Description: In the literature, the inverted coseismic slip models from seismological and geodetic data for the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake portray significant discrepancies, in particular regarding the intensity and the distribution of the rupture near the trench. For a megathrust earthquake, it is difficult to discern the slip along the shallow part of the fault from the geodetic data, which are often acquired on land. In this paper, we discuss the uncertainties in the slip distribution inversion using the geodetic data for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the Fully Bayesian Inversion method. These uncertainties are due to the prior information regarding the boundary conditions at the edges of the fault, the dip subduction angle and the smoothing operator. Using continuous GPS data from the Japan Island, the results for the rigid and free boundary conditions show that they produce remarkably different slip distributions at shallow depths, with the latter producing a large slip exceeding 30 m near the surface. These results indicate that the smoothing operator (gradient or Laplacian schemes) does not severely affect the slip pattern. To better invert the coseismic slip, we then introduce the ocean bottom GPS (OB-GPS) data, which improve the resolution of the shallow part of the fault. We obtain a near-trench slip greater than 40 m that reaches the Earth's surface, regardless of which boundary condition is used. Additionally, we show that using a mean dip angle for the fault as derived from subduction models is adequate if the goal is to invert for the general features of the slip pattern of this megathrust event.

Description: In this paper, we present a method for incorporating prior geological information into potential field data inversion problem. As opposed to the traditional inverse algorithm, our proposed method takes full advantage of prior geological information as a constraint and thus obtains a new objective function for inversion by adding Lagrangian multipliers and slack variables to the traditional inversion method. These additional parameters can be easily solved during iterations. We used both synthetic and observed data sets to test the stability and validity of the proposed method. Our results using synthetic gravity data show that our new method predicts depth and density anomalies more efficiently and accurately than the traditional inversion method that does not include prior geological constraints. Then using observed gravity data in the Three Gorges area and geological constraint information, we obtained the density distribution of the upper and middle crust in this area thus revealing its geological structure. These results confirm the proposed method's validity and indicate its potential application for magnetism data inversion and exploration of geological structures.

Description: In general, observations are normally considered to refer to an epoch in time, however, observations take time. During this time span temporal variations of the observable alias the measurement. Similar phenomenon can be defined in the space domain as well: data treated to refer to a geographical location often contains integrated information of the surroundings. In each case the appropriate signal content can partially be recovered by desmoothing the averaged data. The present study delivers the theoretical foundation of a desmoothing method, and suggests its use on different applications in geodesy. The theoretical formulation of the desmoothing has been derived for 1-D and 2-D signals, the latter is interpreted on a plain and also on a sphere. The presented case studies are less elaborated, but intended to demonstrate the need and usefulness of the desmoothing tool.

Description: The static and transient deformations produced by earthquakes cause density perturbations which, in turn, generate immediate, long-range perturbations of the Earth's gravity field. Here, an analytical solution is derived for gravity perturbations produced by a point double-couple source in homogeneous, infinite, non-self-gravitating elastic media. The solution features transient gravity perturbations that occur at any distance from the source between the rupture onset time and the arrival time of seismic P waves, which are of potential interest for real-time earthquake source studies and early warning. An analytical solution for such prompt gravity perturbations is presented in compact form. We show that it approximates adequately the prompt gravity perturbations generated by strike-slip and dip-slip finite fault ruptures in a half-space obtained by numerical simulations based on the spectral element method. Based on the analytical solution, we estimate that the observability of prompt gravity perturbations within 10 s after rupture onset by current instruments is severely challenged by the background microseism noise but may be achieved by high-precision gravity strainmeters currently under development. Our analytical results facilitate parametric studies of the expected prompt gravity signals that could be recorded by gravity strainmeters.

Description: We interpreted the TRIDENT satellite derived gravity field to provide detailed insights into the spatial distribution of the crustal density structures in the area of the Yellow Sea. We used 3-D forward density modelling for the interpretation that incorporated constraints from existing geological and geophysical information. A gravity stripping method is used to separate out the gravity effects of different geological crustal structures. From this analysis we see that (1) the Gunsan sedimentary basin is isostatically compensated. (2) The satellite-derived Bouguer anomalies ranging from 15 to –30 x 10 –5 m s –2 are linked to basin thicknesses in the Yellow Sea. (3) The calculated Moho depth in the Yellow Sea varies from 27 km beneath the deep sedimentary basin to 34 km in the uplifted zones. (4) Moho depth calculations show two distinct areas, characterized by the deepest Moho depths and the largest crustal thicknesses in the Yellow Sea. The one region extends along the Qianliyan Uplift Zone from Jiaodong to Hongsung while the other area extends from southeastern China to Hongsung in the Korean peninsula. Compared to previous works we suggest that they are the part of the collisions zone between North and South China Blocks extending from China to the Korean peninsula via the Yellow Sea.

Description: In this study, we propose a method to determine dislocation Love numbers using co-seismic gravity changes from GRACE measurements. First, we present an observation equation to model GRACE observations taking into account the effect of ocean water mass redistribution. The L-curve method was used to determine the regulation parameter in the inversion of the geopotential dislocation Love numbers constrained by an a priori preliminary reference Earth (PREM) model. Then, the GRACE data error was estimated in the study area to evaluate the uncertainty of our inversion, and our inverted Love numbers are significantly deviated from the PREM ones even the uncertainty is considered. Finally, GRACE data observed for the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake ( M w  = 9.0) were used to estimate the gravity dislocation Love numbers, considering three different fault-slip models. The results show that the inverted dislocation Love numbers deviate from PREM model, especially for $k_{l1}^{32}$ and $k_{l0}^{33} - k_{l0}^{22}$ , which indicates that the inverted dislocation Love numbers can reflect the local structure that is different from the global average. This inconsistency is possibly because that the cold denser oceanic slab dives from the Japanese Trench into the softer asthenosphere, and then changes the local density here higher than the global average. And with these sets of Love numbers, we can invert for more accurate fault model and analyse focal rupture mechanism when some other earthquake in this area occurs in the future. This study provides a new approach to invert for dislocation Love numbers linked with local geological information.

Description: Sensitive instruments like strainmeters and tiltmeters are necessary for measuring slowly varying low amplitude Earth deformations. Nonetheless, laser and fibre interferometers are particularly suitable for interrogating such instruments due to their extreme precision and accuracy. In this paper, a practical design of a simple pendulum borehole tiltmeter based on laser fibre interferometric displacement sensors is presented. A prototype instrument has been constructed using welded borosilicate with a pendulum length of 0.85 m resulting in a main resonance frequency of 0.6 Hz. By implementing three coplanar extrinsic fibre Fabry-Perot interferometric probes and appropriate signal filtering, our instrument provides tilt measurements that are insensitive to parasitic deformations caused by temperature and pressure variations. This prototype has been installed in an underground facility (Rustrel, France) where results show accurate measurements of Earth strains derived from Earth and ocean tides, local hydrologic effects, as well as local and remote earthquakes. The large dynamic range and the high sensitivity of this tiltmeter render it an invaluable tool for numerous geophysical applications such as transient fault motion, volcanic strain and reservoir monitoring.

Description: Previous studies of Earth rotation perturbations due to ice-age loading have predicted a slow secular drift of the rotation axis relative to the surface geography (i.e. true polar wander, TPW) of order of several degrees over the Plio-Pleistocene. It has been argued that this drift and the change in the geographic distribution of solar insolation that it implies may have been responsible for important transitions in ice-age climate, including the termination of ice-age cycles.We use a revised rotational stability theory that incorporates a more accurate treatment of the Earth's background ellipticity to reconsider this issue, and demonstrate that the net displacement of the pole predicted in earlier studies disappears. This more muted polar motion is due to two factors: first, the revised theory no longer predicts the permanent shift in the rotation axis, or the so-called ‘unidirectional TPW’, that appears in the traditional stability theory; and, second, the increased background ellipticity incorporated in the revised predictions acts to reduce the normal mode amplitudes governing the motion of the pole. We conclude that ice-age-induced TPW was not responsible for the termination of the ice age. This does not preclude the possibility that TPW induced by mantle convective flow may have played a role in major Plio-Pleistocene climate transitions, including the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

Description: In the present work we illustrate a new local inversion algorithm to retrieve the Moho depth from GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) gravity field. In details the proposed procedure can be divided into two main steps: the first one consists in recognizing and isolating the different geological provinces in the study area by exploiting information coming from the GOCE global gravity field model. Once the main geological provinces are defined, a function relating the crust density of each province with depth is built and used to reduce the data. The gravitational effects of sediments, topography, bathymetry and upper mantle are also removed. In the second step the residual gravitational field is inverted to retrieve the Moho depth and some information on the crustal density. In particular, the clustering of geological province is performed by means of an automatic Bayesian classification algorithm while the inversion of GOCE residual field is performed by adapting the global algorithm developed in the framework of the GEMMA project to the local scale. The procedure, based on an iterative Wiener filter, allows to compute the Moho depth considering lateral as well as radial variations of crustal density. The algorithm has been applied to the fifth release of GOCE time-wise global gravity field model to infer information on the crustal structure in the Western Balkan area, that is, the region laying between Bulgaria and the Adriatic Sea. This region is one of the most complex and active, from the tectonic point of view, in the whole Europe and it is characterized by the presence of the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt, formed by the collision between the African and Eurasian plates, and by the opening of the Pannonian Basin. Results show a good agreement between the obtained geological provinces with the actual knowledge on the region. The resulting Moho depth ranges between about 20 km beneath the Adriatic Sea and 45 km in the Dinarides. Comparisons with available seismic data show differences smaller than 1 km (standard deviation).

Description: Moment accumulation rate (also referred to as moment deficit rate) is a fundamental quantity for evaluating seismic hazard. The conventional approach for evaluating moment accumulation rate of creeping faults is to invert for the slip distribution from geodetic measurements, although even with perfect data these slip-rate inversions are non-unique. In this study, we show that the slip-rate versus depth inversion is not needed because moment accumulation rate can be estimated directly from surface geodetic data. We propose an integral approach that uses dense geodetic observations from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) to constrain the moment accumulation rate. The moment accumulation rate is related to the integral of the product of the along-strike velocity and the distance from the fault. We demonstrate our methods by studying the Creeping Section of the San Andreas fault observed by GPS and radar interferometry onboard the ERS and ALOS satellites. Along-strike variation of the moment accumulation rate is derived in order to investigate the degree of partial locking of the Creeping Section. The central Creeping Segment has a moment accumulation rate of 0.25–3.1  x  10 15 Nm yr –1 km –1 . The upper and lower bounds of the moment accumulation rates are derived based on the statistics of the noise. Our best-fitting model indicates that the central portion of the Creeping Section is accumulating seismic moment at rates that are about 5 per cent to 23 per cent of the fully locked Carrizo segment that will eventually be released seismically. A cumulative moment budget calculation with the historical earthquake catalogue ( M  〉 5.5) since 1857 shows that the net moment deficit at present is equivalent to a M w 6.3 earthquake.