Establishing the correlation between changes of absolute rotation poles of major tectonic plates based on continuous GNSS stations data

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to establish the correlation between the change of absolute rotation poles of major tectonic plates based on continuous GNSS stations data. The work investigates 2804 continuous GNSS stations located on Pacific, North American, Eurasian, African, Antarctic, Australian and South American plates during 2002-2021. The components of recent horizontal displacements of continuous GNSS stations have been determined and a map of their distribution pattern has been constructed. The absolute rotation pole in ITRF2014/IGS14 reference frame of the studied tectonic plates has been determined. The obtained values are in good agreement with modern plate models. The definition of average annual rotation poles has been developed and their analysis has been carried out to research the dynamics of their change in time. It has been established that the change in the average annual rotation poles of the North American, African and South American plates occurs synchronously, while their change is asynchronous to the Pacific plate. Simultaneous changes in the average annual rotation poles of Antarctic and African plates were have also been identified.