GPS Time Series Research Articles

Vertical deformation analysis in Banda Arc deduced from GPS time series data 2008-2013

Banda arc is a product of complex interactions between the Eurasian, Australian, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates. As a result of this tectonic interaction, the Banda arc has undergone significant deformation of the crust, both in the horizontal and vertical directions. In this study, we performed a time-series data analysis of displacement in vertical components. A total of 16 permanents GPS observations from 2008 to 2013 were collected and analysed in this study. The GPS sites spread around the Banda arc area from Bali island in the south to Ambon in the north. This is the first research on vertical deformation analysis carried out in this area. The results of this study show that 3 GPS sites experience a subsidence, which are BANI, CAMB and CTOA, while the 13 others experience an uplift mechanism. The spatial pattern of vertical deformation obtained from this research will provide insight about tectonic conditions and can then be used as a basis for conducting seismic hazard analysis in the Banda arc.

A Joint Analysis of GPS Displacement and GRACE Geopotential Data for Simultaneous Estimation of Geocenter Motion and Gravitational Field

AbstractGravitational potential data from GRACE are being used to study mass redistribution within and between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and solid Earth. The GRACE data are made available in a reference frame with its origin at the center of mass of the Earth system (geocenter) while many other geophysical models and data sets refer to a reference frame attached to the Earth's surface. Changes in the offset between these reference frames (geocenter motion) must be accounted for when GRACE data are used to quantify surface mass changes. In this study, we developed a technique for co‐estimation of geocenter motion and gravitational potential field seamlessly from degree 1 to 90 by simultaneously inverting a set of globally‐distributed GPS displacement time series and the temporally‐varying GRACE gravity data. We found that the effect of geocenter motion was evident particularly in the GPS time series of horizontal displacements. Our estimates of geocenter motion are most consistent with the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) results within 1 mm in X and Z components and a submillimeter in Y component, when compared to monthly variability averaged over the period of 2003–2016. The overall magnitude of the degree‐1 (l = 1) surface mass load is estimated to be ~3 cm in equivalent water height annually migrating south‐westward from Europe (December–January) to the South Pacific (June–July). Our results also show that dense GPS network data improve water storage recovery in major river basins in the United States and Europe by contributing significantly to the recovery of higher‐degree (l ≥ ~20) geopotential coefficients.

Long-term and seasonal displacements inferred from the regional GPS coordinate time series: case study in Central China Hefei City

Analyzing the GPS coordinate time series plays an important role in the crustal deformation monitoring and surface mass variation interpretations. In this paper, we present the results of detailed studies concerning the analysis of the long-term GPS coordinate time series. We show what the characteristics of all stations is monitored and how to keep track of the variations for both horizontal and vertical components by using Lomb-Scargle periodogram method and Maximum Likelihood Estimation method. For the Hefei area, the horizontal components exhibit obvious linear trend, while the vertical components display significant seasonal fluctuations which can be approximated by a function of an annual and a semi-annual signal. Under the optimal noise models, there is a consistent southeast trend, with an average of 35.21 mm/yr in the direction of E20.91°S, in the horizontal components under the ITRF2014. The relative velocities between different stations are with variations of 0.5~1.5 mm/yr, and the southern stations indicate bigger relative velocities than the northern stations. The mean vertical velocity is 1.31 mm/yr, revealing an overall uplift for this area. Moreover, the vertical displacements from the surface loading models (SLMs) are computed to interpret the seasonal GPS vertical crustal deformations. There are good consistencies between the GPS and SLMs data. The solutions of the two different types of data are closely to each other, and the mean correlation coefficient is 0.55 between the GPS and SLMs displacement time series, demonstrating that the seasonal variations might originate from the same geophysical process. Our analysis can provide useful reference for comprehensive analysis of the regional GPS coordinate time series.

Field of coherence of GPS-measured earth tremors

A new method for investigating the coherence field of the noise component of high-frequency GPS time series is proposed. The method is applied to the main territory of the USA, which is characterized by a dense network of GPS stations. The data are presented in steps of 5 min from February 28, 2013, until June 29, 2019, on the Nevada Geodetic Laboratory Web site. The proposed method estimates the spatial distribution of the mean values of multiple coherence, calculated within nodes of a regular grid, between GPS coordinates of a given number of nearest operable stations and the periods at which the maximum values of coherence are reached. The two-dimensional probability density of the positions of places where the coherence maximum is most often realized is estimated. These estimates can be obtained for the entire history of observations and also in a sliding time window of a given length, which makes it possible to trace the dynamics of changes in time in the coherence field of the earth’s tremor. The entropy of the two-dimensional probability density of places of concentration of maximum values of coherence allows us to distinguish seasonal changes in the structure of the coherence field of GPS noise. To study the temporal dynamics, we use the auxiliary time series of changes in the maximum multiple coherence at 50 reference points located throughout the study area. The study of the coherence properties of this auxiliary 50-dimensional time series (“secondary coherence”) in a 180-day sliding time window highlighted a series of synchronization bursts of earth’s surface tremors.

The Parallel SBAS Approach for Sentinel-1 Interferometric Wide Swath Deformation Time-Series Generation: Algorithm Description and Products Quality Assessment

We present an advanced differential synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (DInSAR) processing chain, based on the Parallel Small BAseline Subset (P-SBAS) technique, for the efficient generation of deformation time series from Sentinel-1 (S-1) interferometric wide (IW) swath SAR data sets. We first discuss an effective solution for the generation of high-quality interferograms, which properly accounts for the peculiarities of the terrain observation with progressive scans (TOPS) acquisition mode used to collect S-1 IW SAR data. These data characteristics are also properly accounted within the developed processing chain, taking full advantage from the burst partitioning. Indeed, such data structure represents a key element in the proposed P-SBAS implementation of the S-1 IW processing chain, whose migration into a cloud computing (CC) environment is also envisaged. An extensive experimental analysis, which allows us to assess the quality of the obtained interferometric products, is presented. To do this, we apply the developed S-1 IW P-SBAS processing chain to the overall archive acquired from descending orbits during the March 2015-April 2017 time span over the whole Italian territory, consisting in 2740 S-1 slices. In particular, the quality of the final results is assessed through a large-scale comparison with the GPS measurements relevant to nearly 500 stations. The mean standard deviation value of the differences between the DInSAR and the GPS time series (projected in the radar line of sight) is less than 0.5 cm, thus confirming the effectiveness of the implemented solution. Finally, a discussion about the performance achieved by migrating the developed processing chain within the Amazon Web Services CC environment is addressed, highlighting that a two-year data set relevant to a standard S-1 IW slice can be reliably processed in about 30 h.The presented results demonstrate the capability of the implemented P-SBAS approach to efficiently and effectively process large S-1 IW data sets relevant to extended portions of the earth surface, paving the way to the systematic generation of advanced DInSAR products to monitor ground displacements at a very wide spatial scale.

Imaging rapid early afterslip of the 2016 Pedernales earthquake, Ecuador

High-Rate (HR) GPS time series following the 2016 Mw 7.8 Pedernales earthquake suggest significant postseismic deformation occurring in the early postseismic period (i.e. first few hours after the earthquake) that is not resolved with daily GPS time series. To understand the characteristics of early postseismic deformation, and its relationship with the mainshock rupture area, aftershocks and longer-term postseismic deformation, we estimate the spatio-temporal distribution of early afterslip with HR-GPS time series that span ∼2.5 min to 72 hr after the earthquake, and compare with afterslip models estimated with daily GPS time series spanning a similar postseismic time period and up to 30 days after the earthquake. Inversion of the HR-GPS time series enables us to image the initiation of afterslip in the initial hours after the earthquake, bringing us closer to the transition between the coseismic and postseismic phases. The spatial signature of early afterslip in the region updip of the mainshock rupture area is consistent with longer-term afterslip that occurs in the 30-day postseismic period, indicating that afterslip initiated updip of and adjacent to peak coseismic slip asperities, in two localised areas, and subsequently continued to grow in amplitude with time in these specific areas. A striking difference, however, is that inversion of the 72-hour HR-GPS time series suggests early afterslip within the mainshock rupture area, but which may have been short-lived. Finally, using the first daily GPS position as the origin of the postseismic displacement (here at 12 hr after the earthquake) biases the postseismic geodetic moment, with ∼60% missing over the first 72 hr, that corresponds to ∼10% over the first 30 days. The results of our study demonstrate that imaging the spatio-temporal evolution of afterslip using subdaily GPS time series is important for evaluating postseismic slip budgets, and provides additional insights into the postseismic slip behaviour of faults.

Anomalous transients in GPS measurements due to induced changes in local site conditions

Transients in GPS time series can occur due to post-seismic deformation, seasonal hydrological loads, sea-level changes, flood and drought conditions, excessive groundwater withdrawal and recharge, etc. We report two new cases where the application of external loading, namely, earthquake loading and surface loading due to impoundment of hydroelectric reservoir, probably altered the local hydrological conditions to cause anomalous transients in the surface displacement. In the first case, moderate shaking due to the 2015 Gorkha earthquake at Patna (Bihar, India) caused transients in ground deformation in the following 50–60 days of the earthquake which are recorded by a continuous GPS site at Patna. In the second case, impoundment of the Tehri reservoir and its seasonal variations in the Garhwal Himalaya probably altered the local hydrological conditions which is causing anomalous biannual cyclic deformation at a site KUNR, near the reservoir.

Analysis of deterministic and stochastic models of GPS stations in the crustal movement observation network of China

The Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) has been accumulating GPS observation data for nearly 20 years since its trial operation in March 1999. It is an important task to comprehensively utilize the existing data from different research organizations and institutes, which will be beneficial to the research field of geosciences. Focusing on GPS coordinate time series of 27 CMONOC stations, this paper analyses the change of its characteristics before and after land surface environmental loading corrections (ELCs) and further studies the effect of surface displacements derived from environmental loadings on deterministic and stochastic models in this long-term GPS coordinate time series. Results show that the annual periodic signal in environmental loading displacement series may reasonably explain the seasonal signals in the vertical components of CMONOC stations but fails to account for the annual variation in the horizontal components. After ELCs, velocity estimations of 63.0% of station components decrease, while velocity uncertainties have an increasing trend. Non-integer spectral indices of GPS coordinate time series have also changed, especially in the vertical component. The optimal noise models in 14.8% of station components have changed, and the two principal models are WN + FN and WN + PL. The amplitudes of white noise and random walk noise have not been weakened, while the amplitude of flicker noise in the vertical component has reduced by 17.8% on average. Velocity uncertainties have a certain linear correlation with annual average rainfall and latitudes of these CMONOC stations, and the correlation with latitudes is stronger than with rainfall. Through a comprehensive analysis of the deterministic and stochastic models contained in the GPS time series, we may gain a further understanding of the features of crustal deformation in China.

Slow Slip Event Detection in Cascadia Using Vertical Derivatives of Horizontal Stress Rates

AbstractWe present a new approach assuming elastic behavior at the Earth's surface to invert continuous GPS time series for Vertical Derivatives of Horizontal Stress rates. This approach enables detection of transient slow slip events at the Cascadia subduction zone. Vertical Derivatives of Horizontal Stress rates are the most spatially compact expression of surface deformation due to subsurface deformation sources (compared to GPS displacement/velocity fields, and strain rates), and enable identification of transient slip events and temporal evolution of locking on the interface throughout the slow slip cycle. Slow slip events (SSEs) identified by our method coincide spatially and temporally with tremor episodes, and agree well with SSEs identified by previous geodetic studies. We present daily slip models that fit the Vertical Derivatives of Horizontal Stress rates, showing phases of locking, unlocking, and SSEs on the subduction interface for the 2009–2015 period. Similar to previous studies, our results highlight along‐strike variations in SSEs and locking behavior from northern Cascadia to southern Cascadia. Between events, the SSE source zone in northern Cascadia appears to be completely locked. In contrast, we suggest that some fraction of plate motion in the SSE zone in central and southern Cascadia is accommodated by steady creep (or very small, frequent SSEs) between large SSE events. We observe rapid relocking of the interface (within weeks) following the end of most SSEs, with implications for the time scales of fault healing following deformation events. Our results present a promising approach to transient deformation detection, with a fine temporal and spatial resolution of the surface expression of deformation.

Assessment of geodetic velocities using GPS campaign measurements over long baseline lengths

Abstract. GPS campaign measurements are frequently used in order to determine geophysical phenomena such as tectonic motion, fault zones, landslides, and volcanoes. When observation duration is shorter, the accuracy of coordinates are degraded and the accuracy of point velocities are affected. The accuracies of the geodetic site velocities from a global network of International GNSS Service (IGS) stations were previously investigated using only PPP. In this study, we extend which site velocities will also be assessed, including fundamental relative positioning. PPP-derived results will also be evaluated to see the effect of reprocessed JPL products, single-receiver ambiguity resolution, repeating survey campaigns minimum 3 days at the site, and eliminating noisier solutions prior to the year 2000. To create synthetic GPS campaigns, 18 globally distributed, continuously operating IGS stations were chosen. GPS data were processed comparatively using GAMIT/GLOBK v10.6 and GIPSY-OASIS II v6.3. The data of synthetic campaign GPS time series were processed using a regression model accounting for the linear and seasonal variation of the ground motion. Once the velocities derived from 24 h sessions were accepted as the truth, the results from sub-sessions were compared with the results of 24 h and hypothesis testing was applied for the significance of the differences. The major outcome of this study is that on global scales (i.e. over long distances) with short observation sessions, the fundamental relative positioning produces results similar to PPP. The reliability of the velocity estimation for GPS horizontal baseline components has now been improved to about 85 % of the average for observation durations of 12 h.

Spatiotemporal Filtering and Noise Analysis for Regional GNSS Network in Antarctica Using Independent Component Analysis

The common mode error (CME) and optimal noise model are the two most important factors affecting the accuracy of time series in regional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) networks. Removing the CME and selecting the optimal noise model can effectively improve the accuracy of GNSS coordinate time series. The CME, a major source of error, is related to the spatiotemporal distribution; hence, its detrimental effects on time series can be effectively reduced through spatial filtering. Independent component analysis (ICA) is used to filter the time series recorded by 79 GPS stations in Antarctica from 2010 to 2018. After removing stations exhibiting strong local effects using their spatial responses, the filtering results of residual time series derived from principal component analysis (PCA) and ICA are compared and analyzed. The Akaike information criterion (AIC) is then used to determine the optimal noise model of the GPS time series before and after ICA/PCA filtering. The results show that ICA is superior to PCA regarding both the filter results and the consistency of the optimal noise model. In terms of the filtering results, ICA can extract multisource error signals. After ICA filtering, the root mean square (RMS) values of the residual time series are reduced by 14.45%, 8.97%, and 13.27% in the east (E), north (N), and vertical (U) components, respectively, and the associated speed uncertainties are reduced by 13.50%, 8.06% and 11.82%, respectively. Furthermore, different GNSS time series in Antarctica have different optimal noise models with different noise characteristics in different components. The main noise models are the white noise plus flicker noise (WN+FN) and white noise plus power law noise (WN+PN) models. Additionally, the spectrum index of most PN is close to that of FN. Finally, there are more stations with consistent optimal noise models after ICA filtering than there are after PCA filtering.

Slow slip events in the roots of the San Andreas fault.

Episodic tremor and accompanying slow slip are observed at the down-dip edge of subduction seismogenic zones. While tremors are the seismic signature of this phenomenon, they correspond to a small fraction of the moment released; thus, the associated fault slip can be quantified only by geodetic observations. On continental strike-slip faults, tremors have been observed in the roots of the Parkfield segment of the San Andreas fault. However, associated transient aseismic slip has never been detected. By making use of the timing of transient tremor activity and the dense Parkfield-area global positioning system network, we can detect deep slow slip events (SSEs) at 16-km depth on the Parkfield segment with an average moment equivalent to M w 4.90 ± 0.08. Characterization of transient SSEs below the Parkfield locked asperity, at the transition with the creeping section of the San Andreas fault, provides new constraints on the seismic cycle in this region.

Precursory Analysis of GPS Time Series for Seismic Hazard Assessment

We discuss the use of fractal analysis of geophysical big data as a precursory method for the estimation of current seismic hazard. We begin by analyzing GPS time series of land surface displacements recorded in various regions of the planet exhibiting different degrees of seismic activity. We show how the quantitative measure of chaoticity based on a modified detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) method can be used to distinguish critical and noncritical regimes of evolution of the Earth’s crust. Having established the reference values for the measure of chaoticity, we then choose California as the case study region and apply modified DFA to over 1200 time series for determining local areas currently exposed to higher seismic hazard. We comprehensively analyze the results obtained and compare them with those produced by conventional risk assessment methods. We demonstrate consistency of our results and yet discover that the suggested approach allows us to quantify two qualitatively different mechanisms involved in the growth of seismic hazards. We propose a hypothesis which relates these mechanisms to the known mechanisms of earthquake generation that evince a growth of collective behavior in the Earth’s crust on the eve of an earthquake. In order to verify the hypothesis, we analyze the same GPS data by an independent statistical method, canonical coherence analysis (CCA), which permits us to quantify the degree of synchronized behavior of constituents of the Earth’s crust. The CCA method confirms our previously obtained estimates, thus supporting fractal analysis of GPS time series as a suitable precursory method for current seismic hazard assessment.

Downscaling Vertical GPS Observations to Derive Watershed‐Scale Hydrologic Loading in the Northern Rockies

AbstractGPS time series of vertical displacement include the elastic response of the Earth to a combination of regional and local loading signals arising from hydrologic mass transfer. The regional loading, controlled by seasonal, synoptic precipitation patterns, dominates the displacement of individual stations and is highly correlated among stations with separation distances from 10 to 300 km. The local loading, controlled by small‐scale precipitation and storage variability, has much shorter correlation lengths of <30 km. We develop a new method to separate the regional and local contributions using common mode analysis and show that GPS is capable of measuring the local hydrologic load changes at watershed scales of tens of kilometers. Using this methodology, GPS‐measured displacement provides an integrated measurement of hydrologic load at a spatial scale between the existing long‐wavelength resolution of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment and point measurement resolution of a precipitation station. Thus, GPS time series record critical observations for monitoring integrated hydrologic budgets at scales useful for water management and assessment of the hydro‐ecological response to climate change.

Measurement of terrestrial radiation level in a neotectonic fault system in Trinidad

Present study area, which is located in the Central Range Fault (CRF) in the island of Trinidad, can provide solution to that problem as this strike-slip fault system is reported to be active in present time (during Holocene, most current geological epoch) with a movement of geodetic rate of 12 ± 3 mm/yr. Most recent work, with improved GPS time series analysis indicated that as creeping fault rather than locked fault. Moreover, the selected fault system is accompanied by mud volcanoes, which can amplify the level of radiation activity by slight but significant anomalies as described by some researchers from other areas. Furthermore, being one of the first environmental radiation study in the Caribbean Islands, this study is significant. With the aim to achieve a continuous monitoring of radiological data to assess the activity along CRF for possible earthquake forecasting, objectives of this preliminary investigation are to delineate CRFZ using radiation survey and to investigate the potential of using this survey to detect tectonic activities in this zone. As a pilot study, radiation measurements were carried out with the help of a portable Geiger Muller counter in 52 locations along the 25 km long section of CRF between Naved Dam and Pointe-a-Pierre. Radiation measurements were taken both at 1 m level above the surface and at nearly 1 m below the ground. Results from this pilot study showed that lithology was not the lone contributor to terrestrial radiation levels, as CRFZ and associated fissure plane have good control also (∼3–5 times higher than the average background level). Although present study was not able to indicate the possibility of earthquakes in recent times (as previously stated), however, elevated radiation values in the vicinity of CRF, associated fissures (possibly interconnected fractures) and active mud volcanoes indicate possible activity in the study area. However, detail and periodic radiological studies are required before concluding that CRF is a creep fault rather than a locked fault.

STOCHASTIC MODEL OF THE BRAZILIAN GPS NETWORK COORDINATES TIME SERIES

Abstract It is well known that daily estimates of GPS coordinates are highly temporally correlated and that the knowledge and understanding of this correlation allows to establish more realistic uncertainties of the parameters estimated from the data. Despite this, there are currently no studies related to the analysis and calculation of the noise sources in geodetic time series in Brazil. In this context, this paper focuses on the investigation of the stochastic properties of a total of 486 coordinates time series from 159 GPS stations belonging to the Brazilian Network for Continuous Monitoring of GNSS (RBMC) using the maximum likelihood estimation approach. To reliably describe the GPS time series, we evaluate 4 possible stochastic models as models of each time series: 3 models with integer spectral indices (white noise, flicker plus white noise and random-walk plus white noise model) and 1 with fractional spectral index (fractional power-law plus white noise). By comparing the calculated noise content values for each model, it is possible to demonstrate a stepwise increase of the noise content, being the combination of a fractional power-law process and white noise process, the model with smaller values and the combination of random walk process with white noise process, the model with greater values. The analysis of the spatial distribution of the noise values of the processes allow demonstrate that the GPS sites with the highest accumulated noise values, coincide with sites located in coastal zones and river basins and that their stochastic properties can be aliased by the occurrence of different physical signals typical of this type of zones, as the case of the hydrological loading effect.

Offset detection in GPS position time series using multivariate analysis

Proper analysis and subsequent interpretation of GPS position time series is an important issue in many geodetic and geophysical applications. The GPS position time series can possibly be contaminated by some abrupt changes, called offsets, which can be well compensated for in the functional model. An appropriate offset detection method requires proper specification of both functional and stochastic models of the series. Ignoring colored noise will degrade the performance of the offset detection algorithm. We first introduce the univariate analysis to identify possible offsets in a single time series. To enhance the detection ability, we then introduce the multivariate analysis, which considers the three coordinate components, north, east and up, simultaneously. To test the performance of the proposed algorithm, we use synthetic daily time series of three coordinate components emulating real GPS time series. They consist of a linear trend, seasonal periodic signals, offsets and white plus colored noise. The average detection power on individual components, either north, east or up, are 32.3 and 47.2% for the cases of white noise only and white plus flicker noise, respectively. The detection power of the multivariate analysis increases to 70.8 and 87.1% for the above two cases. This indicates that ignoring flicker noise, existing in the structure of the time series, leads to lower offset detection performance. It also indicates that the multivariate analysis is more efficient than the univariate analysis for offset detection in the sense that the three coordinate component time series are simultaneously used in the offset detection procedure.

Transient crustal deformation from karst aquifers hydrology in the Apennines (Italy)

The increasing accuracy and spatiotemporal resolution of space geodetic techniques have positively impacted the study of shallow crustal deformation in response to the redistribution of water masses. Measurable deformations have been documented in areas where snow and water variability is large and persists over sufficiently long periods. Here we analyze GPS time series and hydrological data from the Central-Southern Apennines, a tectonically-active region hosting large karst aquifers. We document the occurrence of regional-scale horizontal and vertical transient deformation that is clearly correlated to seasonal and multiyear hydrological variability. These transient signals, which are most strongly observed at GPS sites surrounding the main karst aquifers, modulate long term tectonic deformation. Our results suggest that the karst aquifers in this region experience alternating periods of expansion and contraction in response to increasing/decreasing precipitation and, consequently, higher/lower hydraulic head in the aquifers. Thanks to the availability of a dense continuous GPS network and complementary hydrological datasets, we are able to verify the processes causing the observed deformation. We model the shallow crust in the region as a continuous anelastic solid and use Green's functions for finite strain cuboid sources to estimate the strain rate distribution associated with the GPS observations. We use the Mw 6.1 L'Aquila earthquake, which struck the Central Apennines in 2009 and whose effects are evident in geodetic data, to document the potential effects of moderate earthquakes on karst aquifers and to demonstrate the importance of correctly discerning tectonic from nontectonic signals in geodetic time series. Enhanced understanding of the karst aquifers behavior is of primary interest for improved management of this vital water resource and for a better understanding of the possible interactions between groundwater content and pore pressure variations in the crust and seismicity.

Modelling the elevation-dependent seasonal amplitude of tropospheric delays in GPS time-series using DInSAR and meteorological data

This research is supported by the NSERC Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) grant, ’Real-time ground motion tools for seismic hazard management’. The work of KFT was supported by an NSERC Discovery Grant.

Automatic Detection and Estimation of Coseismic and Postseismic Deformation in GPS Time Series

Once an earthquake occurs, nearby GPS stations are able to capture the coseismic and post-seismic deformation which is critic for the geoscience research and maintenance of the dynamitic reference frame, thus to identify and estimate them is also an important part of the GPS time series analysis. The comprehensive inspection method to automatic detect and estimate coseismic and postseismic deformation is proposed and employed here, which models the GPS time series and comprehensively considers coseismic offsets and their coherence from different sources, and RMS improvement to decide if the station is affected by an earthquake. If it is, trail-and-error is used to search the best decay time and then all parameters including coseismic and postseismic deformations are estimated through linear least squares method. Earthquake examples account for the effectiveness of the proposed method.