Current Ground Deformation Derived from GPS Observations near PBO Station AC 55 along the Yentna River, South of Denali National Park Reserve, Alaska

dc.contributor.advisorWang, Guoquan
dc.contributor.committeeMemberRobinson, Alexander C.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberGlennie, Craig L.
dc.creatorCuddus, Yanet 1973-
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-16T16:49:16Z
dc.date.available2017-06-16T16:49:16Z
dc.date.createdMay 2015
dc.date.issued2015-05
dc.date.submittedMay 2015
dc.date.updated2017-06-16T16:49:16Z
dc.description.abstractThe Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) has a network of 1100 permanent continuously operating Global Positioning System (GPS) stations, of which approximately 200 are located in Alaska. GPS station AC55 was accidently installed on a slow moving landslide. In order to isolate the landslide motion, this study uses 20 stations within 100 km proximity of AC55 to separate regional ground motion associated with seasonal variability and postseismic deformation from the 2002, M 7.9 Denali earthquake. Time series of motion in the horizontal and a vertical component was plotted for the entire network spanning the observation period (2002-2014). GPS observations were originally processed in IGS08. This study then established a local reference frame, which allows for intra-regional deformation analysis on areas of interest located within the local reference frame. From these measurements, a baseline of the relative motion located outside of the landslide body was calculated. The seasonal variability due to hydrological loading and the regional tectonic motion were calculated and removed. Hence the pure relative motion associated with the landslide event was derived. The relatively stable local reference frame is able to provide an accuracy of ± 1.5 mm/year for local ground motion. The results show that PBO station AC55 moves with a steady horizontal velocity of 5.5 cm/year toward N 75° E, and has a subsidence rate of 2.6 cm/year. The mechanism of the steady displacement velocity at AC55 is not fully understood and requires geotechnical field investigation to understand the kinematics of the landslide motion. More broadly, this GPS signal processing method has wider application allowing researchers to conduct precise landslide monitoring in remote regions using long-history (>5 years) GPS stations.
dc.description.departmentEarth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationPortions of this document appear in: Wang, G., Bao, Y., Cuddus, Y. et al. Nat Hazards (2015) 77: 1939. doi:10.1007/s11069-015-1684-z
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10657/1783
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. UH Libraries has secured permission to reproduce any and all previously published materials contained in the work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectGPS
dc.subjectLandslide
dc.subjectAlaska
dc.titleCurrent Ground Deformation Derived from GPS Observations near PBO Station AC 55 along the Yentna River, South of Denali National Park Reserve, Alaska
dc.type.dcmitext
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
thesis.degree.departmentEarth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplineGeophysics
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science

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