Present-day crustal motion in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Papua New Guinea is one of the most active tectonic regions in the world. It comprises several microplates and deforming zones trapped in the collision of the Australian and Pacific Plates. GPS observations have been used to estimate plate velocities across a network of sites spanning most of the country. We present new velocites in the northwestern region of New Guinea, and look in detail at the strain accumulation region between the South Bismarck and Pacific Plates in the New Ireland/New Britain region. Copy right© The Society of Geomagnetism and Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences (SGEPSS); The Seismological Society of Japan; The Volcanological Society of Japan; The Geodetic Society of Japan; The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences.