Active tectonics in Northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) inferred from the integration of GPS data and geologic setting.

Abstract

A semi-permanent global positioning system (GPS) network of 30 vertices known as the Victoria Land Network for Deformation Control (VLNDEF) was set-up in the Austral summer of 1998 in Northern Victoria Land (NVL), including Terra Nova Bay (TNB), Antarctica. The locations were selected according to the known Cenozoic fault framework that is characterized by a system of NW-SE regional faults with right-lateral, strike-slip kinematics. The TNB1 permanent GPS station is within the VLNDEF, and following its installation on a bedrock monument in October 1998 it has been recording almost continuously. The GPS network has been surveyed routinely every two summers, using high-quality, dual-frequency GPS receivers. In this study, we present the results of a distributed session approach applied to the processing of the GPS data of the VLNDEF. An improved reference frame definition was implemented, including a new Euler pole, to compute the Antarctic intra-plate residual velocities. The projection of the residual velocities on the main faults in NVL show present-day activities for some faults, including the Tucker, Leap Year, Lanterman, Aviator, and David faults, with rightlateral strike-slip kinematics and local extensional/ compressional components. This active fault pattern divides NVL into eight rigid blocks, each characterized by their relative movements and rigid rotations. These show velocities of up to several mm/yr, which are comparable to those predicted by plate tectonic theory at active plate margins.