Gravitational acceleration at Mariana Trench

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the gravitational acceleration (g) at the Mariana Trench, addressing both theoretical and practical aspects of measurement. Participants explore various methods, assumptions, and factors influencing the accuracy of such calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants inquire whether the calculation should be made at the sea surface or at the bottom of the trench.
  • One participant proposes using the formula mg=GMm/(r*r) to calculate g, where r is the distance from the Earth's center to the trench.
  • Another participant notes that the assumption of spherical gravity may not yield precise results for the trench.
  • It is suggested that the deepest point of the trench is approximately 10,971 m closer to the Earth's center than sea level, but other locations may be closer.
  • Participants mention the use of spherical harmonics and geoid models to obtain more accurate values of g, highlighting the complexity of the calculations involved.
  • Discussion includes the potential use of gravity anomaly maps and the need to consider centrifugal acceleration in calculations.
  • Some participants express concerns about the numerous factors affecting the precision of gravitational measurements and suggest using probes with specific g-meters for direct measurement.
  • There is mention of various types of g-meters, including MIMS accelerometers and superconducting gravimeters, with differing sensitivities and practical applications.
  • One participant emphasizes that direct measurement with an instrument is necessary for the most accurate determination of g.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best method for calculating g at the Mariana Trench, with multiple competing views and approaches presented throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the limitations of existing models and the assumptions required for calculations, including the effects of density variations and the challenges posed by the trench's geography.

new_r
Messages
33
Reaction score
0
Maybe someone can help with this question:
How to calculate as possible precisely gravitational acceleration (g) at Mariana Trench?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Some questions:
- Do you want the answer at sea surface, or at the bottom of the trench?
- Do you know what spherical harmonics are?
 
let the value to be calculated is equal to 'g'
so weight of that body is precisely the force due to Earth's attraction:
or, mg=GMm/(r*r)
here, m is mass of the object and M = mass of that part of Earth enclosed by a sphere having radius same as distance of Earth's center from mariana trench(= r)
calculate and please let me know the percentage decrease in the value of g.
 
hellboy4444 said:
mg=GMm/(r*r)
You are assuming spherical gravity here. The OP asked for a calculation as precise as possible.
 
new_r said:
... precisely gravitational acceleration (g) at Mariana Trench?
you can easily find it yourself, if you choose a particular place: the deepest spot [discovered in 2009] is 10,971 m closer to Earth's center than see level, if you are looking for max g, [as Earth is not a perfect sphere] some parts of the Arctic Ocean are 13,000 m closer then Marianas.
you simply ought to find out what is g at the latitude you choose.
 
Last edited:
I found a plot of density and g here:
http://members.arstechnica.com/x/bravehamster/gravity.GIF

It looks at very beginning (red line from right to left) g arise linearly.
Something like dg/dr = k
But it is difficult to estimate from this plot what this k is.

If the beginning of this plot is really almost linear
for me would be enough to know mentioned coefficient k.
But this k likely also depends on density (we have water in this case).

g on a surface of the Earth likely can be find from Goce data
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12911806
 
Last edited by a moderator:
new_r said:
I found a plot of density and g here:
http://members.arstechnica.com/x/bravehamster/gravity.GIF
That's the Preliminary Reference Earth Model, see http://geophysics.ou.edu/solid_earth/prem.html . That model is not going to help you much if you really do want a precise number.

g on a surface of the Earth likely can be find from Goce data
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12911806
The GOCE data are still preliminary, but you can find some space-only spherical harmonics models based on GOCE, GRACE, CHAMP, and SLR. The GOCO02S model coefficients are at http://ftp.tugraz.at/pub/goco/GOCO02S/GOCO02S.gfc. To use these, you are going to have to find the geoid at your target location. That alone is going to be a bit tough; those deep sea trenches are places where the geoid height varies a lot. You can find software to help with this process on the web. Now that you have the geoid you can assume that mean sea level is the geoid. So now you can get g by applying the spherical harmonics. Since this is a space-only solution, you are going to have to add in the centrifugal acceleration at that point. (g includes acceleration due to gravity and centrifugal acceleration).

Now it's going to get tough if you really do want g at the bottom of the trench. As a first cut, make a negative free air correction and a negative double Bougeur correction assuming a density of sea water. However, the Bougeur correction assumes an infinite flat plate of constant density. This is a reasonable assumption for terrain whose elevation changes gradually. It is not a such good assumption for sharp mountains and deep trenches. Particularly so for those deep trenches.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
logics said:
you simply ought to find out what is g at the latitude you choose.
fine12 said:
you are going to have to add in the centrifugal acceleration at that point.[PLAIN]http://www.uklv.info/g.php[/QUOTE]
if one gets precise value of g at that place, isn't it inclusive of all factors?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As I see here may be too much factors to get real numbers.
But let's consider we want practically to measure g by immersing some probe.
Lets say this probe has construction possibilities to come out later.
What types of g-meters inside this probe would be able to measure most accurate results?
 
  • #10
fine12 said:
you are going to have to add in the centrifugal acceleration at that point.
When I said "add" I mean vector sum. Gravitation is directed inward, more or less toward the center of the Earth, centrifugal force is directed outward, away from the Earth's rotation axis. In physical geodesy, gravity and gravitation are two different things. Gravitation is the inward acceleration described by Newton's law of gravitation. Gravity is the vector sum of the gravitational and centrifugal accelerations.

The reason for including centrifugal acceleration is that the value of g at some location on the surface of the Earth is defined as the acceleration of a falling object falling at that point as observed at that point. The observation is made from the perspective of a rotating frame of reference. So of course fictitious forces come into play.

__________________________________________________An alternative to using spherical harmonics coefficients is to use a gravity anomaly map. This map of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc region is based on GRACE data rather than GOCE, so not quite so much resolution as GOCE should yield:

03_07_GRACE3b.jpg


The Mariana Trench is that bluish arc at the east end of the west-east arrow. The blue represents a negative gravity anomaly. One can also see positive gravity anomalies in the forearc to the east (yellow) and backarc to the west (red). The color scale is the same as that on this map:

03_07_GRACE2.jpg


The gravity anomaly in these maps is the deviation in mGals (10-5 m/s2; 1 mGal = one milligalileo, and a galileo is one centimeter per second squared) from that due to an ideal oblate spheroid model of the Earth,

g_{\phi} = 9.780327(1+0.0053024\sin^2\phi - 0.0000058\sin^2 2\phi)\;\text{m}/\text{s}^2
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #11
new_r said:
1) As I see here may be too much factors to get real numbers.
2) But let's consider we want practically to measure g by immersing some probe.
Lets say this probe has construction possibilities to come out later.
1)What types of g-meters inside this probe would be able to measure most accurate results?
1) what is the order of precision you would like to achieve?, if precise g at sea level is available, ordinary formula won't satisfy you?
2) how do you imagine this probe? a [hollow] steel sphere on the bottom of the trench? could this be more accurate in your opinion?
 
Last edited:
  • #12
new_r said:
As I see here may be too much factors to get real numbers.
But let's consider we want practically to measure g by immersing some probe.
Lets say this probe has construction possibilities to come out later.
What types of g-meters inside this probe would be able to measure most accurate results?
MIMS accelerometers with sensitivities on the order of a hundred milligals are a dime a dozen; you might well have one in your cellphone. Custom inertial measurement units with sensitivities on the order of a milligal are used in airplanes, spacecraft , ships, and submarines. Superconducting gravimeters with sensitivities on the order of a nanogal have been built, but you are not going to be able to put such a device in your hypothetical probe.
 
  • #13
new_r said:
Maybe someone can help with this question:
How to calculate as possible precisely gravitational acceleration (g) at Mariana Trench?

If you want it as precise as possible you must send down an instrument, measure it directly. The degree of precision you obtain depends upon your resources available to investigate and evaluate the reliability of suppliers of gravitometric instuments.

Not the answer you wanted to hear was it? How do you know a kilogram mass standard is really a kilogram?
 
  • #14
Than you for useful information.

This is not so easy to estimate necessary precision.
Let I just write final purpose of these questions:
There is physical value Φ – gravitational potential
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_potential

Lets introduce another similar physical value.
Lets mark it for now like Θ and describe it like so:
Θ = g*r
where g is total gravitational acceleration and
r is radius of curvature of gravitational force.
This r can be found like so.
See picture: http://www.part.lt/img/d653dc3bc9e1aa48d6c4bc6ad672b3cc965.png
(if link will not work just copy paste it to your browser)
Lets consider some point in space (black dot)
Then let's take some very close point (gray point) and find where vectors of gravitational
forces intersects (red point)
Now we have, r is distance between black and red points.

Φ almost equals to Θ outside our planet.
But inside they may differ a lot.
For example at the center of the planet Θ will be almost 0
The reason/target of previous questions was how to calculate or measure the difference
between Φ and Θ at Mariana Trench or at some other places where it is measurable difference.

Or maybe better I need to look for differences at some places in space?
Maybe at the points where Earth's and Sun's gravitational forces becomes equivalent?
 
Last edited:
  • #15
What are you rambling on about?
 
  • #16
D H said:
What are you rambling on about?

I think that, not for the first time, the deluge of answers just didn't match such a vague original question.
They just wind us up and off we go in random directions, answering a range of alternative questions that we made up in our own heads.
(More rambling? :biggrin:)
 
  • #17
I just was tying to explained the target of the initial question.
From this point you may better see/estimate the accuracy I need.
(Because there was question about necessary accuracy.)

I just need some realistic points for realistic experiments where Θ and Φ differs maximally.
The target of experiments is to detect who is really response for gravitational time dilation and gravitational shift of photon's frequency Φ or Θ.
For that I need the data how to calculate gravitational forces inside deep places.
Your information was very useful, thank you,
but if there are some additional minds I would be thankful.

By the way similar experiment was proposed by people from Los Alamos National Laboratory 20 Years ago http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037596019190554L
But it looks such experiment still was not done.
 
  • #18
sophiecentaur said:
I think that, not for the first time, the deluge of answers just didn't match such a vague original question.

I wonder if sometimes people deliberately ask vague nonsense questions, or questions based on confused vapor like the last couple posts, just to sit back and watch the posts fly. :smile:
 
  • #19
Perhaps we should try doing the same thing.
Perhaps we do, already. Now, about that idea I had about perpetual motion...
 
  • #20
JeffKoch said:
people deliberately ask vague nonsense questions,... just to sit back and watch the posts fly. :smile:
new_r said:
I just need some realistic points for realistic experiments where Θ and Φ differs maximally.
... experiment was proposed *http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037596019190554L...But ... still was not done.
OP is in good faith, and he showed it*, [probably ] he needs an accuracy greater than 10-7, he would like to realize experiment after 20 years, and he hopes to make a great discovery. Good luck to him!
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
19K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K