Modeling 3D crustal velocities in the vicinities of Alaska and the Bering sea

Richard A. Snay; Jeffrey T. Freymueller; Michael L. Dennis

doi:10.1515/jag-2023-0004

Article

Modeling 3D crustal velocities in the vicinities of Alaska and the Bering sea

Richard A. Snay , Jeffrey T. Freymueller and Michael L. Dennis

Published/Copyright: June 27, 2023

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From the journal Journal of Applied Geodesy Volume 17 Issue 4

Abstract

This document introduces Version 0.4 of the TRANS4D software, where TRANS4D is short for Transformations in Four Dimensions. TRANS4D enables geospatial professionals and others to transform three-dimensional positional coordinates across time and among several popular terrestrial reference frames. Version 0.4 introduces new crustal velocity models for the vicinities of Alaska and the Bering Sea, including parts of northwestern Canada and eastern Russia. These new models supplement existing velocity models for the continental United States as well as for most of Canada and for a neighborhood of the Caribbean plate. This document also provides evidence for the existence of a Bering tectonic plate, and it presents estimates for the Euler-pole parameters of this hypothesized plate. Moreover, estimated horizontal velocities computed at several geodetic stations located in Alaska provide evidence for the existence of part of the plate boundary separating the North American plate and the hypothesized Bering plate.

Keywords: glacial isostatic deformation; tectonic deformation; transforming 3-D positional coordinate across time

Corresponding author: Richard A. Snay, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey, 427 Homewood Circle, Frederick, MD 21702, USA, E-mail: rssnay@aol.com

Funding source: NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey

Award Identifier / Grant number: N/A

Acknowledgment

The authors thank the many people and institutions that were involved in collecting and/or processing the geodetic data included in this study. The authors also thank Jarir Saleh who developed much of the software encoded into TRANS4D, and they thank Tony Lowry, Richard Bennett, and Phillip McFarland for suggestions that improved the presentation of this paper significantly. The paper was supported in part by the National Geodetic Survey. The figures have been drawn using Generic Mapping Tools [27]. Version 0.4 of the TRANS4D software and this software’s documentation may be obtained by submitting a request via email to rssnay@aol.com.

Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2023-02-04

Accepted: 2023-05-21

Published Online: 2023-06-27

Published in Print: 2023-10-26

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https://doi.org/10.1515/jag-2023-0004

Keywords for this article

glacial isostatic deformation; tectonic deformation; transforming 3-D positional coordinate across time