Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon

Rigorous modelling of the spherical gravitational potential spectra from the volumetric density and geometry of an attracting body is discussed. Firstly, we derive mathematical formulas for the spatial analysis of spherical harmonic coefficients. Secondly, we present a numerically efficient algorith...

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Main Authors: Šprlák, M., Han, S., Featherstone, Will
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer - Verlag 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/59789
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author Šprlák, M.
Han, S.
Featherstone, Will
author_facet Šprlák, M.
Han, S.
Featherstone, Will
author_sort Šprlák, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Rigorous modelling of the spherical gravitational potential spectra from the volumetric density and geometry of an attracting body is discussed. Firstly, we derive mathematical formulas for the spatial analysis of spherical harmonic coefficients. Secondly, we present a numerically efficient algorithm for rigorous forward modelling. We consider the finite-amplitude topographic modelling methods as special cases, with additional postulates on the volumetric density and geometry. Thirdly, we implement our algorithm in the form of computer programs and test their correctness with respect to the finite-amplitude topography routines. For this purpose, synthetic and realistic numerical experiments, applied to the gravitational field and geometry of the Moon, are performed. We also investigate the optimal choice of input parameters for the finite-amplitude modelling methods. Fourth, we exploit the rigorous forward modelling for the determination of the spherical gravitational potential spectra inferred by lunar crustal models with uniform, laterally variable, radially variable, and spatially (3D) variable bulk density. Also, we analyse these four different crustal models in terms of their spectral characteristics and band-limited radial gravitation. We demonstrate applicability of the rigorous forward modelling using currently available computational resources up to degree and order 2519 of the spherical harmonic expansion, which corresponds to a resolution of ~ 2.2 km on the surface of the Moon. Computer codes, a user manual and scripts developed for the purposes of this study are publicly available to potential users.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-597892019-02-19T05:35:55Z Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon Šprlák, M. Han, S. Featherstone, Will Rigorous modelling of the spherical gravitational potential spectra from the volumetric density and geometry of an attracting body is discussed. Firstly, we derive mathematical formulas for the spatial analysis of spherical harmonic coefficients. Secondly, we present a numerically efficient algorithm for rigorous forward modelling. We consider the finite-amplitude topographic modelling methods as special cases, with additional postulates on the volumetric density and geometry. Thirdly, we implement our algorithm in the form of computer programs and test their correctness with respect to the finite-amplitude topography routines. For this purpose, synthetic and realistic numerical experiments, applied to the gravitational field and geometry of the Moon, are performed. We also investigate the optimal choice of input parameters for the finite-amplitude modelling methods. Fourth, we exploit the rigorous forward modelling for the determination of the spherical gravitational potential spectra inferred by lunar crustal models with uniform, laterally variable, radially variable, and spatially (3D) variable bulk density. Also, we analyse these four different crustal models in terms of their spectral characteristics and band-limited radial gravitation. We demonstrate applicability of the rigorous forward modelling using currently available computational resources up to degree and order 2519 of the spherical harmonic expansion, which corresponds to a resolution of ~ 2.2 km on the surface of the Moon. Computer codes, a user manual and scripts developed for the purposes of this study are publicly available to potential users. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/59789 10.1007/s00190-017-1098-7 Springer - Verlag fulltext
spellingShingle Šprlák, M.
Han, S.
Featherstone, Will
Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon
title Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon
title_full Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon
title_fullStr Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon
title_full_unstemmed Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon
title_short Forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3D density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the Moon
title_sort forward modelling of global gravity fields with 3d density structures and an application to the high-resolution (~ 2 km) gravity fields of the moon
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/59789