The southernmost point of Sri Lanka and areas of the Indian Ocean east of the Maldives have the planet’s lowest gravity.
Low gravity also exists in northern Canada, particularly in the vicinity of Hudson Bay.
The discrepancies have been mapped for years by satellites from NASA’s GRACE project (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment).
While ocean measurement stations have shown that there is a difference, NASA has been able to create a high-definition model of gravity by using satellite photography to assess water density.
The thickness of the Earth’s crust and the amount of molten rock and magma present under the surface are assumed to be responsible for the discrepancy.
Other ‘heavy’ areas can be explained by convection currents in superheated boiling lava and currents in molten rock, or magma.
Around Bolivia and the northern Andes, where relative gravity is highest, there are an additional 50 milligals of gravity. You will be about 1/19613th of a normal gravity heavier here.
Additionally, things tend to weigh a little bit more towards the poles and the Pacific Fault Zone. Following the Kermadec Trench, there is a region of increasing weight near the summit of New Zealand’s North Island.
As continental plates move and fluid magma is redistributed, the distribution of gravity is gradually altering. Since the 2018 launches of the GRACE and GRACE-FO (follow on) satellites, NASA has been monitoring surface water to chart the gradual shift.
According to the NASA GRACE project, measuring “the volume of water in large lakes and rivers, as well as changes in sea level and ocean currents provides an integrated global view of how Earth’s water cycle and energy balance are evolving.”
Gravitational anomalies on surface water have larger ramifications that exacerbate climatic changes rather than aiding weight watchers in planning their vacations.
The University of Texas’ Gravity Model for the mission states that GRACE “allows hydrologists to monitor water in subterranean aquifers and entire river basins, providing better information for decisions about drought mitigation and flood hazards.”