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Comparison of marine gravity from shipboard and high-density satellite altimetry along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30.5-35.5 deg SWe compare new marine gravity fields derived from satellite altimetry with shipboard measurements over a region of more than 120,000 sq km in the central South Atlantic. Newly declassified satellite data were employed to construct free-air anomaly maps on 0.05 degree grids. An extensive gravity and bathymetry data set from four cruises along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from 30.5-35.5 deg S provides a benchmark for testing the 2D resolution and accuracy of the satellite measurements where their crosstrack spacing is near their widest. The satellite gravity signal is coherent with bathymetry in this region down to wavelengths of 26 km, compared to 12.5 km for shipboard gravity. Residuals between the shipboard and satellite data sets have a roughly normal distribution. The standard deviation of satellite gravity with respect to shipboard measurements is nearly 7 mGal in a region of 140 mGal total variation, whereas the internal standard deviation at crossovers for GPS-navigated shipboard data is 1.8 mGal. The differences between shipboard and satellite data are too large to use satellite gravity to determine crustal thickness variations within a typical ridge segment.
Document ID
19930069933
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Neumann, Gregory A.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Forsyth, Donald W.
(Brown Univ. Providence, RI, United States)
Sandwell, David
(Scripps Institution of Oceanography La Jolla, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
August 6, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 20
Issue: 15
ISSN: 0094-8276
Subject Category
Oceanography
Accession Number
93A53930
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF OCE-88-17391
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-3035
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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