The INGV-CNT crustal motion map for the Euro-Mediterranean region

Abstract

Several thousands GPS/GNSS permanent stations, managed by both scientifc and cadastral institutions, are now available on the European plate and its boundaries. Data coming from these stations provide unprecedented spatial and temporal coverage of time-dependent deformation signals essential to understand the fundamental physics that govern tectonic deformation and faulting. The National Earthquake Center (Centro Nazionale Terremoti, CNT) of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, INGV) in Italy, is the Italian leader institution for the collection, management and scientific analysis of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) measurements. Distinct analysis centers independently and routinely process and analyze data using high-quality geodetic software (Bernese, Gamit, Gipsy) to measure the movements of >1000 points spanning the Eurasian plate and its boundaries. The goal of this project is to offer high-quality geodetic products, increase their accessibility to the European scientific community and promote the inter-disciplinary data exchange through a multi-level, user-friendly data gateway. These activities will be performed in strict contact with the GNSS Working Group of the EPOS project (http://www.eposeu.org) that is proposing to integrate, archive and distribute data, metadata and products for available GNSS stations on the European plate.