Abstract
The variations of the gravitational field have been determined from satellite orbit perturbations with fair reliability up to at least spherical harmonic degree 8.
The largest departure from hydrostatic equilibrium by a factor of 2 is the oblateness, which, together with the observed rate of deceleration of the earth's rotation, leads to an estimate of about 1026 poises for the viscosity of the lower mantle.
The remaining variations in the field are too large to be associated solely with the crust; their origin must be mainly in the mantle. The positive correlation with topography for degrees l ⩾ 6 and the rate of decrease of the variations (proportionate to l -2 in potential coefficients, or to l -1 in gravity anomaly power spectrum) are such that their source must in part be in the upper mantle, less than 400 km deep. However, the lack of obvious correlation with other indicators of upper-mantle activity such as sea-floor spreading and heat flow suggests that the density variations are the consequence of relatively small imbalances between dynamic disturbing effects and compensating restorative effects. At least part of the variations, particularly for degrees l⩽ 5, probably have their source in the stiff lower mantle.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, C.R.: 1965, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A258, 82.
Alterman, Z., Jarosch, H., and Pekeris, C.L.: 1959, Proc. Roy. Soc. A252, 80.
Anderle, R.J., and Smith, S.J.: 1967, U.S. Naval Weapons Lab. Tech. Rep. 2106. Dahlgren, 56 pp.
Arnold, K.: 1967, Space Sci. Revs. 7, 4.
Caputo, M.: 1965, J. Geophys. Res. 70, 955.
Chandrasekhar, S.: 1961, Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Clark, S.P., jr., and Ringwood, A.E.: 1964, Revs. Geophys. 2, 35.
Crittenden, M.D., jr.: 1963, J. Geophys. Res. 68, 5517.
Garland, G.D.: 1965, The Earth's Shape and Gravity. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Gordon, R.B.: 1965, J. Geophys. Res. 70, 2413.
Griggs, D.T. and Handin, J. (eds.): 1960, Rock Deformation. (Memoir No. 79) Geol. Soc. Amer. Washington.
Hamilton, W. and Myers, W.B.: 1966, Revs. Geophys. 4, 509.
Heiskanen, W.A. and Vening Meinesz, F.A.: 1958, The Earth and Its Gravity Field. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York.
Henriksen, S.W.: 1960, Ann. I.G.Y. 12, 197.
Herring, C.: 1950, J. Appl. Phys. 21, 437.
Irving, E.: 1964, Paleomagnetism. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Jeffreys, H.: 1943, Monthly Notices Roy. Astron. Soc. Geophys. Suppl. 5, 71.
Jeffreys, H.: 1959, The Earth. 4th ed., Cambridge Univ. Press, London.
Jeffreys, H.: 1963, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc. 8, 196.
Kaula, W.M.: 1963, J. Geophys. Res. 68, 4976.
Kaula, W.M.: 1966a, in Gravity Anomalies: Unsurveyed Areas (ed. by H. Orlin) (Geophysical Monograph No. 9). Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, p. 58.
Kaula, W.M.: 1966b, J. Geophys. Res. 71, 5303.
Kaula, W.M.: 1967, Revs. Geophys. 5, 83.
Knopoff, L.: 1964, Revs. Geophys. 2, 89.
Knopoff, L.: 1967, ‘On Convection in the Upper Mantle’, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc. 13 (in press).
Kovalevsky, J. and Barlier, F.: 1967, Space Sci. Revs. 7, 69.
Kozai, Y.: 1966, Space Sci. Revs. 5, 818.
Lee, W.H.K.: 1967, Thermal History of the Earth (Ph.D. dissertation). Univ. California, Los Angeles.
Lee, W.H.K. and Kaula, W.M.: 1967, J. Geophys. Res. 72, 753.
Lee, W.H.K. and Uyeda, S.: 1965, in Terrestrial Heat Flow (ed. by W.H.K. Lee) (Geophysical Monograph No. 8). Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, 87.
Love, A.E.H.: 1911, Some Problems in Geodynamics. Cambridge Univ. Press, London. (Republ. 1967, Dover Publ. Inc., New York.).
MacDonald, G.J.F.: 1963a, Space Sci. Revs. 2, 473.
MacDonald, G.J.F.: 1963b, Revs. Geophys. 1, 587.
MacDonald, G.J.F.: 1966, in Advances in Earth Science (ed. by P.M. Hurley). Mass. Inst. Tech. Press, Cambridge, p. 199.
McConnell, R.K., jr.: 1965, J. Geophys. Res. 70, 5171.
McKenzie, D.P.: 1966, J. Geophys. Res. 71, 3995.
McKenzie, D.P.: 1967a, ‘The Geophysical Importance of High Temperature Creep’, in Proc. NASA Conf. History of the Earth's Crust, Princeton Univ. Press (in press).
McKenzie, D.P.: 1967b, ‘Some Remarks on Heat Flow and Gravity Anomalies’, J. Geophys. Res. 72 (in press).
Misra, A.K. and Murrell, A.F.: 1965, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc. 9, 509.
Munk, W.H. and MacDonald, G.J.F.: 1960, The Rotation of the Earth. Cambridge Univ. Press, London.
Orowan, E.: 1965, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A258, 284.
Pekeris, C.L.: 1935, Monthly Notices Roy. Astron. Soc. Geophys. Suppl., 3, 343.
Reynolds, R.T., Fricker, P.E., and Summers, A.L.: 1966, J. Geophys. Res. 71, 573.
Robertson, E.C.: 1964, in State of Stress in the Earth 's Crust (ed. by W.R. Judd). American Elsevier Publ. Co., Inc., New York, p. 181.
Runcorn, S.K.: 1964, J. Geophys. Res. 69, 4389.
Runcorn, S.K.: 1965, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A258, 228.
Schwiderski, E.W.: 1967, U.S. Naval Weapons Lab. Tech. Rep. 2077, Dahlgren, 76 pp.
Sherby, O.D.: 1962, Acta Met. 10, 135.
Takeuchi, H. and Hasegawa, Y.: 1965, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc. 9, 503.
Toksöz, M.N., Chinnery, M.A., and Anderson, D.L.: 1967, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc. 13, 31.
Tozer, D.C.: 1965, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A258, 252.
Turcotte, D.L. and Oxburgh, E.R.: 1967, J. Fluid. Mech. 28, 29.
Vine, F.J.: 1966, Science 154, 1405.
Vogel, A.: 1960, Gerlands Beitr. zur Geophysik 69, 150.
Wang, C.-Y.: 1966, J. Geophys. Res. 71, 1713.
Weertman, J. and Weertman, J.R.: 1964, Elementary Dislocation Theory. MacMillan Co., New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Publication No. 634, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.A., 90024.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kaula, W.M. Geophysical implications of satellite determinations of the earth's gravitational field. Space Sci Rev 7, 769–794 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00542895
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00542895