μGal Yr Research Articles

High spatial resolution marine gravity trend determined from multisatellite altimeter data over Bay of Bengal

SUMMARY Mass redistribution in the Earth system induce variations of the Earth's gravity field. Now, the time-varying gravity models from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission can only estimate the large-scale gravity changes, so the high-resolution marine gravity trend (MGT) model is urgently required to detect small-scale Earth's mass migration. The sea level change is a significant response to marine gravity field change. Here, we propose to estimate the high-resolution MGT using the sea level trend (SLT). Firstly, the SLT model caused by marine mass change (MMC) on 5′ × 5′ grids covering the Bay of Bengal (BOB) is established based on multisatellite altimetry data and EN4 quality-controlled ocean data, named BOB_MMC_SLT. Then, the marine mass trend (MMT) is calculated using the BOB_MMC_SLT. The spherical harmonic function (SHF) method is applied to estimate MGT using the MMT, and this MGT model on 5′ × 5′ grids, named BOB_SHF_MGT, is used to study marine gravity changes and their associated geophysical processes. The results show that, the MGT mean of BOB_SHF_MGT is about 0.14 μGal yr−1, which indicates that marine gravity in BOB is rising. The earthquakes mainly occur in the southeastern BOB where MGT is obviously rising, which may be related to the increased density of the Burma Plate due to the subduction of the India Plate and the Australia Plate. BOB_SHF_MGT shows that the marine gravity rise rate is increasing from the 85°E ridge to Andaman–Nicobar ridge, with a maximum at the location where the India Plate subducts to the Burma Plate. The MGT model based on altimetry data constructed by SHF method is important for the study of small-scale mass migration near the subduction boundaries.

Numerical simulation of AC losses in superconducting gravimeter

The annual drift of μGal level is an important indicator of superconducting gravimeters, which helps geophysicists to clarify the weak geophysical signals. In this paper, a finite element simulation model of the superconducting gravimeter sensor is developed based on the H formulation for evaluating the contribution of the excitation AC losses and the AC losses under operating conditions to the superconducting gravimeter’s drift. The model combines the H formulation and the heat transfer module of COMSOL Multiphysics software to calculate the AC losses of the superconducting gravimeter’s test mass and obtain the distribution images of the test mass’s temperature due to the AC losses-induced heating. The overall temperature rise of the test mass is obtained by assuming that it heats up uniformly and thus combines the temperature dependence factor (10 μGal mK−1) of the superconducting gravimeter to derive the instrument drift induced by AC losses. Then, the long-term drift due to excitation losses can reach 0.847 μGal yr−1, while the operating losses can be 0.45 μGal yr−1 or even less, according to the simulation. In addition, this paper discusses the effects of the parameters (index number, critical electric field, and critical current density) in the E–J power law introduced by the H formulation on the AC loss evaluation. It is concluded that the AC losses are sensitive to the critical current density, and increasing the test mass’s critical current density helps enhance the stability of the superconducting gravimeter.

A novel Nb superconducting joint with ultralow resistance fabricated by electron beam welding method for superconducting gravimeter

This paper presents a novel Nb superconducting joint with an ultralow resistance of 7.9 × 10−16 Ω, fabricated using the electron beam welding (EBW) method. After the EBW process, the two Nb filaments formed a single joint with a much larger grain size and smaller grain misorientation. More importantly, the resistance of the EBW Nb joint was nearly one magnitude lower than that of most conventional pressing joint. The ultralow resistance is essential for superconducting gravimeters, which require an extremely low drift rate. The EBW Nb joint allowed the superconducting gravimeter to have a much better performance when applied in the field of structural geology, geodesy, microgravity, and metrology. We believe that the EBW method could be one of the most promising joint fabrication methods for achieving maximum stability (less than 1 μgal yr−1).

Absolute vertical motion of the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP)

Abstract. The backbone of the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP) is a network of about 400 primary subsurface markers. Relative movements between the primary subsurface markers are measured with spirit levelling once in 10–20 years. However, little is known about absolute vertical movements of the primary network. This information is indispensable for the interpretation of water level measurements at the tide gauges along the Dutch coast. It may be provided by gravity measurements. Here we present a time-series analysis of more than twenty years of gravity measurements at the stations Westerbork, Epen, Zundert, and Radio Kootwijk. It reveals that only station Epen shows a statistically significant movement of -0.252±0.066 µGal yr−1, which corresponds to an uplift of 1.3±0.5 mm yr−1. For the other stations, the trends are statistically not different from zero at a significance level of 0.05. Corrections for water table variations are found to be indispensable; peak-to-peak amplitudes range from 4 µGal (Westerbork) to 28 µGal (Radio Kootwijk). Depsite some fundamental objections, corrections for instrumental offsets reduce the data scatter. First experiments with 7 years of soil moisture data acquired at station Radio Kootwijk reveal that the gravity signal of soil moisture variations has a standard deviation of 2.2 µGal, which is comparable to the noise standard deviation of measured gravity.

Ductility and Compressibility Accommodate High Magma Flux Beneath a Silicic Continental Rift Caldera: Insights From Corbetti Caldera (Ethiopia)

AbstractLarge silicic magma reservoirs preferentially form in the upper crust of extensional continental environments. However, our quantitative understanding of the link between mantle magmatism, silicic reservoirs, and surface deformation during rifting is very limited. Here, we focus on Corbetti, a peralkaline caldera in the densely populated Main Ethiopian Rift, which lies above a focused zone of upper mantle partial melt and has been steadily uplifting at a maximum rate of 6.6±1.2 cm yr−1 for more than 10 yr. Numerical modeling shows that a maximum concomitant residual gravity increase of 9±3 μGal yr−1 by the intrusion of mafic magma at ∼7 km depth into a compressible and inelastic crystal mush best explains the observed deformation and gravity changes. The derived magma mass flux of ∼1011 kg yr−1 is anomalously high and at least 1 order of magnitude greater than the mean long‐term mass eruption rate. This study demonstrates that periodic and high‐rate magmatic rejuvenation of upper‐crustal mush is a significant and rapid contributor to mature continental rifting.

Is it possible that a gravity increase of 20 μGal yr−1 in southern Tibet comes from a wide‐range density increase?

AbstractWith absolute gravimetric observations from 2010 to 2013 in the southern Tibet, Chen et al. (2016) reported a gravity increase of up to 20 μGal/yr and concluded that it is possible if there was a density increase in a disk range of 580 km in diameter. Here we used observations from the gravity satellites Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) over 12 years to evaluate whether the model was practical, because a mass accumulation in such a large spatial range is well within the detectability ability of GRACE. The gravity trend based on their model is orders of magnitude larger than the GRACE observation, thus negating its conclusions. We then evaluated contributions from seasonal variation, lakes, glaciers, rivers, precipitation, and snowfall and concluded that these factors cannot cause such a large gravity signal. Finally, we discussed some possible explanations for the gravity increase of 40 μGal in two years.

Decadal geodetic variations in Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard): role of past and present ice-mass changes

The geodetic rates for the gravity variation and vertical uplift in polar regions subject to past and present-day ice-mass changes (PDIMCs) provide important insight into the rheological structure of the Earth. We provide an update of the rates observed at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. To do so, we extract and remove the significant seasonal content from the observations. The rate of gravity variations, derived from absolute and relative gravity measurements, is −1.39 ± 0.11 μGal yr −1 . The rate of vertical displacements is estimated using GPS and tide gauge measurements. We obtain 7.94 ± 0.21 and 8.29 ± 1.60 mm yr −1 , respectively. We compare the extracted signal with that predicted by GLDAS/Noah and ERA-interim hydrology models. We find that the seasonal gravity variations are well-represented by local hydrology changes contained in the ERA-interim model. The phase of seasonal vertical displacements are due to non-local continental hydrology and non-tidal ocean loading. However, a large part of the amplitude of the seasonal vertical displacements remains unexplained. The geodetic rates are used to investigate the asthenosphere viscosity and lithosphere/asthenosphere thicknesses. We first correct the updated geodetic rates for those induced by PDIMCs in Svalbard, using published results, and the sea level change due to the melting of the major ice reservoirs. We show that the latter are at the level of the geodetic rate uncertainties and are responsible for rates of gravity variations and vertical displacements of −0.29 ± 0.03 μGal yr −1 and 1.11 ± 0.10 mm yr −1 , respectively. To account for the late Pleistocene deglaciation, we use the global ice evolution model ICE-3G. The Little Ice Age (LIA) deglaciation in Svalbard is modelled using a disc load model with a simple linear temporal evolution. The geodetic rates at Ny-Alesund induced by the past deglaciations depend on the viscosity structure of the Earth. We find that viscous relaxation time due to the LIA deglaciation in Svalbard is more than 60 times shorter than that due to the Pleistocene deglaciation. We also find that the response to past and PDIMCs of an Earth model with asthenosphere viscosities ranging between 1.0 and 5.5 × 10 18 Pa s and lithosphere (resp. asthenosphere) thicknesses ranging between 50 and 100 km (resp. 120 and 170 km) can explain the rates derived from geodetic observations.

Investigating possible gravity change rates expected from long-term deep crustal processes in Taiwan

We propose to test if gravimetry can prove useful in discriminating different models of long-term deep crustal processes in the case of the Taiwan mountain belt. We discuss two existing tectonic models that differ in the deep processes proposed to sustain the long-term growth of the orogen. One model assumes underplating of the uppermost Eurasian crust with subduction of the deeper part of the crust into the mantle. The other one suggests the accretion of the whole Eurasian crust above crustal-scale ramps, the lower crust being accreted into the collisional orogen. We compute the temporal gravity changes caused only by long-term rock mass transfers at depth for each of them. We show that the underplating model implies a rate of gravity change of −6 × 10−2 μGal yr−1, a value that increases to 2 × 10−2 μGal yr−1 if crustal subduction is neglected. If the accretion of the whole Eurasian crust occurs, a rate of 7 × 10−2 μGal yr−1 is obtained. The two models tested differ both in signal amplitude and spatial distribution. The yearly gravity changes expected by long-term deep crustal mass processes in Taiwan are two orders of magnitude below the present-day uncertainty of land-based gravity measurements. Assuming that these annually averaged long-term gravity changes will linearly accumulate with ongoing mountain building, multidecadal time-series are needed to identify comparable rates of gravity change. However, as gravity is sensitive to any mass redistribution, effects of short-term processes such as seismicity and surface mass transfers (erosion, sedimentation, ground-water) may prevent from detecting any long-term deep signal. This study indicates that temporal gravity is not appropriate for deciphering the long-term deep crustal processes involved in the Taiwan mountain belt.

Gravity Variation in Siberia: GRACE Observation and Possible Causes

We report the finding, from the GRACE observation, of an increasing trend in the gravity anomaly in Siberia at the rate of up to 0.5 μgal yr -1 during 2003/1 - 2009/12, in the backdrop of a negative anomaly of magnitude on the order of ~-10 mgal. In consideration of the non-uniqueness of the gravitational inverse problem, we examine in some detail the various possible geophysical causes to explain the increasing gravity signal. We find two geophysical mechanisms being the most plausible, namely the melting of permafrost and the GIA post-glacial rebound. We conclude that these two mechanisms cannot be ruled out as causes for the regional gravity increase in Siberia, based on gravity data and in want of ancillary geophysical data in the region. More definitive identification of the contributions of the various causes awaits further studies.

Absolute gravity values in Norway

Absolute gravity observations yield insight into geophysical phenomena such as postglacial rebound, change in the Earth's hydrological cycle, sea level change, and changes in the Earth's cryosphere. In the article, the first gravity values at 16 Norwegian stations measured by a modern absolute gravimeter of the FG5 type are presented. The gravity observations were corrected for Earth tides, varying atmospheric pressure, polar motion, and ocean tide loading. The ocean tide loading corrections were subject to special attention. A model based on locally observed ocean tides was applied at some of the stations. The authors estimated the total uncertainties of the gravity values to range from 3 to 4 µgal (1 µgal = 10−8 m s−2). These errors are of magnitude one order less than previously presented absolute gravity values from Norway. The final gravity values are time tagged and will change due to postglacial rebound. The maximum effect is expected to be approximately −1 µgal yr−1.

Inference of mantle viscosity from GRACE and relative sea level data

SUMMARY Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite observations of secular changes in gravity near Hudson Bay, and geological measurements of relative sea level (RSL) changes over the last 10 000 yr in the same region, are used in a Monte Carlo inversion to infer-mantle viscosity structure. The GRACE secular change in gravity shows a significant positive anomaly over a broad region (>3000 km) near Hudson Bay with a maximum of ∼2.5 μGal yr−1 slightly west of Hudson Bay. The pattern of this anomaly is remarkably consistent with that predicted for postglacial rebound using the ICE-5G deglaciation history, strongly suggesting a postglacial rebound origin for the gravity change. We find that the GRACE and RSL data are insensitive to mantle viscosity below 1800 km depth, a conclusion similar to that from previous studies that used only RSL data. For a mantle with homogeneous viscosity, the GRACE and RSL data require a viscosity between 1.4 × 1021 and 2.3 × 1021 Pa s. An inversion for two mantle viscosity layers separated at a depth of 670 km, shows an ensemble of viscosity structures compatible with the data. While the lowest misfit occurs for upper- and lower-mantle viscosities of 5.3 × 1020 and 2.3 × 1021 Pa s, respectively, a weaker upper mantle may be compensated by a stronger lower mantle, such that there exist other models that also provide a reasonable fit to the data. We find that the GRACE and RSL data used in this study cannot resolve more than two layers in the upper 1800 km of the mantle.

Crustal uplift and sea level rise in northern Cascadia from GPS, absolute gravity, and tide gauge data

We combine data from nine GPS, absolute gravity, and tide gauge stations to estimate the relation between sea‐level rise, vertical motion, and solid Earth processes in the Pacific Northwest. GPS vertical velocities (in ITRF2000) and absolute gravity rates are well correlated, with a gradient of 0.2 ± 0.1 μGal mm−1, but show a significant offset of 0.53 ± 0.30 μGal yr−1 (2.2 ± 1.3 mm yr−1) (95% confidence). Tide gauge and GPS data indicate a northeast Pacific regional sea‐level rise of 1.7 ± 0.5 mm yr−1, aligned to ITRF2000, or an unlikely regional sea‐level fall of −0.5 ± 0.5 mm yr−1, aligned to absolute gravity. Although we cannot rule out a bias in the GPS reference‐frame alignment, our results suggest a possible absolute gravity bias by a long‐period mass increase from an unknown near‐surface or deep‐seated source. The impact of such a mass increase on gravity, vertical motion, and sea level remains to be defined.

A geophysical interpretation of the secular displacement and gravity rates observed at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard in the Arctic-effects of post-glacial rebound and present-day ice melting

SUMMARY We have analysed the Ny-Alesund very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) data over the period 1994 August to 2004 May, and we obtain secular displacement rates relative to a NNR-NUVEL-1A reference frame of 0.2 ± 0.5 mm yr −1 , −1.7 ± 0.5 mm yr −1 and 4.8 ± 1.1 mm yr −1 for the north, east and vertical directions, respectively. The corresponding global positioning system (GPS) station displacement rates relative to the same reference frame for the north, east, and vertical directions are 0.2 ± 0.6 mm yr −1 , −2.3 ± 0.6 mm yr −1 , and 6.4 ± 1.5 mm yr −1 at NYA1 and -−0.1 ± 0.5 mm yr −1 , −1.6 ± 0.5 mm yr −1 , and 6.9 ± 0.9 mm yr −1 at NALL, where these GPS rates were derived from the ITRF2000 velocity solution of Heflin. From the comparison at 25 globally distributed collocated sites, we found that the difference in uplift rate between VLBI and GPS at Ny-Alesund is mainly due to a GPS reference frame scale rate error corresponding to 1.6 mm yr −1 in the GPS vertical rates. The uplift rate was estimated to be 5.2 ± 0.3 mm yr −1 from the analysis of the tide gauge data at Ny-Alesund. Hence the uplift rates obtained from three different kinds of data are very consistent each other. The absolute gravity (AG) measurements at Ny-Alesund, which were carried out four times (period: 1998‐2002) by three different FG5 absolute gravimeters, lead to a decreasing secular rate of −2.5 ± 0.9 μGal yr −1 (1 μGal = 10 −8 ms −2 ). In this analysis, the actual data obtained from a superconducting gravimeter at Ny-Alesund were used in the corrections for the gravity tide (including the ocean tide effect) and for the air pressure effect. We have

Indication of the uplift of the Ardenne in long-term gravity variations in Membach (Belgium)

We report on the results of 7 yr of collocated gravity observations made with an FG5 absolute (AG) gravimeter and a GWR C‐Series superconducting gravimeter (SG) located at the Membach Geophysical Station in eastern Belgium. The SG gravity residuals track changes in gravity periodically observed by the AG, at the microgal level. Further, in the SG residual signal we distinguish a quasi‐seasonal term that can be mostly explained by variations in local water storage effects. In the AG time‐series we observe a small trend in the gravity of −0.6 ± 0.1 μGal yr−1 perhaps indicating that the Membach Station is being displaced upwards by about 3.0 mm yr−1. An uplift of the region is confirmed by Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements performed 3 km away. We are able to explain the features in the gravity time‐series in terms of water storage variability, post‐glacial rebound and tectonic activity.

Surface vertical displacements, potential perturbations andgravity changes of a viscoelastic earth model induced by internal point dislocations

Using the viscoelastic correspondence principle, we utilize the surface coseismic spheroidal deformation fields (i.e. vertical displacements, potential perturbations and gravity changes) of SNREI earth models caused by four typical types of point dislocation, derived by Sun & Okubo (1993), to deduce the fundamental formulas for spheroidal fields relevant to viscoelastic earth models. In computations, we employ a strike-slip dislocation on a vertical plane buried at the bottom of the lithosphere to estimate the maximal viscous relaxation responses to this kind of source that possibly exist on the surface of the earth. We take the seismic moment as 1022N m, which is characteristic of an average large earthquake. The numerical results demonstrate that, if we take the viscosity as 1019 Pa s in the asthenosphere, and 1021 Pa s in the other mantle layers, the rates of surface vertical displacements and gravity changes within about 2.5° for the 10 postseismic years are respectively 1.5–8.1 cm yr−1 and 4.0–14.9 μgal yr−1 : the viscous relaxation for this mantle viscosity profile proceeds much faster than for a constant mantle viscosity of 1021 Pa s.

A model computation of the temporal changes of surface gravity and geoidal signal induced by the evolving Greenland ice sheet

This paper deals with present-day gravity changes in response to the evolving Greenland ice sheet. We present a detailed computation from a 3-D thermomechanical ice sheet model that is interactively coupled with a self-gravitating spherical viscoelastic bedrock model. The coupled model is run over the last two glacial cycles to yield the loading evolution over time. Based on both the ice sheet's long-term history and its modern evolution averaged over the last 200 years, results are presented of the absolute gravity trend that would arise from a ground survey and of the corresponding geoid rate of change a satellite would see from space. The main results yield ground absolute gravity trends of the order of ±1 µgal yr−1 over the ice-free areas and total geoid changes in the range between −0.1 and +0.3 mm yr−1. These estimates could help to design future measurement campaigns by revealing areas of strong signal and/or specific patterns, although there are uncertainties associated with the parameters adopted for the Earth's rheology and aspects of the ice sheet model. Given the instrumental accuracy of a particular surveying method, these theoretical trends could also be useful to assess the required duration of a measurement campaign. According to our results, the present-day gravitational signal is dominated by the response to past loading changes rather than current mass changes of the Greenland ice sheet. We finally discuss the potential of inferring the present-day evolution of the Greenland ice sheet from the geoid rate of change measured by the future geodetic GRACE mission. We find that despite the anticipated high-quality data from satellites, such a method is compromised by the uncertainties in the earth model, the dominance of isostatic recovery on the current bedrock signal, and other inaccuracies inherent to the method itself.