Evaluation of the GSRM2.1 and the NUVEL1-A values in Europe using SLR and VLBI based geodetic velocity fields

Abstract

The NUVEL1-A is one of the old and popular plate tectonic models. While the NUVEL1-A is a geological-based model, recently a model has been proposed (GSRM2.1 model) which is based on the results of space geodetic techniques. In this work, we investigate the consistency of these models with the VLBI and SLR results in Europe. Direction and magnitude of the horizontal motion from NUVEL-1A and GSRM2.1 models are compared with corresponding values from both geodetic techniques. This comparison provides valuable deductions such as: (1) The values of geodetic-based model (GSRM2.1) show better agreement with SLR and VLBI results (2) In each comparison between geodetic results and modelled values, direction divergence is larger than magnitude difference.