Premium
Measurements of strain at plate boundaries using space based geodetic techniques
Author(s) -
Robaudo Stefano,
Harrison Christopher G. A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/93gl01380
Subject(s) - geology , subduction , geodetic datum , seismology , plate tectonics , geodesy , deformation (meteorology) , fault (geology) , very long baseline interferometry , boundary (topology) , tectonics , geodynamics , scale (ratio) , san andreas fault , mathematical analysis , oceanography , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics
We have used the space based geodetic techniques of Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to study strain along subduction and transform plate boundaries and have interpreted the results using a simple elastic dislocation model. Six stations located behind island arcs were analyzed as representative of subduction zones while 13 sites located on either side of the San Andreas fault were used for the transcurrent zones. The length deformation scale was then calculated for both tectonic margins by fitting the relative strain to an exponentially decreasing function of distance from the plate boundary. Results show that space‐based data for the transcurrent boundary along the San Andreas fault help to define better the deformation length scale in the area while fitting nicely the elastic half‐space earth model. For subduction type boundaries the analysis indicates that there is no single scale length which uniquely describes the deformation. This is mainly due to the difference in subduction characteristics for the different areas, and the use of an elastic stress model then helps us understand some of these differences.