MaQuIs—Concept for a Mars Quantum Gravity Mission

The aim of this paper is to present the concept of a dedicated gravity field mission for the planet Mars, the Mars Quantum Gravity Mission (MaQuIs). The mission is targeted at improving the data on the gravitational field of Mars, enabling studies on planetary dynamics, seasonal changes, and subsurface water reservoirs. MaQuIs follows well...

Mars Gravity Inversion: Investigating the lateral density variations of the Martian lithosphere.

In 2018 the InSight mission was launched with the main objective of providing accurate 3D models of Mars’s interior. This was done by placing a seismometer on the surface of Mars to measure seismic activity. In 2021 three studies were published, one dedicated to the Martian core, one to the Martian mantle, and the last one focused on the Martian...

Uplift of the Transdanubian Range, Pannonian Basin: How fast and why?

The cumulative incision rates of ~50–70 m/Ma integrating over the last ~3 Ma have been derived from published terrace-chronological data of the Danube river in the Western Pannonian Basin. An apparent acceleration of uplift rates was observed for shorter timescales culminating at ~200 m/Ma over the last ~140 ka. An examination of the change...

Modeling Satellite Gravity Gradient Data to Derive Density, Temperature, and Viscosity Structure of the Antarctic Lithosphere

In this study we combine seismological and petrological models with satellite gravity gradient data to obtain the thermal and compositional structure of the Antarctic lithosphere. Our results indicate that Antarctica is largely in isostatic equilibrium, although notable anomalies exist. A new Antarctic Moho depth map is derived that fits the...

A benchmark study of numerical implementations of the sea level equation in GIA modelling

The ocean load in glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modelling is represented by the so-called sea level equation (SLE). The SLE describes the mass redistribution of water between ice sheets and oceans on a deforming Earth. Despite various teams independently investigating GIA, there has been no systematic intercomparison among the numerical...

The impact of lateral variations in lithospheric thickness on glacial isostatic adjustment in West Antarctica

Differences in predictions of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) for Antarctica persist due to uncertainties in deglacial history and Earth rheology. The Earth models adopted in many GIA studies are defined by parameters that vary in the radial direction only and represent a global average Earth structure (referred to as 1-D Earth models)....

Gravity Field Constraints on the Upper Mantle of Northwestern Europe

In the last decade, the gravity field of the Earth has been observed with increased coverage due to dedicated satellite missions, which resulted in higher resolution and more accurate global gravity field models than were previously available. These models make it possible to study large scale processes such as solid Earth deformation after...

A glacial isostatic adjustment model for the central and northern Laurentide ice sheet based on relative sea level and GPS measurements

The thickness and equivalent global sea level contribution of an improved model of the central and northern Laurentide Ice Sheet is constrained by 24 relative sea level histories and 18 present-day GPS-measured vertical land motion rates. The final model, termed Laur16, is derived from the ICE-5G model by holding the timing history constant...

Shear wave seismic interferometry for lithospheric imaging: Application to southern Mexico

Seismic interferometry allows for the creation of new seismic traces by cross correlating existing ones. With sufficient sampling of remote-source positions, it is possible to create a virtual source record by transforming a receiver location into a virtual source. The imaging technique developed here directly retrieves reflectivity information...

Origin(s) of Antarctica's Wilkes subglacial basin

The Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB), the largest subglacial basin in East Antarctica, is a topographic depression of continental proportions that lies beneath the East Antarctic continental ice sheet. Discovered by the US Victoria Land Traverse 1959–60, the origin of the WSB and the influence of palaeoclimate on its overlying continental ice sheet...

Glacial isostatic adjustment model with composite 3-D Earth rheology for Fennoscandia

Models for glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) can provide constraints on rheology of the mantle if past ice thickness variations are assumed to be known. The Pleistocene ice loading histories that are used to obtain such constraints are based on an a priori 1-D mantle viscosity profile that assumes a single deformation mechanism for mantle rocks...

Body-wave seismic interferometry applied to earthquake- and storm-induced wavefield

Seismology is the study of the vibration of the Earth. Seismologists pay much attention to the main source of Earth vibration: earthquakes. But also other seismic sources, like mining blasts, ocean storms and windmills, are studied. All these sources induce seismic waves, which can eventually be recorded as ground vibrations. These seismic...

Extraction of P-wave reflections from microseisms

The last few years there has been a growing number of body-wave observations in noise records. In 1973 Vinnik conjectured that P-waves would even be the dominant wavemode, at epicentral distances of about 40 degrees and onwards from an oceanic source. At arrays far from offshore storms, surface waves induced by nearby storms would not mask the...

A Seismic Transmission System for Continuous Monitoring of the Lithosphere: A Proposition

The main objective of this thesis is to enhance earthquake prediction feasibility. We present the concept and the design layout of a novel seismic transmission system capable of continuously monitoring the Lithosphere for changes in Earth physics parameters governing seismic wave propagation. New-technology seismic vibrator sources (magnetic...