5/25/2019 3D Earth in the making / GOCE / Observing the Earth / Our Activities / ESA

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ESA OBSERVING THE EARTH GOCE

ESA's gravity mission Search here

ESA > Our Activities > Observing the Earth > GOC E
Introducing GOC E

Science in focus 3D EARTH IN THE MAKING

A force that shapes our
planet 15 May 2019 A thorough understanding of the
Living Plane t
Ocean circulation ‘solid Earth’ system is essential for deciphering Sym posium

Solid-Earth physics
the links between processes occurring deep
inside Earth and those occurring nearer the
Surpassing
surface that lead to seismic activity such as
expectations
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the rise of
mountains and the location of underground
About the mission natural resources. Thanks to gravity and GO C E
Facts and figures magnetic data from satellites along with

Satellite seismology, scientists are on the way to

modelling inner Earth in 3D.
Instruments

About the launch

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5/25/2019 3D Earth in the making / GOCE / Observing the Earth / Our Activities / ESA

Reentry into Density variations in the crust and upper mantle Solid Earth refers to the crust, mantle and core.
Swarm
atmosphere Because these parts of our world are completely
hidden from view, understanding what is going on deep below our feet can only be done by using
Geophysical Journal
indirect measurements. International
Operations and data
A global reference
Data flow model of the
New results, based on a paper published recently in Geophysical Journal International and
lithosphere and upper
Data products presented at this week’s Living Planet Symposium, reveal how scientists are using a range of mantle
C alibration different measurements including satellite data along with seismological models to start producing Related links
a global 3D Earth reference model. Kiel University – The
C oncept of 3D Earth
Multimedia ESA Science for Society
The model will make a step change in being able to analyse Earth’s lithosphere, which is the rigid
Image gallery
outer shell, and the underlying mantle to understand the link between Earth’s structure and the Macquarie University
Video gallery dynamic processes within. Norway’s C entre for
Downloads Earth Evolution and
Dynamics
Publications Juan Carlos Afonso, from Australia’s Macquarie University and Norway’s Centre for Earth Evolution
and Dynamics, said, “We are realising the new global model of Earth's lithosphere and upper
mantle by combining gravity anomalies, geoid height and gravity gradients complemented with
seismic, thermal and rock information.

Wolfgang Szwillus from Kiel University, added, “Data from ESA’s GOCE
satellite mission served as input for the inversion. It is the first time
that gravity gradients have been inverted on a global scale in such an
integrated framework.”

While this is just a first step, 3D Earth offers tantalising insights into
the deep structure of our world. For example, the new models of the
thickness of the crust and the lithosphere are important for
GOC E in orbit
unexplored continents like Antarctica.

Jörg Ebbing from Kiel University, noted, “This is just a first step so we have more work to do, but
we plan to release the 3D Earth models in 2020.”

The 3D Earth research, which involves scientists from nine institutes in six European countries, is
funded through ESA’s Science for Society programme. ESA’s GOCE gravity mission and Swarm
magnetic field mission are key to this research.

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5/25/2019 3D Earth in the making / GOCE / Observing the Earth / Our Activities / ESA

We are changing our natural world faster than at any other time in history. Understanding the
intricacies of how Earth works as a system and the impact that human activity is having on natural
processes are huge environmental challenges. Satellites are vital for taking the pulse of our planet,
delivering the information we need to understand and monitor our precious world, and for making
decisions to safeguard our future. Earth observation data is also key to a myriad of practical applications
to improve everyday life and to boost economies. This week we focus on the world’s biggest conference
on Earth observation where thousands of scientists and data users discuss the latest results and look
to the future of Earth observation.

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