Crustal Thickness of Antarctica estimated using data from gravimetric satellites

Abstract

Abstract. Computing a better crustal thickness model is still a necessary improvement in Antarctica. In this far continentwhere almost all the rocky surface is covered by the ice sheet, seismic investigations do not reach a sufficient spatial resolution 10 for geological and geophysical purposes. Here, we computed a global map of Antarctic crustal thicknesses based on space gravity observations. The DIR5 gravity field model, built from GOCE and also GRACE gravimetric data, is inverted with the Parker-Oldenburg's iterative algorithm. The BEDMAP products are used to estimate the gravity effect of the ice and the rocky surface. Our result is compared to crustal thickness provided by seismological studies, CRUST1.0 and AN1 models. Although CRUST1.0 shows a very good agreement with our model, the spatial resolution is smaller with gravimetric data. Finally, we 15 adjust the crust/mantle density contrast considering the Moho depth from CRUST1.0 model. In East Antarctica, the density contrast clearly shows higher values than in West Antarctica.