubules was random even under 1 g condition, which was not affected by hypergravity. Furthermore, partial disruption of cortical microtubules was observed in mor1/rid5 hypocotyls. These results suggest that MAPs, especially MOR1, play an important role in maintenance of normal growth phenotype against gravity in plants probably via stabilization of microtubule structure.

Optic nerve dysfunction during gravity inversion. Visual field abnormalities.

PubMed

Sanborn, G E; Friberg, T R; Allen, R

1987-06-01

Inversion in a head-down position (gravity inversion) results in an intraocular pressure of 35 to 40 mm Hg in normal subjects. We used computerized static perimetry to measure the visual fields of normal subjects during gravity inversion. There were no visual field changes in the central 6 degrees of the visual field compared with the baseline (preinversion) values. However, when the central 30 degrees of the visual field was tested, reversible visual field defects were found in 11 of 19 eyes. We believe that the substantial elevation of intraocular pressure during gravity inversion may pose potential risks to the eyes, and we recommend that inversion for extended periods of time be avoided.

Crustal density contrast detection by global gravity and topography models and in-situ gravity observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claessens, S. J.

2016-12-01

Mass density contrasts in the Earth's crust can be detected using an inversion of terrestrial or airborne gravity data. This contribution shows a technique to detect short-scale density contrasts using in-situ gravity observations in combination with a high-resolution global gravity model that includes variations in the gravity field due to topography. The technique is exemplified at various test sites using the Global Gravity Model Plus (GGMplus), which is a 7.2 arcsec resolution model of the Earth's gravitational field, covering all land masses and near-coastal areas within +/- 60° latitude. The model is a composite of GRACE and GOCE satellite observations, the EGM2008 global gravity model, and short-scale topographic gravity effects. Since variations in the Earth's gravity field due to topography are successfully modelled by GGMplus, any remaining differences with in-situ gravity observations are primarily due to mass density variations. It is shown that this technique effectively filters out large-scale density variations, and highlights short-scale near-surface density contrasts in the Earth's crust. Numerical results using recent high-density gravity surveys are presented, which indicate a strong correlation between density contrasts found and known lines of geological significance.

What have we gained from GOCE, and what is still to be expected?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pail, R.; Fecher, T.; Mayer-Gürr, T.; Rieser, D.; Schuh, W. D.; Brockmann, J. M.; Jäggi, A.; Höck, E.

2012-04-01

So far three releases of GOCE-only gravity field models applying the time-wise method have been computed in the frame of the ESA project "GOCE High-Level Processing Facility". They have been complemented by satellite-only combination models generated by the GOCO ("Gravity Observation Combination") consortium. Due to the fact that the processing strategy has remained practically unchanged for all releases, the continuous improvement by including more and more GOCE data can be analyzed. One of the basic features of the time-wise gravity field models (GOCE_TIM) is the fact, that no gravity field prior information is used, neither as reference model nor for constraining the solution. Therefore, the gain of knowledge on the Earth's gravity field derived purely from the GOCE mission can be evaluated. The idea of the complementary GOCO models is to improve the long to medium wavelengths of the gravity field solutions, which are rather weakly defined by GOCE orbit information, by inclusion of additional data from satellite sources such as GRACE, CHAMP and SLR, taking benefit from the individual strengths and favourable features of the individual data types. In this contribution, we will review which impact GOCE has achieved so far on global and regional gravity field modelling. Besides the gravity field modelling itself, the contributions of GOCE to several application fields, such as the computation of geodetic mean dynamic topography (MDT), and also for geophysical modelling of the lithosphere, will be highlighted. Special emphasis shall be given to the discussion to what extent the full variance-covariance information, representing very realistic error estimates of the gravity field accuracy, can be utilized. Finally, also a GOCE performance prediction shall be given. After the end of the extended mission phase by December 2012, currently several mission scenarios are discussed, such as either extending the mission period further as long as possible at the same altitude, or lowering the satellite by 10-20 km for a shorter period. Based on numerical simulation studies the pros and cons of several scenarios regarding the achievable gravity field accuracy shall be evaluated and quantified.

Topologically massive gravity and the AdS/CFT correspondence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skenderis, Kostas; Taylor, Marika; van Rees, Balt C.

2009-09-01

We set up the AdS/CFT correspondence for topologically massive gravity (TMG) in three dimensions. The first step in this procedure is to determine the appropriate fall off conditions at infinity. These cannot be fixed a priori as they depend on the bulk theory under consideration and are derived by solving asymptotically the non-linear field equations. We discuss in detail the asymptotic structure of the field equations for TMG, showing that it contains leading and subleading logarithms, determine the map between bulk fields and CFT operators, obtain the appropriate counterterms needed for holographic renormalization and compute holographically one- and two-point functions at and away from the ``chiral point'' (μ = 1). The 2-point functions at the chiral point are those of a logarithmic CFT (LCFT) with cL = 0,cR = 3l/GN and b = -3l/GN, where b is a parameter characterizing different c = 0 LCFTs. The bulk correlators away from the chiral point (μ ≠ 1) smoothly limit to the LCFT ones as μ → 1. Away from the chiral point, the CFT contains a state of negative norm and the expectation value of the energy momentum tensor in that state is also negative, reflecting a corresponding bulk instability due to negative energy modes.

Newton-Cartan Gravity in Noninertial Reference Frames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, Leo; St. Germaine-Fuller, James; Wickramasekara, Sujeev

2015-03-01

We study Newton-Cartan gravity under transformations into all noninertial, nonrelativistic reference frames. These transformations form an infinite dimensional Lie group, called the Galilean line group, which contains as a subgroup the Galilei group. The fictitious forces of noninertial reference frames are encoded in the Cartan connection transformed under the Galilean line group. These fictitious forces, which are coordinate effects, do not contribute to the Ricci tensor. Only the 00-component of the Ricci tensor is non-zero and equals (4 π times) the matter density in all reference frames. While the Ricci field equation and Gauss' law are fulfilled by the physical matter density in inertial and linearly accelerating reference frames, in rotating reference frames Gauss' law holds for an effective mass density that differs from the physical matter density. This effective density has its origin in the simulated magnetic field of rotating frames, highlighting a striking difference between linearly and rotationally accelerating frames. The equations governing the simulated fields have the same form as Maxwell's equations, a surprising result given that these equations obey special relativity (and U (1) -gauge symmetry), rather than Galilean symmetry. This work was supported in part by the HHMI Undergraduate Science Education Award 52006298 and the Grinnell College Academic Affairs' CSFS and MAP programs.

Estimation of alluvial-fill thickness in the Mimbres ground-water basin, New Mexico, from interpretation of isostatic residual gravity anomalies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heywood, Charles E.

2002-01-01

The geologic structure of the Mimbres ground-water basin in southwest New Mexico is characterized by north- and northwest-trending structural subbasins. Sedimentation of Miocene and Pliocene age has filled and obscured the boundaries of these subbasins and formed poten- tially productive aquifers of varied thickness. The location and depth of the subbasins can be esti- mated from analysis of isostatic residual gravity anomalies. Density contrasts of various basement lithologies generate complex regional gravity trends, which are convolved with the gravity signal from the Miocene and Pliocene alluvial fill. An iterative scheme was used to separate these regional gravity trends from the alluvial-fill grav- ity signal, which was inverted with estimated depth-density relations to compute the thickness of the alluvial fill at 1-kilometer spacing. The thickness estimates were constrained by explor- atory drill-hole information, interpreted seismic- refraction profiles, and location of bedrock lithol- ogy from surficial geologic mapping. The result- ing map of alluvial-fill thickness suggests large areas of thin alluvium that separate deep structural subbasins.

Preliminary Gravity and Ground Magnetic Data in the Arbuckle Uplift near Sulphur, Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scheirer, Daniel S.; Aboud, Essam

2008-01-01

Improving knowledge of the geology and geophysics of the Arbuckle Uplift in south-central Oklahoma is a goal of the Framework Geology of Mid-Continent Carbonate Aquifers project sponsored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP). In May 2007, we collected ground magnetic and gravity observations in the Hunton Anticline region of the Arbuckle Uplift, near Sulphur, Oklahoma. These observations complement prior gravity data collected for a project sponsored by the National Park Service and helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) and aeromagnetic data collected in March 2007 for the NCGMP project. This report describes the instrumentation and processing that was utilized in the May 2007 geophysical fieldwork, and it presents preliminary results as gravity anomaly maps and magnetic anomaly profiles. Digital tables of gravity and magnetic observations are provided as a supplement to this report. Future work will generate interpretive models of these anomalies and will involve joint analysis of these ground geophysical measurements with airborne and other geophysical and geological observations, with the goal of understanding the geological structures influencing the hydrologic properties of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer.

Western Aphrodite Terra, tectonics, geology, and line-of-sight gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hays, John E.; Morgan, Paul

1992-01-01

Aphrodite Terra is the largest area of high-standing topography on Venus, and isostatic considerations strongly suggest that this high topography is supported at least in part by thickened crust. Previous studies of line-of-sight gravity data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter indicate rapidly changing apparent depths of compensation across Aphrodite Terra. Magellan imaging data provide the first detailed images of this region, and we are mapping the region along Pioneer Venus orbit 440 to investigate whether the changing apparent depths of compensation correlate with changes in surficial tectonics. Preliminary mapping of geological features on Magellan images along the path of Pioneer Venus orbit 440 do not indicate a first-order correlation among surface features and changes in the apparent depth of compensation of line-of-sight gravity data. The apparent depth of compensation appears to be most variable in regions dominated by tessera, but not all areas of tessera have distinct gravity signatures. There is a weak correlation among areas in which impact craters are relatively common and areas in which the observed and predicted gravity anomalies are poorly correlated.

Applications of holography to condensed matter physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, Simon F.

2012-10-01

Holography is one of the key insights to emerge from string theory. It connects quantum gravity to field theory, and thereby provides a non-perturbative formulation of string theory. This has enabled progress on a range of theoretical issues, from the quantum description of spacetime to the calculation of scattering amplitudes in supersymmetric field theories. There have been important insights into both the field theories and the spacetime picture. More recently, applied holography has been the subject of intense and rapid development. The idea here is to use the spacetime description to address questions about strongly coupled field theory relevant to application areas such as finite-temperature QCD and condensed matter physics; the focus in this special issue is on the latter. This involves the study of field theory at finite temperature and with chemical potentials for appropriate charges, described in spacetime by charged black hole solutions. The use of holography to study these systems requires a significant extrapolation, from the field theories where classical gravitational calculations in the bulk are a useful approximation to the experimentally relevant theories. Nonetheless, the approach has had some striking qualitative successes, including the construction of holographic versions of superconducting or superfluid phase transitions, the identification of Fermi liquids with a variety of thermal behaviours, and the construction of a map between a class of gravity solutions and the hydrodynamic regime in the field theory. The use of holography provides a qualitatively new perspective on these aspects of strong coupling dynamics. In addition to insight into the behaviour of the strongly coupled field theories, this work has led to new insights into the bulk dynamics and a deeper understanding of holography. The purpose of this focus issue is to strengthen the connections between this direction and other gravitational research and to make the gravity community more aware of these developments. The issue is made up of original research contributions at the forefront of this area, giving a sense of the range of activity and presenting significant new contributions. Simon F RossGuest Editor