Transcontinental Tidal Gravity Profile across the United States
J. T. Kuo 1,
R. C. Jachens 1,
M. Ewing 2, and
G. White 2
1 Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, and Henry Krumb School of Mines, Columbia University, New York 10027
2 Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University
Data obtained from a transcontinental tidal gravity profile across the United States were analyzed. Results for the principal tidal constituents M2 and O1 have shed light on the long-standing problem of the indirect influence of ocean tides on the solid-earth tide. The profile consists of nine observational stations distributed almost evenly around latitudes 39 to 41 degrees north across the United States. The observed values of the gravimetric factor and the phase were found to depend on the tidal characteristics of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. There is no observable correlation between tidal gravity parameters and the regional geology. When the influence of ocean tides is taken into account, it is possible for the first time to bring the gravimetric factors and phases for all the stations of a transcontinental network into a consistent system within the framework of the earth tidal theory.
