Highest-resolution Earth gravity map

In August 2013, a joint team of Australian-German researchers (led by Dr Christian Hirt) published the highest-resolution maps to date of Earth's gravity field. Using detailed topographic information obtained from the US Space Shuttle, a specialist team from Curtin's Western Australian Centre for Geodesy and the Technical University Munich (Germany) improved the resolution of previous global gravity field maps by a factor of 40. The map is formed by calculating the free-fall force of gravity over the entire Earth's surface at points only 200 m apart. This enables engineers in civil engineering, for instance, to plan and building canals, bridges and tunnels with much better understanding of the environment they are built within.