Analytical Surface Deformation Theory

Due to plate motions, tidal effects of the Moon and the Sun, atmosphe- ric, hydrological, ocean loading and local geological processes, and due to the rotation of the Earth, all points on the Earth's crust are sub- ject to deformation. Global plate motion models, based on the ocean floor spreading rates, transform fault azimuths, and earthquake slip vectors, describe average plate motions for a time period of the past few million years. Therefore, the investigation of present-day tectonic activities by global plate motion models in a small area with complex movements cannot supply satisfactory results. The contribution of space techniques [Very Long Baseline Interferome- try (VLBI); Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR); Global Positioning System (GPS)] applied to the present-day deformations ofthe Earth's surface and plate tectonics has increased during the last 20 to 25 years. Today one is able to determine by these methods the relative motions in the em to sub-em-range between points far away from each other.