GPS Results from Long Time Monitoring of Geodynamic Processes in South-Western Bulgaria

Abstract

Monitoring of geodynamic processes by modern GNSS techniques in the area of Sofia and South-Western Bulgaria has continued for 25 years. To study the modern crustal movements in the area, Global Positioning System (GPS) data acquired between 1996 and 2021 are analyzed to obtain the velocity field for South-Western Bulgaria. For a time period of almost 25 years, the monitoring has covered 28 stations. They have been measured in different years and in a number of campaigns. Despite the difference in the measurements, the obtained results are quite homogeneous in the different localities of the studied area and show clear uniform tendencies. All velocities are in the southern direction. They are in the range of 1.5 mm/year to slightly over 3 mm/year, almost reaching 4 mm/year. The velocities of the stations tend to increase from north (stations around Sofia), passing through an intermediate locality (between Sofia and Kyustendil–Pazardhik), clearly increasing in the southernmost part of the country (around Gotse Delchev). This velocity field motivates N–S expressed extension with increasing rates from North to South. The difference in the velocity rates tends to change along geologically suggested active fault zones. The obtained results generally confirm previously data, but with much better accuracy and details at the local level. This way, both the repeated measurements and extension of the geodynamic network prove to be a powerful tool for a better understanding of present-day geodynamics.