Transcontinental Tidal Gravity Profile across the United States

Abstract

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.