Postseismic Relaxation Following the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, Earthquake Sequence

ABSTRACT The 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence involved predominantly right-lateral strike slip on a northwest–southeast-trending subvertical fault in the 6 July M 7.1 mainshock, preceded by left-lateral strike slip on a northeast–southwest-trending subvertical fault in the 4 July M 6.4 foreshock. To characterize the postseismic deformation, we assemble displacements measured by Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar. The geodetic measurements illuminate vigorous postseismic deformation for at least 21 months following the earthquake sequence. The postseismic transient deformation is particularly well constrained from survey-mode GPS (sGPS) in the epicentral region carried out during the weeks after the mainshock. We interpret these observations with mechanical models including afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust and mantle asthenosphere. During the first 21 months, up to several centimeters of horizontal motions are measured at continuous GPS and sGPS sites, with amplitude that diminishes slowly with distance from the mainshock rupture, suggestive of deeper afterslip or viscoelastic relaxation. We find that although afterslip involving right-lateral strike slip along the mainshock fault traces and their deeper extensions reach a few decimeters, most postseismic deformation is attributable to viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust and mantle. Within the Basin and Range crust and mantle, we infer a transient lower crust viscosity several times that of the mantle asthenosphere. The transient mantle asthenosphere viscosity is ∼1.3×1017 Pa s, and the adjacent Central Valley transient mantle asthenosphere viscosity is ∼7×1017 Pa s, about five times higher and consistent with an asymmetry in postseismic horizontal motions across the mainshock surface rupture.

The Interannual Fluctuations in Mass Changes and Hydrological Elasticity on the Tibetan Plateau from Geodetic Measurements

The mass balance of water storage on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a complex dynamic system that has responded to recent global warming due to the special regional characteristics and geographical environment on the TP. In this study, we present global positioning system (GPS), gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) and follow-on (FO) observations obtained during the 2002–2020 period to identify hydrological changes on the TP. The spatial long-term trends in the GRACE/GRACE-FO data show continuous glacier mass losses around the Himalayas and accumulated mass on the inner TP due to the increased water mass in lakes. The singular spectrum analysis (SSA) was applied for interpolation of the data gap with GRACE/GRACE-FO. We evaluated the correlation between the vertical displacements obtained from 214 continuous GPS stations and GRACE/GRACE-FO-modeled water mass loads and found a high correlation, with spatial variabilities associated with the seasonal terrestrial water storage (TWS) pattern. The common-mode component obtained from continuous GPS coordinates was decomposed using principal component analysis (PCA) and presented different periodic signals related to interannual fluctuations in hydrology and the dynamics of the inner Earth. Moreover, the various characteristics of precipitation and temperature revealed similar interannual fluctuations to those of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation. We conclude that the GPS-inferred interannual fluctuations and the corresponding GRACE/GRACE-FO-modeled hydrological loads reflect climate responses. These findings shed light on the complex role of the spatiotemporal climate and water mass balance on the TP since the beginning of the 21st century.

Estimation of crustal deformation parameters and strain build-up in Northwest Himalaya using GNSS data measurements

GPS measurements have proved extremely useful in quantifying strain accumulation rate and assessing seismic hazard in a region. Continuous GPS measurements provide estimates of secular motion used to understand the earthquake and other geodynamic processes. GNSS stations extending from the South of India to the Higher Himalayan region have been used to quantify the strain build-up rate in Central India and the Himalayan region to assess the seismic hazard potential in this realm. Velocity solution has been determined after the application of Markov noise estimated from GPS time series data. The recorded GPS data are processed along with the closest International GNSS stations data for estimation of daily basis precise positioning. The baseline method has been used for the estimation of the linear strain rate between the two stations. Whereas the principal strain axes, maximum shear strain, rotation rate, and crustal shortening rate has been calculated through the site velocity using an independent approach; least-square inversion approach-based triangulation method. The strain rate analysis estimated by the triangulation approach exhibits a mean value of extension rate of 26.08 nano-strain/yr towards N131°, the compression rate of –25.38 nano-strain/yr towards N41°, maximum shear strain rate of 51.47 nano-strain/yr, dilation of –37.57 nano-strain/yr and rotation rate of 0.7°/Ma towards anti-clockwise. The computed strain rate from the Baseline method and the Triangulation method reports an extensive compression rate that gradually increases from the Indo-Gangetic Plain in South to Higher Himalaya in North. The slip deficit rate between India and Eurasia Plate in Kumaun Garhwal Himalaya has been computed as 18±1.5 mm/yr based on elastic dislocation theory. Thus, in this study, present-day surface deformation rate and interseismic strain accumulation rate in the Himalayan region and the Central Indian region have been estimated for seismic hazard analysis using continuous GPS measurements.

Characterization of ionospheric irregularities over Vietnam and adjacent region for the 2008-2018 period

This paper presents the variations of the rate of change of Total Electron Content (TEC) index (ROTI), characterizing the occurrence of ionospheric plasma irregularities over Vietnam and neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region using the continuous GPS data during the 2008-2018 period. The results showed that the occurrence of strong ROTI in all stations is maximum in equinox months March/April and September/October and depends on solar activity. The ROTI is weak during periods of low solar activity and strong during periods of high solar activity. There is an asymmetry between the two equinoxes. During maximum and declining phases of 2014-2016, occurrence rates in March equinox are larger than in September equinox, but during the descending period of 2010-2011, the occurrence rates in September equinox at almost all stations are larger than in March equinox. The correlation coefficients between the monthly occurrence rate of irregularities and the F10.7 solar index at the stations in the equatorward EIA crest region are higher than at those in the magnetic equatorial and the poleward EIA crest regions. The irregularity occurrence is high in the pre-midnight sector, maximum between 2000 LT to 2200 LT. The maximum irregularity occurrence is located around 4-5° degrees in latitude equator-ward away from the anomaly crests.

Some statistics of Ionospheric total electron content variations at mid-latitude zones of Mongolia

This work is focused on the correlation of ionosphere total electron content (TEC) with solar and geomagnetic activities of the space weather at mid-latitude zone. In our analysis, we investigate the TEC time series obtained from dual-frequency GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) observations at three continuous GPS/GNSS stations HOVD (48.00N, 91.66E), CHOB (48.08N, 114.53E) and DALN (43.56N, 104.42) for 2013. The statistical analyses are performed on 15 minute averaged yearly TEC values, which reveal the semi-annual anomaly and high correlation with the activities of the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Phase overlapping seasonal variations of TEC and Sunspot, and Solar flux (10.7) indices, and Earth rotations (LOD) and Atmospheric angular moment (AAM) are observed in our data analyses. Sudden ionospheric storm changes in TEC with geomagnetic storm induced by the extreme solar flare and 2013 events were investigated. The result shows that GPS derived TEC behaves as an indicator of these events showing sudden increase in TEC during the event.

The Ground Deformation History of the Neapolitan Volcanic Area (Campi Flegrei Caldera, Somma–Vesuvius Volcano, and Ischia Island) from 20 Years of Continuous GPS Observations (2000–2019)

The Neapolitan volcanic area includes three active and high-risk volcanoes: Campi Flegrei caldera, Somma–Vesuvius, and Ischia island. The Campi Flegrei volcanic area is a typical example of a resurgent caldera, characterized by intense uplift periods followed by subsidence phases (bradyseism). After about 21 years of subsidence following the 1982–1984 unrest, a new inflation period started in 2005 and, with increasing rates over time, is ongoing. The overall uplift from 2005 to December 2019 is about 65 cm. This paper provides the history of the recent Campi Flegrei caldera unrest and an overview of the ground deformation patterns of the Somma–Vesuvius and Ischia volcanoes from continuous GPS observations. In the 2000–2019 time span, the GPS time series allowed the continuous and accurate tracking of ground and seafloor deformation of the whole volcanic area. With the aim of improving the research on volcano dynamics and hazard assessment, the full dataset of the GPS time series from the Neapolitan volcanic area from January 2000 to December 2019 is presented and made available to the scientific community.

Slip Distribution of the 2020 Mw6.9 Samos Earthquake Using a Bayesian Approach

<p>On 2020 October 30, an M<sub>w</sub>6.9 earthquake struck offshore Samos Island. Severe structural damages were observed in Greek Islands and city of Izmir (Turkey). 114 people lost their lives and more than a thousand people were injured in Turkey. The earthquake triggered local tsunami. Significant seismic activity occurred in this region following the earthquake and ~1800 aftershocks (M>1) were recorded by KOERI within the first three days. In this study, we analyze the slip distribution and aftershocks of the 2020 earthquake.</p><p>For the aftershock relocations, the continuous waveforms were collected from NOA, Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey (AFAD) and KOERI networks. The database   was created based on merged catalogs from AFAD and KOERI. For estimating optimized aftershock location distribution, the P and S phases of the aftershocks are picked manually and relocated with double difference algorithm. In addition, source mechanisms of aftershocks M>4 are obtained from regional body and surface waveforms.</p><p>The surface deformation of the earthquake was obtained from both descending and ascending orbits of the Sentinel-1 A/B and ALOS2 satellites. Since the rupture zone is beneath the Gulf of Kusadası, earthquake related deformation in the interferograms can only be observed on the northern part of the Samos Island. We processed all possible pairs chose the image pairs with the lowest noise level.</p><p>In this study, we used 25 continuous GPS stations which are compiled from TUSAGA-Aktif in Turkey and NOANET in Greece. In addition to continuous GPS data, on 2020 November 1, GPS survey was initiated and the earthquake deformation was measured on 10 GNSS campaign sites (TUTGA), along onshore of Turkey.</p><p>The aim of this study is to estimate the spatial and temporal rupture evolution of the earthquake from geodetic data jointly with near field displacement waveforms. To do so, we use the Bayesian Earthquake Analysis Tool (BEAT).</p><p>As a first step of the study, rectangular source parameters were estimated by using GPS data. In order to estimate the slip distribution, we used both ascending and descending tracks of Sentinel-1 data, ALOS2 and GPS displacements. In our preliminary geodetic data based finite fault model, we used the results of focal mechanism and GPS data inversion solutions for the initial fault plane parameters. The slip distribution results indicate that earthquake rupture is ~35 km long and the maximum slip is ~2 m normal slip along a north dipping fault plane. This EW trending, ~45° north dipping normal faulting system consistent with this tectonic regime in the region. This seismically active area is part of a N-S extensional regime and controlled primarily by normal fault systems.</p><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p>This work is supported by the Turkish Directorate of Strategy and Budget under the TAM Project number 2007K12-873.</p>