| The objective of this thesis is to conduct research on high-precision, continuous GPS monitoring of the crustal deformation in the northern Cascadia subduction zone, which is located in southwestern British Columbia and known to be one of the most seismically active regions in North America.;Although conventional geodetic measurements were made in the past showing a consistent deformation pattern in the region, these measurements have relatively large uncertainties. In contrast, GPS, as a modern geodetic technique, provides the best means for deformation monitoring: higher accuracy, lower cost, more efficient, and near-real time. The Western Canada Deformation Array (WCDA) is a GPS network designed to monitor the crustal deformation with high precision. It has been in operation since its establishment in the summer of 1992 and is still under development.;The daily data collected from the WCDA stations have been reduced using the CGPS22 software package and the precise orbits generated by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) or the International GPS Service for Geodynamics (IGS). A specific estimation strategy has been designed and different measurement models have been tested in order to achieve high accuracies. Based on the estimation strategy, 811 days of daily solutions spanning from September 1992 to April 1995 have been obtained and analyzed in particular. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
