Central Indian Ocean Gravity Image

Location: central Indian Ocean
Latitude: 60° N to 70° S
Longitude: 60° E to 110° E

Image Width: 5000km (3100 miles) at 25° S
Data: Gravity field is derived by direct computation from the geoid heights measured by the European Space Agency ERS-1 satellite altimeter along with the US Navy Geosat data (Sandwell and Smith).

Description: Gravity imaging highlights structures beneath the seafloor sediments because variations in mass (as in hills and valleys) cause variations in the gravity field above them. In this image, buried fracture zones can be clearly traced where thick sediments make them invisible in the surface topography.

Hosted at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

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