Crustal deformation and surface kinematics after the 2010 earthquakes in Latin America

Strong earthquakes cause large changes in the station positions and velocities of the geodetic reference stations; i.e., the global ITRF (International Terrestrial Reference Frame) and its regional densifications like SIRGAS (Sistema de Referencia Geocéntrico para Las Américas) in Latin America and the Caribbean. To ensure the long-term stability of the geodetic reference frames, the transformation of station positions between different epochs requires the computation of reliable continuous surface deformation (or velocity) models. This data set contains the new continental continuous crustal deformation model VEMOS2015 (Velocity Model for SIRGAS 2015) for Latin America and the Caribbean inferred from GNSS (GPS+GLONASS) measurements gained after the strong earthquakes occurred in 2010 in Chile and Mexico. It is based on a multi-year velocity solution for a network of 456 continuously operating GNSS stations covering a five years period from March 14, 2010 to April 11, 2015. VEMOS2015 is computed using the least square collocation (LSC) approach with empirically determined covariance functions.