Vertical Land Movements and Sea Level Changes on South Georgia, South Atlantic Ocean: Results from 7 Years of Geodetic and Oceanographic Observations on a Remote Island

Scientific Conference (2020, December 16)

South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is a small remote land mass that supports various ground-based instrumental observations (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), tide gauge ... [more ▼]

South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is a small remote land mass that supports various ground-based instrumental observations (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), tide gauge, meteorological and seismic) in an otherwise largely under sampled oceanic region. Moreover, the South Atlantic Ocean plays an important role in global ocean circulation, con-necting the deep thermohaline circulation of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans, whilst also linking to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the South, where the lack of continental barriers allows a free exchange of water between the major ocean basins. Hence, South Georgia po-tentially lies within a region susceptible to climatic changes before these can be felt further afield. In 2013 and 2014 a total of five GNSS stations were installed covering the area of the main island (approximately 170 x 50 km) with two of those being located close to the King Edward Point (KEP) Research Station and the GLOSS tide gauge (ID 187). Furthermore, precise levelling campaigns in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2020 supported the analysis of local ground instabilities near the tide gauge. Through these activities the tide gauge datum within the Permanent Ser-vice for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) has been established, which in turn, makes the derived KEP mean sea level (MSL) record highly valuable for long-term studies and satellite altimetry cali-brations. In this study, we will present the vertical land movement estimates from seven years of GNSS observations, five precise levelling campaigns, and will discuss their impact on the sea level record from the KEP tide gauge and nearby satellite altimetry sea surface heights. Our results confirm uplift all over South Georgia Island while the area at KEP and particularly the jetty with tide gauge are subsiding relative to the rest of the island. Using this information we correct the MSL record for the vertical land movements and investigate its signals together with those from nearby satellite altimetry tracks. [less ▲]

Present-Day Land and Sea Level Changes around South Georgia Island: Results from Precise Levelling, GNSS, Tide Gauge and Satellite Altimetry Measurements

Scientific Conference (2019, July 25)

South Georgia Island, the main land outcrop on the South Georgia microcontinent (SGM), is located approximately 1,400 km east of the Falkland Islands and approximately 1,400 km northeast of the ... [more ▼]

South Georgia Island, the main land outcrop on the South Georgia microcontinent (SGM), is located approximately 1,400 km east of the Falkland Islands and approximately 1,400 km northeast of the northernmost tip of the Antarctic peninsular. The SGM is believed to lie south of the North Scotia Ridge (NSR), which forms the boundary to the South America Plate, while to the south it is bordered by the Scotia Plate (SP). In its sub-Antarctic location, the island is largely covered by mountain glaciers which have been reported to be retreating due to climatic change. Furthermore, during past glaciation periods the island and its shelf area, stretching much of the SGM, have been ice covered as was revealed by scarring of the sub-oceanic topography. Together with ongoing tectonics along the NSR and recent seismicity at the SP boundary, these processes have the ability to produce significant uplift on local to regional scales. With its mid-ocean location in the Southern Atlantic Ocean South Georgia Island is in a key position for the oceanic and geodetic global monitoring networks. As these net-works suffer from a Hemisphere imbalance with the number of stations in the Northern Hemisphere outnumbering those in the Southern Hemisphere, operating these stations to the highest standards is of key scientific value. It is of particular interest to monitor the tide gauge (GLOSS ID 187) at King Edward Point (KEP) for vertical land movements to establish a continuous record of its datum within the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL), which in turn makes it useful for long-term sea level studies and satellite altimetry calibrations. With the establishment of five GNSS stations on the islands by teams from Luxembourg, the UK and the USA during 2013 to 2015, and the scientific analysis of these data within a global network of stations, it has now become possible to study present-day vertical land movements and their impacts. Furthermore, together with four precise levelling campaigns of the KEP benchmark network in 2013, 2014 and two in 2017, it has also been possible to investigate the very local character of the vertical motions near KEP, i.e. the stability of the jetty upon which the tide gauge is mounted. In this study, we will present the still preliminary results from the GNSS and levelling measurements and will discuss their impact on the sea level record from the KEP tide gauge. Our measurements show that while South Georgia Island and the area around KEP are rising, the jetty and tide gauge are subsiding, leading to a lower magnitude of the observed sea level change than expected from satellite altimetry. In order to improve the agreement between these measurements both local and regional vertical land movements need to be monitored. [less ▲]

Near Field Dynamic, Co-seismic and Post-seismic Deformations Associated with the 2013, M7.8, and 2003, M7.6, South Scotia Ridge Earthquakes Observed with GPS

Poster (2014, September)

The South Scotia Ridge (SSR) left-lateral transform/strike-slip (S-S) fault defines the Scotia plate’s (SP) southern boundary separating it from the Powell Basin (PB), South Orkney Microcontinent (SOM ... [more ▼]

The South Scotia Ridge (SSR) left-lateral transform/strike-slip (S-S) fault defines the Scotia plate’s (SP) southern boundary separating it from the Powell Basin (PB), South Orkney Microcontinent (SOM), and the Weddell Sea sections of the Antarctic plate (AP). The SP developed as a space filling accommodation zone for S. America-Antarctica relative motions, mostly during the last 40 m.y. The SSR also hosts several restraining and releasing bends. The SP, PB and SOM have complex evolution histories including large-scale displacement and stretching of the SOM, as well as other continental fragments within the SP, all of which were incorporated into a background of changing sea floor spreading geometries. The SOM defines an ~300 km segment of the SSR opposite a section of the SP that is primarily oceanic crust with a few small, stretched continental fragments. Two large earthquakes, M7.6 and 7.8, with aftershock zones largely confined to the northern SOM boundary, occurred on the SSR in 2003 and 2013. Moment tensor solutions show they occurred on faults dipping ~30 and 45° to the south. The 2013 event was almost pure, left-lateral strike-slip, while the 2003 event was oblique but predominantly strike-slip. This is an unusual combination of fault dip and slip direction for a strike-slip plate boundary. The half duration of both events is also relatively long. A continuous GPS (CGPS) station on Laurie Island is located immediately west of the rupture zone of the 2003 event and at the approximate center, and close to the surface projection, of the finite fault models for the 2013 earthquake. We present co-seismic static offsets and post-seismic transients for both earthquakes from GPS daily position estimates. In addition, the CGPS station now records at 1 Hz and we present the GPS displacement seismogram for the 2013 event. This record contains a complex signal that includes the passage of the Love and Rayleigh surface waves, with max displacements of ~70 cm, over an ~80 second time interval during which a ~50 cm static offset developed. [less ▲]