GPS and Space-Based Geodetic Methods

Space-based geodetic methods such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) have revolutionized our view of the Earth, enabling us to observe plate tectonics in progress, right now as it happens. The relative positions between any pair of geodetic stations in the world can be determined with a precision measured in millimeters; thus, the long-term movement of the Earth's surface can be monitored to within 1 mm Year − 1 . Dense networks of GPS stations are now being used to map the rate of strain in the Earth's crust in plate boundary regions. The Earth's geometric and gravitational shapes and its orientation in space are being monitored and inverted to determine the redistribution of geophysical fluids on or near the Earth's surface, including the ocean and atmosphere, cryosphere, and the terrestrial hydrosphere. All of this has been made possible since the development of space-based geodetic techniques in the 1970s and 1980s, starting with satellite laser ranging and very long baseline interferometry. This chapter provides a summary of the developments that led to this astonishing new geophysical tool and also introduces the fundamentals of space geodesy and how it is being applied to geophysical research, with examples provided from plate tectonics, the earthquake cycle, and surface mass redistribution.

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