University of Miami GPS Volcano Monitoring Data on Surface Deformation

Data beginning April 20, 1994, from the University of Miami's GPS monitoring of the CASA station at Mammoth Lakes, California. The dataset includes absolute and relative positions for three sites (CASA, GOLD, QUIN) in the ITRF92 reference frame, with coordinates, errors, and baseline components. Analysis strategies evolved over time, including changes to orbit estimation, station count, and data types used.

Use Cases

• Modeling volcanic surface deformation based on GPS coordinate time series.
• Analyzing baseline changes between monitoring stations (e.g., QUINCASA.NEV) for tectonic studies.
• Assessing data accuracy by comparing daily results to ITRF92 coordinates as indicated in STATION.DIFF.
• Studying the impact of analysis strategy changes (e.g., orbit estimation, P-code use) on GPS position solutions.

Strengths

• Data includes a specific start date (April 20, 1994) and documents analysis strategy changes on specific dates (e.g., June 1, 1994; July 1, 1994; Feb. 1, 1995).
• Provides multiple coordinate representations (XYZ, geocentric) and relative baseline components with formal errors and correlations.
• Describes a clear methodology for transforming results into the ITRF92 reference frame using 6 to 10 collocated sites.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality, file formats, and completeness require manual inspection after download.
• Row count, file size, and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

University of Miami, accessed via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

GPS data collected from permanent station CASA at Mammoth Lakes, California, and processed with GIPSY software from JPL.

Time Range

Beginning April 20, 1994.

Freshness

Last updated is unknown.

Geography

Primary site: Mammoth Lakes, California, USA. Reference sites include Goldstone and Quincy.