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GPS/Acoustic seafloor geodetic observation: method of data analysis and its application

Earth, Planets and Space volume 58, pages 265–275 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

We have been developing a system for detecting seafloor crustal movement by combining kinematic GPS and acoustic ranging techniques. A linear inversion method is adopted to determine the position of seafloor stations from coordinates of a moving survey vessel and measured travel times of acoustic waves in seawater. The positioning accuracy is substantially improved by estimating the temporal variation of the acoustic velocity structure. We apply our method to the ranging data acquired at the seafloor reference point, MYGI, located off Miyagi Prefecture, in northeast Japan, where a huge earthquake is expected to occur in the near future. A time series of horizontal coordinates of MYGI obtained from seven campaign observations for the period 2002–2005 exhibits a linear trend with a scattering rms of about 2 cm. A linear fit to the time series gives an intraplate crustal velocity of more than several centimeters per year towards the WNW, which implies strong interplate coupling around this region. The precision of each campaign solution was examined at MYGI and other seafloor reference points along the Nankai Trough through comparison of independent one-day subset solutions within the campaign. The resultant repeatability looks to be well-correlated with the temporal and spatial stability of the acoustic velocity structure in the seawater depending on the region as well as the season.

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Author notes

  1. Masato Katayama

    Present address: National Astronomical Observatory, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, Japan Coast Guard, 5-3-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan

    Masayuki Fujita, Tadashi Ishikawa, Mariko Sato, Shin-ichi Toyama, Masato Katayama, Koji Kawai, Yoshihiro Matsumoto & Tetsuichiro Yabuki

  2. Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan

    Masashi Mochizuki & Akira Asada

  3. G.E.S.T./NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 926, Greenbelt, Maryland, 20771, USA

    Oscar L. Colombo

Authors
  1. Masayuki Fujita
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  2. Tadashi Ishikawa
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  3. Masashi Mochizuki
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  4. Mariko Sato
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  5. Shin-ichi Toyama
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  6. Masato Katayama
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  7. Koji Kawai
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  8. Yoshihiro Matsumoto
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  9. Tetsuichiro Yabuki
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  10. Akira Asada
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  11. Oscar L. Colombo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masayuki Fujita.

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Fujita, M., Ishikawa, T., Mochizuki, M. et al. GPS/Acoustic seafloor geodetic observation: method of data analysis and its application. Earth Planet Sp 58, 265–275 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03351923

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03351923

Key words

  • GPS/Acoustic
  • seafloor geodetic observation
  • linear inversion
  • Off Miyagi
  • intraplate deformation