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Magnetic field gradients from the ST‐5 constellation: Improving magnetic and thermal models of the lithosphere
Author(s) -
Purucker M.,
Sabaka T.,
Le G.,
Slavin J. A.,
Strangeway R. J.,
Busby C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl031739
Subject(s) - lithosphere , geology , geophysics , crust , magnetic anomaly , satellite , magnetic field , plateau (mathematics) , latitude , altitude (triangle) , geodesy , tectonics , seismology , physics , astronomy , geometry , mathematical analysis , mathematics , quantum mechanics
We report the development of a new technique (magnetic gradiometry) for satellite‐based remote sensing of the lithosphere. The measurements reported here represent the first systematic measurements of lithospheric magnetic field gradients, and were collected from a spinning spacecraft. The three‐satellite ST‐5 mission collected vector magnetic field observations at 300–800+ km altitudes over mid and high‐northern latitudes in 2006. Away from the auroral oval, and over the continents, the gradients of the low altitude (<400 km) total anomaly field are dominated by lithospheric magnetic fields. Using a seismic starting model, and magnetic field observations from ST‐5 and other recent satellite missions, we demonstrate how these techniques can be used to improve our knowledge of the processes involved in the thickened crust of the Colorado Plateau and the Sierra Madre Occidental.