The exterior Airy/Heiskanen topographic–isostatic gravity potential, anomaly and the effect of analytical continuation in Stokes' formula

Abstract.

This study deals with the external type of topographic–isostatic potential and gravity anomaly and its vertical derivatives, derived from the Airy/Heiskanen model for isostatic compensation. From the first and the second radial derivatives of the gravity anomaly the effect on the geoid is estimated for the downward continuation of gravity to sea level in the application of Stokes' formula. The major and regional effect is shown to be of order H ³ of the topography, and it is estimated to be negligible at sea level and modest for most mountains, but of the order of several metres for the highest and most extended mountain belts. Another, global, effect is of order H but much less significant