The Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Map of the United States

The U. S. Geological Survey has just announced the publication of the Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Map of the United States. This map, fourteen years in the making was prepared by the writer as Chairman of the AGU Special Committee for the Geophysical and Geological Study of the Continents. The active cooperation of many individuals and groups throughout the country was essential since the number of gravity observations, running into hundreds of thousands of measurements distributed on an eight- to fifteen-mile spacing over much of the country, represents an undertaking beyond the capacity of a single individual or group. The five major sources of data were oil companies, government agencies, private exploration companies, mining companies, and universities. As much of the data was of a proprietary nature, the sponsorship of the AGU was a critical factor in obtaining it from company sources, since management policy does not favor the release of information that has cost the company large sums of money, especially to an individual. Similarly, the role of the AGU cannot be overemphasized in obtaining the active cooperation of government agencies and universities in releasing data prior to publication.