Fifteen Years of Continuous High-Resolution Borehole Strainmeter Measurements in Eastern Taiwan: An Overview and Perspectives

As one of the most sensitive instruments for deformation monitoring in geophysics, borehole strainmeter has the capability to record a large spectrum of tectonic and environmental signals. Sensors are usually deployed near active faults and volcanoes and provide high-resolution continuous recordings of seismic and aseismic signals, hydrological variations (rainfall, groundwater level) and natural hazards (tropical cyclones, landslides, tsunamis). On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the installation of the first Sacks–Evertson borehole strainmeter, in central Japan, we present an overview of the major scientific contributions and advances enabled by borehole strainmeter measurements in Taiwan since their installation in the mid 2000s. We also propose a set of future research directions that address recent challenges in seismology, hydrology and crustal strain modeling

High-resolution gravity and geoid models in Tahiti obtained from new airborne and land gravity observations: data fusion by spectral combination

International audienceFor the first time, we carry out an airborne gravity survey and we collect new land gravity data over the islands of Tahiti and Moorea in French Polynesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The new land gravity data are registered with GPS-derived coordinates, network-adjusted and outlier-edited, resulting in a mean standard error of 17 μGal. A crossover analysis of the airborne gravity data indicates a mean gravity accuracy of 1.7 mGal. New marine gravity around the two islands is derived from Geosat/GM, ERS-1/GM, Jason-1/GM, and Cryosat-2 altimeter data. A new 1-s digital topography model is constructed and is used to compute the topographic gravitational effects. To use EGM08 over Tahiti and Moorea, the optimal degree of spherical harmonic expansion is 1500. The fusion of the gravity datasets is made by the band-limited least-squares collocation, which best integrates datasets of different accuracies and spatial resolutions. The new high-resolution gravity and geoid grids are constructed on a 9-s grid. Assessments of the grids by measurements of ground gravity and geometric geoidal height result in RMS differences of 0.9 mGal and 0.4 cm, respectively. The geoid model allows 1-cm orthometric height determination by GPS and Lidar and yields a consistent height datum for Tahiti and Moorea. The new Bouguer anomalies show gravity highs and lows in the centers and land-sea zones of the two islands, allowing further studies of the density structure and volcanism in the region

Onsala Space Observatory – IVS Network Station Activities during 2017—2018

During 2017 and 2018 we participated in 88 legacy S/X sessions with the Onsala 20 m telescope. Additionally, we observed a number of VGOS test sessions with one or both of the Onsala twin telescopes

Quantifying sediment mass redistribution from joint time-lapse gravimetry and photogrammetry surveys

The accurate quantification of sediment mass redistribution is central to the study of surface processes, yet it remains a challenging task. Here we test a new combination of terrestrial gravity and drone photogrammetry methods to quantify sediment mass redistribution over a 1 km2 area. Gravity and photogrammetry are complementary methods. Indeed, gravity changes are sensitive to mass changes and to their location. Thus, by using photogrammetry data to constrain this location, the sediment mass can be properly estimated from the gravity data. We carried out three joint gravimetry–photogrammetry surveys, once a year in 2015, 2016 and 2017, over a 1 km^2 area in southern Taiwan, featuring both a wide meander of the Laonong River and a slow landslide. We first removed the gravity changes from non-sediment effects, such as tides, groundwater, surface displacements and air pressure variations. Then, we inverted the density of the sediment with an attempt to distinguish the density of the landslide from the density of the river sediments. We eventually estimate an average loss of 3.7 \ub1 0.4  7 10^9 kg of sediment from 2015 to 2017 mostly due to the slow landslide. Although the gravity devices used in this study are expensive and need week-long surveys, new instrumentation currently being developed will enable dense and continuous measurements at lower cost, making the method that has been developed and tested in this study well-suited for the estimation of erosion, sediment transfer and deposition in landscapes

Monitoring of groundwater redistribution in a karst aquifer using a superconducting gravimeter

Geodetic tools monitor the earth’s deformation and gravity field. They are presently sensitive enough to record subtle changes triggered by hydrological processes, thus providing complementary data to standard hydrological measurements. Among these tools, superconducting gravimeter (SG) have proven useful to unravel groundwater redistribution, which significantly alter the gravity field. In the frame of the EquipEx MIGA (Matter wave-laser based Interferometer Gravitation Antenna) project, one SG (iOSG-24) was set up in July 2015 in the Low-noise Underground Laboratory (LSBB) at Rustrel, France, in a gallery located 500 m beneath the surface. In this work, we analyse the underground iOSG-24 gravity time series together with hydro-meteorological data and basic gravity modelling. We find that the gravimeter recorded the redistribution of water in the ground and that most of this redistribution occurs in the unsaturated zone located above the gravimeter. Nevertheless, residuals between our model and the gravity data suggest the occurrence of large lateral fluxes and rapid runoff not considered in our model. We discuss how the setting of a second SG, planned in July 2018, at the surface of the LSBB could help unravelling such hydrological processes

Contribution of gravimetry to the Taiwanese orogeny study

L'étude des variations temporelles de pesanteur suscite un intérêt croissant en raison de l'amélioration de la précision des gravimètres et des ses nombreuses applications en géosciences. L'exploitation de cette méthode dans le domaine des études tectoniques, en particulier des processus d'orogenèse, trouve sa justification dans les transferts de masses et les déformations qui caractérisent la formation des chaînes de montagnes. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux variations temporelles de pesanteur qui existent à Taïwan, à partir de mesures de gravimétrie absolue et relative dans le sud de cette île. L'orogenèse taïwanaise, entretenue par la convergence rapide de la plaque de la mer des Philippines vers la plaque Eurasie, est en effet le siège de nombreux transferts de masses et de déformations importantes. Après avoir détaillé l'acquisition et le traitement des mesures gravimétriques que nous utilisons, nous constatons l'existence de variations temporelles significatives de la pesanteur à Taïwan, atteignant parfois plusieurs dizaines de microgals (un microgal vaut un cent-millionième de mètre par seconde carré). Nous considérons que trois phénomènes sont responsables de l'essentiel des variations de pesanteur mesurées : les mouvements verticaux du sol, l'hydrologie locale et les forts taux de sédimentation et d'érosion qui surviennent `a la suite de typhons. Leur séparation se fait à l'aide de données complémentaires issues d'autres méthodes (GPS, pluviométrie, observations de terrain). Nous montrons l'influence des mouvements verticaux du sol sur nos mesures, dans l'est et l'ouest de l'île, mais sans pouvoir conclure sur les redistributions de masses profondes qui les accompagnent, du fait de séries temporelles encore trop courtes. Nous relevons également l'utilité des mesures de pluviométrie pour expliquer les variations de pesanteur observées. Cependant leur valorisation rigoureuse dans l'étude du signal gravimétrique nécessite plus d'une campagne par an. Enfin nous identifions les transferts de masses, par érosion ou sédimentation, qui surviennent dans la chaîne centrale de Taïwan lors du passage de typhons. Nous estimons les auteurs de matériaux déposés ou érodés et proposons des améliorations d'acquisition pour mieux quantifier les volumes mobilisés.The rising interest in the study of temporal gravity changes is due to the improvements of gravimeters and to its usefulness in Earth sciences. Tectonic processes, especially mountain building, imply deformations and mass transfers. Consequently, this should lead to temporal gravity changes. Here we study the case of Taiwan mountain building, using both absolute and relative gravity data acquired in the south of this island. This study is motivated by the vigorous mass transfers and deformations which take place in Taiwan, as a result of the fast convergence of the Philippine sea plate toward the Eurasian plate. Once the acquisition and the processing of our gravity data has been performed, we observe significant gravity changes between surveys, up to tens of microgals (one microgal is one hundred-millionth of meter per second square). We suggest that three main processes are responsible for these gravity changes: vertical movements of the ground, local hydrology and the high erosion and sedimentation rates induced by typhoons. The separation of these effects is done jointly with the use of complementary data (GPS time series, rainfall measures, field observation). We especially show the influence of ground vertical movements on gravity changes in the east and in the west of Taiwan. Yet we do not get the mass transfer information, theoretically associated to this signal, because of the youth of our gravity time series. We also note how useful are the rainfall data to explain gravity changes at the first order. More frquent gravity measures are however needed to clearly demonstrate their benefits. To finish, we observe and quantify surface mass transfers which occur with landslides and debris flows, both triggered by typhoons. This is mainly observed in the central range of Taiwan and we suggest improvements to better quantify volumes of moved rocks

Arduino-based device for sensing urban air quality at high spatial resolution.

International audienceUrban areas are severely exposed to man-made air pollution (motor vehicles, industry, heating. . . ), which threatensthe health of inhabitants of major cities. Quantifying precisely this pollution is therefore becoming an imperativeand air quality sensor networks are being installed in more and more agglomerations. However, most of thesenetworks monitor pollutants at a fixed location and data are interpolated to produce maps of air pollution. Giventhe extreme compartmentation of urban environments, essentially due to buildings, such interpolation may missthe fine scale heterogeneity of the pollutant distribution. Here I present a prototype of a portable Arduino-based airquality sensor coupled to a GNSS antenna that aims at being carried by pedestrians or bicyclists, hence acquiringair quality data all along their paths through the city. The sensor communicates data to the user’s phone for areal-time inspection of his own exposure to air pollution. Assuming several people use this device at the same timeacross the same city, all data could be quickly reanalyzed to provide high resolution spatio-temporal maps of airquality. The two main perspectives would then to 1) build a phone application that helps users to find the healthiestitinerary from one place to another and 2) developing data analysis schemes able to provide local and short-termprediction of the air quality

Contribution of gravimetry to the Taiwanese orogeny study

L'étude des variations temporelles de pesanteur suscite un intérêt croissant en raison de l'amélioration de la précision des gravimètres et des ses nombreuses applications en géosciences. L'exploitation de cette méthode dans le domaine des études tectoniqThe rising interest in the study of temporal gravity changes is due to the improvements of gravimeters and to its usefulness in Earth sciences. Tectonic processes, especially mountain building, imply deformations and mass transfers. Consequently, this sh

Apport de la gravimétrie à l étude de l orogenèse taïwanaise

L étude des variations temporelles de pesanteur suscite un intérêt croissant en raison de l amélioration de la précision des gravimètres et des ses nombreuses applications en géosciences. L exploitation de cette méthode dans le domaine des études tectoniques, en particulier des processus d orogenèse, trouve sa justification dans les transferts de masses et les déformations qui caractérisent la formation des chaînes de montagnes. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux variations temporelles de pesanteur qui existent à Taïwan, à partir de mesures de gravimétrie absolue et relative dans le sud de cette île. L orogenèse taïwanaise, entretenue par la convergence rapide de la plaque de la mer des Philippines vers la plaque Eurasie, est en effet le siège de nombreux transferts de masses et de déformations importantes. Après avoir détaillé l acquisition et le traitement des mesures gravimétriques que nous utilisons, nous constatons l existence de variations temporelles significatives de la pesanteur à Taïwan, atteignant parfois plusieurs dizaines de microgals (un microgal vaut un cent-millionième de mètre par seconde carré). Nous considérons que trois phénomènes sont responsables de l essentiel des variations de pesanteur mesurées : les mouvements verticaux du sol, l hydrologie locale et les forts taux de sédimentation et d érosion qui surviennent a la suite de typhons. Leur séparation se fait à l aide de données complémentaires issues d autres méthodes (GPS, pluviométrie, observations de terrain). Nous montrons l influence des mouvements verticaux du sol sur nos mesures, dans l est et l ouest de l île, mais sans pouvoir conclure sur les redistributions de masses profondes qui les accompagnent, du fait de séries temporelles encore trop courtes. Nous relevons également l utilité des mesures de pluviométrie pour expliquer les variations de pesanteur observées. Cependant leur valorisation rigoureuse dans l étude du signal gravimétrique nécessite plus d une campagne par an. Enfin nous identifions les transferts de masses, par érosion ou sédimentation, qui surviennent dans la chaîne centrale de Taïwan lors du passage de typhons. Nous estimons les auteurs de matériaux déposés ou érodés et proposons des améliorations d acquisition pour mieux quantifier les volumes mobilisés.The rising interest in the study of temporal gravity changes is due to the improvements of gravimeters and to its usefulness in Earth sciences. Tectonic processes, especially mountain building, imply deformations and mass transfers. Consequently, this should lead to temporal gravity changes. Here we study the case of Taiwan mountain building, using both absolute and relative gravity data acquired in the south of this island. This study is motivated by the vigorous mass transfers and deformations which take place in Taiwan, as a result of the fast convergence of the Philippine sea plate toward the Eurasian plate. Once the acquisition and the processing of our gravity data has been performed, we observe significant gravity changes between surveys, up to tens of microgals (one microgal is one hundred-millionth of meter per second square). We suggest that three main processes are responsible for these gravity changes: vertical movements of the ground, local hydrology and the high erosion and sedimentation rates induced by typhoons. The separation of these effects is done jointly with the use of complementary data (GPS time series, rainfall measures, field observation). We especially show the influence of ground vertical movements on gravity changes in the east and in the west of Taiwan. Yet we do not get the mass transfer information, theoretically associated to this signal, because of the youth of our gravity time series. We also note how useful are the rainfall data to explain gravity changes at the first order. More frequent gravity measures are however needed to clearly demonstrate their benefits. To finish, we observe and quantify surface mass transfers which occur with landslides and debris flows, both triggered by typhoons. This is mainly observed in the central range of Taiwan and we suggest improvements to better quantify volumes of moved rocks.STRASBOURG-EOST (674822249) / SudocSTRASBOURG-Sc. et Techniques (674822102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Seismic cycle stress change in western Taiwan over the last 270 years

International audienceThe island of Taiwan is affected by intense seismic activity, which includes large events as the disastrous 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. To improve seismic hazard assessment in this area, we estimate the effect of both interseismic loading and major events since 1736 on the state of stress of major active faults. We focus our approach on western Taiwan, which is the most densely populated part of Taiwan. We pay a specific attention to faults geometry and to both interseismic and coseismic slip distributions. Our results suggest that both earthquakes and interseismic loading before 1999 increase the Coulomb stress in the north-western part of the Chelungpu fault, a region which experienced the highest coseismic slip during the Chi-Chi earthquake. More importantly our results reveal a Coulomb stress increase in the southern part of the Changhua thrust fault, below a densely populated area