The way glaciers intersect the Earth is a key process which the 3D Earth project aims to understand better “There are six different gradients so we’ve found a compromise, which describes the curvature of the field but which is easier to look at – it’s a synthesis of the six components. “The satellite was measuring not just vertical gravity but also horizontal components,” says Dr Ferraccioli, “so you get a better impression of not just what lies directly beneath but also what lies to the sides, so you can get a really good 3D picture – but it is very complicated. The ESA satellite was launched in 2009 and sent back data until it crashed in 2013. Speaking exclusively to the Cambridge Independent, the Cambridge-based geophysicist explains that mapping the Earth in 3D is now possible because the new satellite gravity data from the European Space Agency (ESA) gathered from its Living Planet Programme Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission can be combined with the existing seismological data. This is crucial to understanding how plate tectonics and deep mantle dynamics interact.” The 3D Earth study includes a geothermal reading of the planetįausto Ferraccioli, science leader of the geology and geophysics team of BAS, and co-author of the study, says: “Satellite gravity is revolutionising our ability to study the lithosphere of the entire earth, including its least understood continent, Antarctica.” “The satellite gravity data can be combined with seismological data to produce more consistent images of the crust and upper mantle in 3D. “Our new satellite gravity gradient images improve our knowledge of Earth’s deep structure,” says Prof Ebbing. Lead author Prof Jörg Ebbing, from Kiel University, says that progress towards a 3D model of the Earth has been accelerated by the use of satellite gravity data. The least understood part of this tectonic puzzle is in the Antarctic, which is where the role of BAS in the analysis is crucial. The report, published in this week’s Scientific Reports journal, describes the attempt to unveil key geological features of the Earth’s lithosphere – the rigid outer layer that includes the crust and the upper mantle. The 3D Earth project, a new initiative funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) that aims to produce a fully integrated 3D model for our planet, has published its initial findings following studies conducted at the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Germany’s Kiel University.
This the 2D equivalent The British Antarctic Survey is participating in the first spherical mapping of the planet – and studying the lithosphere could reveal the future pace of climate change Glaciers are one of the least understood geological phenemenons British Antarctic Survey is participating in the 3D Earth study, the first-ever attempt to build a 3D map of the earth.
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