Facility Support: Continued capture of postseismic deformation using GPS instrumentation on the Andaman Islands due to the great 2004 and 2012 earthquakes

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1531682PuchakayalaThis grant supports one year of continued operations and maintenance of a five-receiver, continuously operating GPS network in the Andaman Islands that was established soon after the 2004 Boxing Day (December 26) mega earthquake (Mw 9.3) near Sumatra that resulted in over 200,000 casualties across the region largely resultant the tsunami that was generated. GPS data collected from this network can be used to address a fundamental yet unresolved debate about crustal deformation following very large earthquakes, namely whether fault afterslip or viscoelastic relaxation of the crust and upper mantle are the main driving forces of observed postseismic transient deformation. The Boxing Day 2004 earthquake is arguably one of the three most important earthquakes available for modern geodetic study in the historical record. Continuity of GPS observations can result in advanced knowledge of the earthquake deformation cycle and fault behavior that has tremendous potential benefit for hazards mitigation in seismogenically active areas of the world including the U.S. Data from this GPS network have been and would continue to be made freely available through the UNAVCO GPS Data archive. Operation of the network would involve collaboration with scientists and staff at a local academic institution (JNCASR, Bangalore). This support is congruent with NSFs mission of promoting the progress of science and may advance the national prosperity and welfare through advancing knowledge of the earthquake cycle and promoting sound earthquake hazard mitigation strategies.***