Interference of tectonic signals in subsurface hydrologic monitoring through gravity and GPS due to mountain building

Chen, Wenjin; Braitenberg, Carla; Serpelloni, Enrico

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2018.05.003

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Alps, and ~1 mm/a across a continuous region from the Eastern to the South-Western Alps (Serpelloni et al, 2013;Chen et al, 2018), highlighting a correlation with topography (Serpelloni et al, 2013). Proposed mechanisms of uplift include isostatic response to the last deglaciation, to the present ice melting and to erosion, detachment of the Western Alpine slab, as well as lithospheric and surface deflection due to mantle convection (see Sternai et al, 2019 for a review).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into active tectonics and seismogenic potential of the Italian Southern Alps from vertical geodetic velocities

Anderlini¹,

Serpelloni²,

Tolomei³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. This study presents and discusses horizontal and vertical geodetic velocities for a low strain-rate region of the Southalpine thrust front in northeastern Italy obtained by integrating GPS, InSAR and leveling data. The area is characterized by the presence of sub-parallel, south verging thrusts, whose seismogenic potential is still poorly known. Horizontal GPS velocities show that this sector of the Eastern Southern Alps is undergoing ~ 1 mm/a of NW-SE shortening associated with the Adria-Eurasia plate convergence, but the horizontal GPS velocity gradient across the mountain front provide limited constraints on the geometry and slip-rate of the several sub-parallel thrusts. In terms of vertical velocities, the three geodetic methods provide consistent results showing a positive velocity gradient, of ~ 1.5 mm/a, across the mountain front, which can be hardly explained solely by isostatic processes. We developed a interseismic dislocation model, whose geometry is constrained by available subsurface geological reconstructions and instrumental seismicity. While a fraction of the measured uplift can be attributed to glacial and erosional isostatic processes, our results suggest that interseismic strain accumulation at the Montello and the Bassano-Valdobbiadene thrusts are significantly contributing to the measured uplift. The seismogenic potential of the Montello thrust turns out to be smaller than that of the Bassano-Valdobbiadene fault, whose estimated parameters (LD = 9.1 km and slip-rate = 2.1 mm/a) indicate a structure capable of potentially generating a Mw > 6.5 earthquake. These results demonstrate the importance of precise vertical ground velocity data for modeling interseismic strain accumulation in slowly deforming regions, where often seismological and geomorphological evidence of active tectonics is scarce or not conclusive.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into active tectonics and seismogenic potential of the Italian Southern Alps from vertical geodetic velocities

Anderlini¹,

Serpelloni²,

Tolomei³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Despite the fault model providing a satisfactory explanation of the geodetic velocity gradients, it is worth considering that the vertical component of motion may be influenced by further ongoing processes on an alpine spatial scale. Indeed, GPS data show that the Alps are undergoing widespread uplift at rates up to ∼ 2-2.5 mm a −1 in the northwestern and central Alps and ∼ 1 mm a −1 across a continuous region from the eastern to the southwestern Alps (Serpelloni et al, 2013;Chen et al, 2018), highlighting a correlation with topography (Serpelloni et al, 2013). Proposed mechanisms of uplift include the isostatic response to the last deglaciation, to the present ice melting and to erosion, as well as the detachment of the western Alpine slab and lithospheric and surface deflection due to mantle convection (see Sternai et al, 2019, for a review).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into active tectonics and seismogenic potential of the Italian Southern Alps from vertical geodetic velocities

et al. 2020

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Abstract. This study presents and discusses horizontal and vertical geodetic velocities for a low strain rate region of the south Alpine thrust front in northeastern Italy obtained by integrating GPS, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and leveling data. The area is characterized by the presence of subparallel, south-verging thrusts whose seismogenic potential is still poorly known. Horizontal GPS velocities show that this sector of the eastern Southern Alps is undergoing ∼1 mm a−1 of NW–SE shortening associated with the Adria–Eurasia plate convergence, but the horizontal GPS velocity gradient across the mountain front provides limited constraints on the geometry and slip rate of the several subparallel thrusts. In terms of vertical velocities, the three geodetic methods provide consistent results showing a positive velocity gradient, of ∼ 1.5 mm a−1, across the mountain front, which can hardly be explained solely by isostatic processes. We developed an interseismic dislocation model whose geometry is constrained by available subsurface geological reconstructions and instrumental seismicity. While a fraction of the measured uplift can be attributed to glacial and erosional isostatic processes, our results suggest that interseismic strain accumulation at the Montello and the Bassano–Valdobbiadene thrusts it significantly contributing to the measured uplift. The seismogenic potential of the Montello thrust turns out to be smaller than that of the Bassano–Valdobbiadene fault, whose estimated parameters (locking depth equals 9.1 km and slip rate equals 2.1 mm a−1) indicate a structure capable of potentially generating a Mw>6.5 earthquake. These results demonstrate the importance of precise vertical ground velocity data for modeling interseismic strain accumulation in slowly deforming regions where seismological and geomorphological evidence of active tectonics is often scarce or not conclusive.

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“…Braitenberg and Shum () estimated the deep crustal contribution from first‐order isostatic estimates of the crustal isostatic response to the topographic uplift. They showed that the gravity variation caused by the effect of the isostatic response for the TP cannot be neglected, which is also concluded for another uplifting mountain range, the Alpine range (Chen et al, ). These studies indicate that the effects of the deep crust processes should be taken into account when we interpret the GRACE signal in the TP.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Based on the analysis of various data, we have concluded that the residual signals of GRACE in TP come from TECs. The TECs can be divided into three parts (e.g., Braitenberg & Shum, ; Chen et al, ; Sun et al, ): (1) Earth surface movements, (2) changes in crustal density, and (3) deformation of the Moho. The Earth surface movements can be constrained by GPS observations, and the corresponding mass change can be estimated (introduced in section ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changing Moho Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by GRACE Observations

et al. 2019

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A wide range of mass gain in the inland of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). But there are still controversies on how to understand this phenomenon. In this paper, satellite geodesy data and hydrological models are combined and applied for extracting signals caused by tectonic processes in the TP during the period from 2003 to 2009. We find that in the inland of the TP there are three regions with a significant signal that should be attributed to tectonic processes. The three prominent mass signals, each located in the western, central, and eastern TP, are estimated to be at the rate of 1.47 ± 0.43, −0.85 ± 0.53, and 1.51 ± 0.56 cm/year, respectively, in equivalent water height. However, the rate caused by Earth surface deformation constrained by GPS is 0.33 ± 0.15/0.30 ± 0.10/0.14 ± 0.24 cm/year in equivalent water height, which cannot explain the whole tectonic signals and indicates that a significant mass change occurs beneath the crust, that is, the deformation of the Moho interface. We estimate the Moho change rate in the inland of the TP and find that the Moho interface is suffering an uneven deformation. The Moho is uprising at a rate of 18.1 ± 7.2 mm/year in the west and 21.7 ± 9.7 mm/year in the east of the TP, while there is an obvious deepening rate of −18.3 ± 8.6 mm/year in the central TP.

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Interference of tectonic signals in subsurface hydrologic monitoring through gravity and GPS due to mountain building

Cited by 13 publications

References 44 publications

New insights into active tectonics and seismogenic potential of the Italian Southern Alps from vertical geodetic velocities

New insights into active tectonics and seismogenic potential of the Italian Southern Alps from vertical geodetic velocities

New insights into active tectonics and seismogenic potential of the Italian Southern Alps from vertical geodetic velocities

Changing Moho Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by GRACE Observations

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