Tectonic plates parameters estimated in International Terrestrial Reference Frame ITRF2008 based on DORIS stations

Abstract

This paper concerns an analysis of the accuracy of the estimated parameters X (U, K, x) which define the tectonic plate motions. The study is based on the velocities of station positions in the IERS (International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service) which has published new realization of the International Terrestrial Reference System-ITRF2008 for Doppler Orbitography by Radiopositioning Integrated on Satellite DORIS technique. Eurasian, African, Australian, North American, Australian, Pacific, Antarctic and South American plates were used in the analysis. The influence of the number and localization of stations on the plate surface on the estimation accuracy of the tectonic plate motion parameters were discussed. The results were compared with the APKIM 2005 IGN model and our earlier estimation for the SLR technique. In general, a remarkable concurrent agreement between the present and the APKIM 2005 solutions was found.

Determination of Motion Parameters of Selected Major Tectonic Plates Based on GNSS Station Positions and Velocities in the ITRF2014

“…The tectonic stability of this plate is reflected in the formal errors of the determined motion parameters, i.e., their values are lower than those of the remaining plates. Similar findings have been observed in previous studies on the SLR and DORIS techniques [ 37 , 38 , 39 ]. The comparison of the results with the values obtained in an earlier study on the SLR, DORIS, and VLBI techniques, the highest compatibility of results was found with the VLBI technique [ 40 ], and the lowest one with the SLR technique [ 37 ].…”

“…The motion parameters calculated for all stations in total are: Φ = –19.03 ± 0.20°, Λ = −119.78 ± 0.39°, and ω = 0.117 ± 0.001°/Ma, which is presented, respectively, in Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 and in Appendix A . The comparison of the results with the values obtained in a previous study for the DORIS technique [ 39 ] demonstrated that the consistency of results was similar to the value of formal errors, and the differences were 1.27°, 1.57°, and 0.016°/Ma for the Φ, Λ, and ω parameters, respectively. For the other techniques, i.e., SLR and VLBI, the motion parameters of this plate were not calculated due to the lack of the required number of stations.…”

“…In general, the formal errors of the Φ, Λ, and ω parameters for the Antarctic plate were the highest among all of the analysed plates. The comparison of the obtained results to the solutions for the DORIS [ 39 ] and VLBI [ 40 ] techniques revealed that the compatibility was higher for DORIS. The differences in the determined values between the GNSS and DORIS techniques are 1.26° for Φ, 1.89° for Λ, and −0.009°/Ma for ω , while the differences between GNSS and VLBI are, respectively, 2.26°, 4.64°, and 0.025°/Ma.…”

“…Another factor that influences the accuracy of the solution is the geometrical configuration of the station network, which has been explained in [ 14 , 17 ]. Consistency with the previous determination of the Φ, Λ, and ω parameters for the SLR [ 37 , 38 ], DORIS [ 38 , 39 ], and VLBI [ 38 , 40 ] techniques were maintained, and the same manner of selecting stations was used. These assumptions were created based on the tests conducted during the realisation of previous studies.…”

“…The method also allows for data optimisation, i.e., specifying the minimum number of stations on the given tectonic plate for which the calculated motion parameters are stabilised (i.e., their changes do not exceed the value of formal errors). To date, studies have been carried out on the SLR [ 37 , 38 ], DORIS [ 38 , 39 ], and VLBI [ 38 , 40 ] techniques and, on the GNSS technique, for the Eurasian plate [ 41 ]. In this study, the subsequent stage of the conducted studies is presented.…”