Estimating crustal deformations by GNSS time series data analysis

Abstract

Crustal deformation analysis in seismogenic areas is one of the most important applications of GNSS. In the last twenty years, the GNSS technology has opened new perspectives in this field allowing the estimation of the crustal deformation at different scales both in time and in space. Tectonic deformations can be reliably estimated either at regional and fault scale. This allows the analysis of the different phases of the seismic cycle. Particularly, co-seismic and post-seismic deformations can be properly evaluated. Also, recent studies aim at studying the inter-seismic phase giving important insights in the dynamic of the crust in seismic prone areas. These studies are commonly based on the analysis of time series from GNSS permanent stations. In this paper, a method for filtering these data is presented and a case study based on the FReDNet data is illustrated.