The Use of Continuous GPS Tracking for Deformation Studies in Southwestern British Columbia

Herb Dragert, Michael Schmidt, and Xin Chen

Abstract:	Vancouver Island, located in the northern Cascadia subduction zone, has served as the principal site for the monitoring of present-day crustal deformation on Canada’s west coast. Measurements of accumulating horizontal strain have been obtained through repeated laser-ranging and/or GPS surveys of four geodetic control networks. Although shear-strain rates ranging from 0.05 to 0.23 ppm per year have been resolved, these estimates are spatially and temporally isolated since they lack a continuous, precise, common fiducial framework. To address this problem, the Geological Survey of Canada, in cooperation with the Geodetic Survey of Canada, has established a continuous, automated network of 4 regional GPS tracking stations called the Western Canada Deformation Array (WCDA). This tracking network not only meets these fiducial needs, but it also serves as a continuous regional stminmeter. A configuration of three Rogue receivers has now been operating since the fall of 1992 and a fourth was added in October, 1993. Dual-frequency pseudorange and phase data, sampled at 30-set intervals, are collected daily by an automated process running on a SUN-SPARC 10 workstation. Quality checks are performed automatically by programs which generate statistical summaries and plots of the past day’s data for each site. Baseline analyses are carried out semi-automatically using the CGPS22 software package in conjunction with precise ephemerides provided by the Geodetic Survey of Canada. This paper presents an overview of the GPS tracking sites and summarizes the operational aspects of this network. The usefulness of this network as a continuous, sensitive, regional strainmeter is demonstrated by examining the results obtained to date.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 7th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1994) September 20 - 23, 1994 Salt Palace Convention Center Salt Lake City, UT
Pages:	97 - 103
Cite this article:	Dragert, Herb, Schmidt, Michael, Chen, Xin, "The Use of Continuous GPS Tracking for Deformation Studies in Southwestern British Columbia," Proceedings of the 7th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1994), Salt Lake City, UT, September 1994, pp. 97-103.
Full Paper:	ION Members/Non-Members: 1 Download Credit Sign In