Deformation caused by the 2011 eastern Japan great earthquake monitored using the GPS single-epoch precise point positioning technique

Crustal deformation can provide constraints for studying earthquake rupture and shock wave transmission for the Mw9.0 eastern Japan great earthquake. Using the single-epoch precise point positioning (PPP) method and the appropriate positioning flow, we process GPS data from six IGS (International GNSS Service) sites (e.g., MIZU, TSK2, USUD, MTKA, AIRA and KSMV) located in Japan and obtain the positioning results with centimeter scale precision. The displacement time series of the six sites are analyzed using the least squares spectral analysis method to estimate deformations caused by the Mw9.0 mainshock and the Mw7.9 aftershock, and the cumulative displacements after 1 day. Mainshock displacements at station MIZU, the nearest site to the mainshock in the North (N), East (E), and Up (U) directions, are −1.202 m, 2.180 m and −0.104 m, respectively, and the cumulative deformations after 1 day are −1.117 m, 2.071 m and −0.072 m, respectively. The displacements at station KSMV, the nearest site to the Mw7.9 aftershock in the N, E and U directions, are −0.032 m, 0.742 m and −0.345 m, respectively. The other sites obviously experienced eastern movements and subsidence. The deformation vectors indicate that the horizontal displacements caused by the earthquake point to the epicenter and rupture. Elastic bounds evidently took place at all sites. The results indicate that the crustal movements and earthquake were part of a megathrust caused by the Pacific Plate sinking under the North American Plate to the northeast of Japan island arc.

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