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Isostasy
Isostasy (Greek wikt:ἴσος, ''ísos'' 'equal', wikt:στάσις, ''stásis'' 'standstill') or isostatic equilibrium is the state of gravity, gravitational mechanical equilibrium, equilibrium between Earth's crust (geology), crust (or lithosphere) and mantle (geology), mantle such that the crust (geology), crust "floats" at an elevation that depends on its thickness and density. This concept is invoked to explain how different topographic heights can exist at Earth's surface. Although originally defined in terms of continental crust and mantle, it has subsequently been interpreted in terms of lithosphere and asthenosphere, particularly with respect to oceanic island volcanoes, such as the Hawaiian Islands. Although Earth is a dynamic system that responds to loads in many different ways, isostasy describes the important limiting case in which crust and mantle are in static equilibrium. Certain areas (such as the Himalayas and other convergent margins) are not in isostatic equili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Fillmore Hayford
John Fillmore Hayford (May 19, 1868 – March 10, 1925) was an eminent United States geodesist. His work involved the study of isostasy and the construction of a reference ellipsoid for approximating the figure of the Earth. Hayford was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1911 and the American Philosophical Society in 1915. The crater Hayford on the far side of the Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ... is named after him. Mount Hayford, a 1,871 m mountain peak near Metlakatla, Alaska, United States, is named after him. A biography of Hayford may be found in the Biogra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithospheric Flexure
In geology, lithospheric flexure (also called regional isostasy) is the process by which the lithosphere (rigid, thin outer layer of the Earth) bends under the action of forces such as the weight of a growing orogeny or changes in ice thickness related to glaciation. The lithosphere rests on the asthenosphere, a viscous layer that in geological time scales behaves like a fluid. Thus, when loaded, the lithosphere progressively reaches an isostatic equilibrium, which represents Archimedes' principle applied to geological settings. This phenomenon was first described in the late 19th century to explain the shorelines uplifted in Scandinavia by the removal of large ice massed during the last glaciation. American geologist G. K. Gilbert used it to explain the uplifted shorelines of Lake Bonneville. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veikko Aleksanteri Heiskanen
Veikko Aleksanteri Heiskanen (V. A. Heiskanen; also spelled Weikko Aleksanteri (or W. A.) Heiskanen; 23 July 1895 – 23 October 1971) was a Finnish geodesist and geophysicist. He was known for his refinement of George Biddell Airy and John Henry Pratt's theories of isostasy into his own, the Heiskanen hypothesis. With Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, he wrote the textbook ''The Earth and its Gravity Field'' (1958), and in 1960 a paper by Heiskanen, "The latest achievements of physical geodesy" was discussed in the scientific literature. With Helmut Moritz, Heiskanen wrote the textbook ''Physical Geodesy'' (1967), which became a standard text the field of geodesy and for the study of the geoid. Heiskanen's doctoral students include Ivan I. Mueller. Born 23 July 1895 in Kangaslampi, Finland, he grew up on a small farm. He attended the University of Helsinki and in three years received a Candidate in Philosophy degree (some texts state he received the Master of Science degree). In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asthenosphere
The asthenosphere () is the mechanically weak and ductile region of the upper mantle of Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at a depth between c. below the surface, and extends as deep as . However, the lower boundary of the asthenosphere is not well defined. The asthenosphere is almost solid, but a slight amount of melting (less than 0.1% of the rock) contributes to its mechanical weakness. More extensive decompression melting of the asthenosphere takes place where it wells upwards, and this is the most important source of magma on Earth. It is the source of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and of some magmas that erupt above subduction zones or in regions of continental rifting. Characteristics The asthenosphere is a part of the upper mantle just below the lithosphere that is involved in plate tectonic movement and isostatic adjustments. It is composed of peridotite, a rock containing mostly the minerals olivine and pyroxene. The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plumb Line Deflection
The vertical deflection (VD) or deflection of the vertical (DoV), also known as deflection of the plumb line and astro-geodetic deflection, is a measure of how far the gravity direction at a given point of interest is rotated by local mass anomalies such as nearby mountains. They are widely used in geodesy, for surveying networks and for geophysical purposes. The vertical deflection are the angular components between the true zenith–nadir curve (plumb line) tangent line and the normal vector to the surface of the reference ellipsoid (chosen to approximate the Earth's sea-level surface). VDs are caused by mountains and by underground geological irregularities. Typically angle values amount to less than 10 arc-seconds in flat areas or up to 1 arc-minute in mountainous terrain. Components The deflection of the vertical has a north–south component ''ξ'' ( xi) and an east–west component ''η'' (eta). The value of ''ξ'' is the difference between the '' astronomic la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clarence Dutton
Clarence Edward Dutton (May 15, 1841 – January 4, 1912) was an American geologist and US Army officer. Dutton was born in Wallingford, Connecticut on May 15, 1841. He graduated from Yale College in 1860 and took postgraduate courses there until 1862, when he enlisted in the 21st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he fought at Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Nashville and Petersburg. He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1871. In 1875, he began work as a geologist for John Wesley Powell and, after 1879, for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Working chiefly in the Colorado Plateau region, he wrote several classic papers, including geological studies of the high plateaus of Utah (1879–80), the Cenozoic history of the Grand Canyon district (1882), and the Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake of 1886. As head of the division of volcanic geology at the USGS, he studied volcanism in Hawaii, California, and Oregon. He helped coordinate the scientific resp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Length Of A Degree Of Latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole, with 0° at the Equator. Lines of constant latitude, or ''parallels'', run east-west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude and longitude are used together as a coordinate pair to specify a location on the surface of the Earth. On its own, the term "latitude" normally refers to the ''geodetic latitude'' as defined below. Briefly, the geodetic latitude of a point is the angle formed between the vector perpendicular (or '' normal'') to the ellipsoidal surface from the point, and the plane of the equator. Background Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definitions of latitude and longitude. In the first step the physical surface is modeled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Henry Pratt
John Henry Pratt FRS (4 June 1809 – 28 December 1871) was a British clergyman, astronomer and mathematician. A Cambridge Apostle, he joined the British East India Company in 1838 as a chaplain and later became Archdeacon of Calcutta. Although nominated as Bishop of Calcutta, the decision was rescinded at the last moment with George Cotton being appointed to the position. A gifted mathematician who worked on problems of geodesy and earth science, he was approached by the Surveyor General of India to examine the errors in surveys resulting from the attraction of the plumb-line to the mass of the Himalayan mountains. This led him to develop a theory based on a fluid earth of crustal balance which became the basis for the isostasy principle. He died in India of cholera while on a visit to Ghazipur. Biography Pratt was the second son of Josiah Pratt and Elizabeth née Jowett. His exact date of birth is debated and it is thought that he was born in London as he was baptised on 30 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Airy
Sir George Biddell Airy (; 27 July 18012 January 1892) was an English mathematician and astronomer, as well as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1826 to 1828 and the seventh Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. His many achievements include work on planetary orbits, measuring the mean density of the Earth, a method of solution of two-dimensional problems in solid mechanics and, in his role as Astronomer Royal, establishing Greenwich as the location of the prime meridian. Biography Airy was born at Alnwick in Northumberland, one of a long line of Airys who traced their descent back to a family of the same name residing at Kentmere, in Westmorland, in the 14th century. The branch to which he belonged, having suffered in the English Civil War, moved to Lincolnshire and became farmers. Airy was educated first at elementary schools in Hereford, and afterwards at Colchester Royal Grammar School. An introverted child, Airy gained popularity with his schoolmates through his grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bouguer Anomaly
In geodesy and geophysics, the Bouguer anomaly (named after Pierre Bouguer) is a gravity anomaly, corrected for the height at which it is measured and the attraction of terrain. The height correction alone gives a free-air gravity anomaly. Definition The Bouguer anomaly g_B defined as: g_B = g_ - \delta g_B + \delta g_T Here, * g_F is the free-air gravity anomaly. * \delta g_B is the ''Bouguer correction'' which allows for the gravitational attraction of rocks between the measurement point and sea level; * \delta g_T is a ''terrain correction'' which allows for deviations of the surface from an infinite horizontal plane The free-air anomaly g_F, in its turn, is related to the observed gravity g_ as follows: g_F = g_ - g_\lambda + \delta g_F where: * g_\lambda is the correction for latitude (because the Earth is not a perfect sphere; see normal gravity); * \delta g_F is the free-air correction. Reduction A Bouguer reduction is called ''simple'' (or ''incomplete'') if t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
