A new user-friendly tool for rapid modelling of ground deformation

Abstract

Inverting geodetic data, in particular the ground deformation measurements, currently represents a mandatory step when analysing volcanic and/or tectonic dynamics. Indeed, inversion of such data allows researchers to infer the geometry and mechanisms of volcanic sources or tectonic faults. Here, it is presented a user-friendly software tool with a graphical user interface for easy and rapid inversion of deformation data in volcanic and tectonic contexts. The software runs in the MATLAB framework and deals with most of station-based kinds of ground deformation data, allowing simultaneous inversions of different data using different optimization algorithms. The developed software implements most of the known and tested analytical models of deformation, and is able to invert simultaneously multiple deformation sources, even of different types. Thus, it can be considered as a multi-data multi-model inversion tool. The software is open source and freely released. The capability of the proposed software has been tested for a practical case study on Mt. Etna (Italy) to analyse the actual inflation period. It has been found that since middle 2014 the constant rate of recharging ranges between and m3 per day at a depth in the range of 5 and 7 km bsl. A further case of study has been addressed to show an application of rapid fault ruptures modelling for earthquakes that produce measurable ground displacements. The model obtained for the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha (Nepal) earthquake is consistent with the ones proposed in literature.