Upgraded GROWTH 3.0 software for structural gravity inversion and application to El Hierro (Canary Islands)

Abstract

GROWTH 3.0 is a software package to determine the subsurface 3D density distribution that adjust discrete gravity anomaly values determined from gravity observations. The software uses very general assumptions and quite automatically determines the 3D density structures described by the aggregation of thousands of small rectangular prisms. A previous version of the software was published in 2011. However, methodological developments and computational technical evolution made it necessary to upgrade the software to include new advances and recent improvements in the inversion methodology (automatic determination of density contrasts, background medium with downward density increase, etc.), and a change in the computer operating system (from Windows XP, which was compatible with the 2011 version, to Windows 10 Pro for the current version). Here we describe the new upgraded version of the software package (which can be downloaded free), its use and application, using the study of El Hierro (Canary Islands) as a test case from which to obtain a 3D density model of its crustal structure. We also give a brief geological and volcanological interpretation.