SIRGAS2000 STATION VELOCITIES ON THE CARIBBEAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN PLATES APPLYING UNAVCO AND VEMOS2009 MODELS

Abstract

This work is aimed at determining velocities of a set of SIRGAS2000 stations located in the Caribbean and South American plates, based on the different solutions provided by UNAVCO and VEMOS2009 models and calculations. Velocity vectors obtained from these models are used to transform the coordinates of the national and continental network stations, which will support new stations, once the observations from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are adjusted and transformed through the International Terrestrial Reference Framework (ITRF) in which they are ultimately expressed. Mean velocities of the SIRGAS2000 stations on the Caribbean plate in MORVEL2010 are 19.08 + / - 1.09 mm/year with an average azimuth of 87.93 and deviation + / - 8.15 degrees on the Caribbean plate, with rotational motion on the South American plate. The resulting components are 18.89 + / - 1.12 mm/year East and 0.70 + / - 2.68 mm year North. Over a ten-year period, these variations mean about 0.217 meters, which, unless considered, would impact large-scale cartographic production. Deviation ranges in velocity components and their azimuths may
correspond to effects typical of the tectonics prevailing in the region; therefore, it is justified for these countries to have a suitable official program to strengthen their geodesy networks.