Publication Date

2014-07-27

Availability

Open access

Embargo Period

2014-07-27

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PHD)

Department

Marine Geology and Geophysics (Marine)

Date of Defense

2014-06-30

First Committee Member

Falk C. Amelung

Second Committee Member

Shimon Wdowinski

Third Committee Member

Guoqing Lin

Fourth Committee Member

Timothy H. Dixon

Abstract

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Global Positioning System (GPS) is widely used to detect ground deformation from varieties of geophysical origins. However, most studies lack the spatial and temporal resolutions to better characterize such observations. The purpose of this research is to use multi-track satellite radar imagery to generate time series to study and monitor vertical ground deformation over large regions such as the Nevada portion of the Basin and Range Province and the western end of the Mojave Desert. We developed an innovative method to remove horizontal movements from InSAR line-of-sight (LOS) observations using a GPS velocity field and subsequently combine the multi-track imagery resulting in one single high spatial resolution map of observed vertical crustal and surface movements. By implementing this technique we detect vertical deformation signals with short and intermediate wavelength signals associated to tectonic processes such as interseismic and postseismic deformation. In Central Nevada Seismic Belt we detect in three independent orbits a broad area of uplift that confirms results of previous studies that associate the origin of this signal to post-seimic deformation of the historic earthquakes at this region. In south-central Nevada we detect several valleys that show a gradual eastward tilt of the valley floors due to deep geodynamical processes. The valleys located at the eastern side of Ruby Mountains show a range decrease that could indicate uplift related to magma intrusion or post-seismic deformation due to older, unrecognized earthquakes. In the Big Bend segment in southern California we detect vertical uplift as expected by mechanical models of interseismic deformation. Additionaly all our velocity maps reveal small wavelength deformation signals of anthropogenic origin.

Keywords

InSAR; Basin and Range; Nevada; post-seismic; Big-Bend; inter-seismic

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