Transient deformation from daily GPS displacement time series: postseismic deformation, ETS and evolving strain rates

Detection of time-dependent crustal deformation relies on the availability of accurate surface displacements, proper time series analysis to correct for secular motion, coseismic and non-tectonic instrument offsets, periodic signatures at different frequencies, and a realistic estimate of uncertainties for the parameters of interest. As part of the NASA Solid Earth Science ESDR System (SESES) project, daily displacement time series are estimated for about 2500 stations, focused on tectonic plate boundaries and having a global distribution for accessing the terrestrial reference frame. The "combined" time series are optimally estimated from independent JPL GIPSY and SIO GAMIT solutions, using a consistent set of input epoch-date coordinates and metadata. The longest time series began in 1992; more than 30% of the stations have experienced one or more of 35 major earthquakes with significant postseismic deformation. Here we present three examples of time-dependent deformation that have been detected in the SESES displacement time series. (1) Postseismic deformation is a fundamental time-dependent signal that indicates a viscoelastic response of the crust/mantle lithosphere, afterslip, or poroelastic effects at different spatial and temporal scales. It is critical to identify and estimate the extent of postseismic deformation in both space and time not only for insight into the crustal deformation and earthquake cycles and their underlying physical processes, but also to reveal other time-dependent signals. We report on our database of characterized postseismic motions using a principal component analysis to isolate different postseismic processes. (2) Starting with the SESES combined time series and applying a time-dependent Kalman filter, we examine episodic tremor and slow slip (ETS) in the Cascadia subduction zone. We report on subtle slip details, allowing investigation of the spatiotemporal relationship between slow slip transients and tremor and their underlying physical mechanisms. (3) We present evolving strain dilatation and shear rates based on the SESES velocities for regional subnetworks as a metric for assigning earthquake probabilities and detection of possible time-dependent deformation related to underlying physical processes.