On 16-12-2015 13:01, Sven Littkowski wrote:
> What exactly is causing those anomalies in Earth's gravity that cause
> the ocean surface to be lower at some regions and higher at some other
> regions (or similar effects on the dust on the moon)?
>

That is because the Earth's density is not constant and varies quite a 
lot. A mountain (and its roots) is a massive object for instance that 
deviates gravity. A pendulum is thus attracted towards the mountain when 
you are standing at its base. Very, very slightly of course. Those 
differences describe the /geoid/, the "true" shape of the Earth. See for 
instance this:
https://www.quora.com/If-you-were-to-measure-gravity-on-the-surface-of-the-ocean-over-the-deepest-place-in-the-world-would-it-be-9-81-ms-s2-Or-would-water-have-less-gravitational-pull-than-a-mass-of-rock

or:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_of_Earth


-- 
Thomas

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