Density and Thermal Structure of the Southern Andes and Adjacent Foreland from 32° to 55°S Using Earth Gravity Field Models

Abstract

GOCE satellite data and EGM2008 model are used to calculate the gravity anomaly and its vertical gravity gradient, both corrected by the topographic effect, in order to delineate main tectonic features related to density variations. In particular, using the Bouguer anomaly from GOCE, we calculated the crust?mantle discontinuity obtaining elastic thicknesses in the frame of the isostatic lithospheric flexure model applying the convolution method approach. Results show substantial variations in the density, compositional and thermal structure, and isostatic and flexural behavior of the continental lithosphere along the Southern Andes and adjacent foreland region.