Reformulation of the Vening-Meinesz Moritz Inverse Problem of Isostasy for Isostatic Gravity Disturbances

The isostatic gravity anomalies have been traditionally used to solve the inverse problems of isostasy. Since gravity measurements are nowadays carried out together with GPS positioning, the utilization of gravity disturbances in various regional gravimetric applications becomes possible. In global studies, the gravity disturbances can be computed using global geopotential models which are currently available to a relatively high accuracy and resolution. In this study we facilitate the definition of the isostatic gravity disturbances in the Vening-Meinesz Moritz inverse problem of isostasy for finding the Moho depths. We further utilize uniform mathematical formalism in the gravimetric forward modelling based on methods for a spherical harmonic analysis and synthesis of gravity field. We then apply both mathematical procedures to determine globally the Moho depths using the isostatic gravity disturbances. The results of gravimetric inversion are finally compared with the global crustal seismic model CRUST2.0;the RMS fit of the gravimetric Moho model with CRUST2.0 is 5.3 km. This is considerably better than the RMS fit of 7.0 km obtained after using the isostatic gravity anomalies.

Theoretical Deficiencies of Isostatic Schemes in Modeling the Crustal Thickness along the Convergent Continental Tectonic Plate Boundaries

The results of global and regional studies often show significant disagreement between the Moho depths determined using seismic and isostatic models. In this study, we estimate the differences between these two models in central Eurasia. The Vening Meinesz-Moritz （VMM） inverse problem of isostasy is utilized to determine the isostatic Moho depths. The estimated VMM Moho depths are then corrected for the sediment density contrast. The application of this correction improves the agreement between the isostatic and seismic Moho models. The existing discrepancies between the isostatic and seismic models are finally modeled by applying the non-isostatic correction, which accounts for the unmodelled mantle density heterogeneities and other geodynamic processes, which are not taken into account in classical isostatic models. Our results reveal that the non-isostatic correction still cannot fully describe mechanisms affecting the Moho geometry along the convergent continent-tocontinent tectonic plate boundaries occurring beneath Himalayas despite an overall good performance of the applied method.

Combined Moho Parameters Determination Using CRUST1.0 and Vening Meinesz-Moritz Model

According to Vening Meinesz-Moritz （VMM） global inverse isostatic problem, either the Moho density contrast （crust-mantle density contrast） or the Moho geometry can be estimated by solv- ing a non-linear Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. Here solutions to the two Moho parame- ters are presented by combining the global geopotential model （GOCO-03S）, topography （DTM2006） and a seismic crust model, the latter being the recent digital global crustal model （CRUST1.0） with a resolution of 1°×1°. The numerical results show that the estimated Moho density contrast varies from 21 to 637 kg/m3, with a global average of 321 kg/m^3, and the estimated Moho depth varies from 6 to 86 km with a global average of 24 km. Comparing the Moho density contrasts estimated using our least-squares method and those derived by the CRUST1.0, CRUST2.0, and PREM models shows that our estimate agrees fairly well with CRUST1.0 model and rather poor with other models. The estimated Moho depths by our least-squares method and the CRUST1.0 model agree to 4.8 km in RMS and with the GEMMA1.0 based model to 6.3 km.