Assessment of GPS velocity accuracy for the Basin and Range Geodetic Network (BARGEN)

We assess the accuracy of horizontal velocity estimates from the Basin and Range Geodetic Network (BARGEN), a continuous GPS network that has been in operation since 1996. To make this quantitative assessment, we use a procedure that we term the “whole-error” method. In this method, the measure of the velocity errors is the root-mean-square (RMS) residual velocity relative to a simple geophysical model. This method produces a conservative estimate of the uncertainties, since errors in the geophysical models also contribute to the RMS residual. Using estimates from two different BARGEN subnetworks, the Northern Basin and Range and the Yucca Mountain Cluster, we determine velocity uncertainties of 0.1–0.2 mm yr^(−1). Since BARGEN covers a significant fraction of area of the proposed Plate Boundary Observatory component of EarthScope, our results indicate a good ability of this project to determine highly accurate long-term horizontal crustal velocities and deformation rates in this region.

[1]  Thatcher,et al.  Present-Day deformation across the basin and range province, western united states , 1999, Science.

[2]  Meghan S. Miller,et al.  Present‐day motion of the Sierra Nevada block and some tectonic implications for the Basin and Range province, North American Cordillera , 2000 .

[3]  Yehuda Bock,et al.  Southern California permanent GPS geodetic array: Error analysis of daily position estimates and site velocities , 1997 .

[4]  D. Agnew,et al.  The time-domain behavior of power-law noises. [of many geophysical phenomena] , 1992 .

[5]  Timothy H. Dixon,et al.  An introduction to the global positioning system and some geological applications , 1991 .

[6]  Anomalous strain accumulation in the yucca mountain area, nevada , 1998, Science.

[7]  J. Langbein,et al.  Improved stability of a deeply anchored geodetic monument for deformation monitoring , 1995 .

[8]  Erratum: ``Strain accumulation near Yucca Mountain, Nevada, 1993-1998'' , 2001 .

[9]  R. Bennett,et al.  Dynamics of Plate Boundary Fault Systems from Basin and Range Geodetic Network (BARGEN) and Geologic Data , 2000 .

[10]  John Langbein,et al.  Correlated errors in geodetic time series: Implications for time‐dependent deformation , 1997 .

[11]  G. Blewitt,et al.  A New Global Mode of Earth Deformation: Seasonal Cycle Detected , 2001, Science.

[12]  J. Mitrovica,et al.  Crustal loading near Great Salt Lake, Utah , 2003 .

[13]  R. Bennett,et al.  Contemporary strain rates in the northern Basin and Range province from GPS data , 2003 .