A new isostatic residual gravity map of the conterminous United States with a discussion on the significance of isostatic residual anomalies

Abstract

To display more clearly the gravity anomalies caused by geologic bodies in the upper parts of the crust, a new colored isostatic residual gravity map of the conterminous United States has been prepared using the gravity data set compiled for the Gravity Anomaly Map of the United States (Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 1982). The new isostatic residual gravity map is based on an Airy‐Heiskanen model of local compensation, in which the surface load requiring compensation is defined by 5‐min topographic and bathymetric data sets. A colored first‐vertical‐derivative map of isostatic residual gravity further enhances the short‐wavelength anomalies produced by bodies at or near the surface and emphasizes the regional fabrics and trends in the gravity field. For the purpose of displaying gravity anomalies caused by shallow bodies of geologic significance, the nature of the isostatic model and the values of its parameters are of lesser importance than the application of an isostatic correction of some sort. Most isostatic models result in residual gravity maps that appear nearly identical in their main patterns and features. Anomalies on isostatic residual gravity maps should not be casually interpreted in terms of “undercompensation” or “overcompensation” because large‐amplitude anomalies can be produced by crustal bodies in complete local isostatic equilibrium. Many isostatic residual gravity anomalies less than several hundred kilometers wide can be related to known geologic bodies. We present here a classification scheme that attempts to categorize such anomalies on the basis of tectonic environment. In general, highs correlate with intruded or accreted mafic material or with upthrusted crustal sections, whereas lows occur over low‐density sedimentary or volcanic sections, felsic intrusive bodies, or down‐warped crustal sections. Although some longer‐wavelength anomalies, such as the broad gravity high centered over Montana, could be manifestations of density contrasts deep in the mantle, many such anomalies can also be modeled by geologically reasonable density contrasts that are isostatically compensated and confined to depths of less than several hundred kilometers, so that their source bodies need not be deep. The fact that certain of these broader anomalies have well‐defined boundaries which correlate with near‐surface geologic features increases the likelihood that their sources lie entirely within the lithosphere. If so, then the density contrasts required to explain the gravity data imply fundamental anomalies in chemical composition or thermal state for the crustal and upper mantle columns under these regions. We have investigated spectral analysis as a method to quantitatively characterize regional anomaly patterns. Contoured plots of normalized amplitude spectra were prepared for various areas of the isostatic residual gravity field of the United States. These Fourier domain representations show characteristic patterns that can be interpreted in terms of the trends and wavelengths of anomalies and may help to more objectively distinguish geologic basements with different origins or tectonic histories.