Updating GNSS measurements of postseismic deformation after the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence and site positions in the central Mojave Desert

Katie M. Baraggiotta, Gareth J. Funning, & Karlee M. Rivera

Submitted September 7, 2025, SCEC Contribution #14963, 2025 SCEC Annual Meeting Poster #TBD

We conducted Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) survey campaigns two target areas with distinct objectives. In the central Mojave Desert along the Garlock and Blackwater faults, we refined GNSS velocities and increased spatial data density to support rapid earthquake response and improve community models. In the epicentral zones of the 2019 Ridgecrest and 2020 Lone Pine earthquakes, we reoccupied monuments with the whether postseismic deformation persisted and thereby constrain local lithospheric rheology. We planned routes in Google MyMaps, compiled low-occupation sites (≤3 occupations/decade) from National Geodetic Survey (NGS) benchmark lists, the SCEC GNSS and EarthScope GNSS archives, and geocaching reports, and leveled/centered a GNSS antenna [antenna model] over each monument. We logged 18–24 h occupations with Trimble 5700, Trimble NetRS, and Trimble R7 receivers, converted raw files to RINEX using Jupyter Notebooks, and verified data integrity with NGS OPUS using precise satellite ephemerides. In the Mojave, we occupied 15 sites across two trips (4 days + 3 days = 7 field days). In the Ridgecrest–Lone Pine region, we reoccupied 20 sites over 4 field days. Together, these campaigns produced ≈35 station-days of 18–24 h observations suitable for integration. The datasets densified Mojave coverage and extended the Ridgecrest–Lone Pine time series, contributing to an improved Community Geodetic Model (CGM), and future plans to calculate fault-slip estimates, and providing new constraints on lower-crust/upper-mantle rheology for the Community Rheology Model (CRM).

Key Words
Geodesy, Ridgecrest, GNSS Garlock fault, Blackwater Fault

Citation
Baraggiotta, K. M., Funning, G. J., & Rivera, K. M. (2025, 09). Updating GNSS measurements of postseismic deformation after the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence and site positions in the central Mojave Desert. Poster Presentation at 2025 SCEC Annual Meeting.


Related Projects & Working Groups
Tectonic Geodesy