An Analysis of the Crustal Deformation in the Yangtze River Delta Area Using Continuous GPS Observations

The GPS observations from 19 continuously operating reference stations distributed in the Yangtze River delta area from 2007 to 2013 were processed using the GAMIT/GLOBK software package, and the estimated coordinate time series were used to determine the velocities of reference stations in the ITRF2005 frame. Strain parameters and velocities relative to the Eura-Plate were also estimated. These results show that Yangtze River delta area moves at 33.97 mm·a^-1 in the NE 111.5° direction in the ITRF2005 frame, while the average horizontal velocity relative to the Eura-Plate is 9.36 mm·a^-1 in the direction of NE 85.6°. In the vertical direction, the maximum subsidence rate is 15.22 mm·a^-1, and the average rate of subsidence is 4.7 mm·a^-1. The maximum extension rate is 2.4×10^-9/a and with the compressing rate of 1.3×10^-9/a in the direction of N 119.4° E.