Physical Geodesy

This workgroup, led by Prof. Dr. Jonathan Bedford, focusses on identifying and characterizing transient plate tectonic motions on the minutes to decades timescale. For this we analyze mainly Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS/"GPS") data from specially-built tectonic grade permanent GNSS stations. We also consider a variety of in-situ and satellite geodetic data to model plate tectonic accelerations within the interacting Earth systems. We busy ourselves with time-series algorithm development, machine learning modelling, kinematic modelling, and GNSS station deployment activities.

Much of our current research is within the scope of the ERC funded project TectoVision. The end goal of this project is to bring us closer to realizing a global surveillance of plate tectonic accelerations, and therefore a better understanding of how plates move in the time between large earthquakes.