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ISSN 0001-4338, Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, 2019, Vol. 55, No. 10, pp. 1517–1525. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2019.
Russian Text © The Author(s), 2019, published in Geofizicheskie Protsessy i Biosfera, 2019, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 57–66.
Observations of Modern Crustal Deformations
in Moscow Using Global Navigation Satellite Systems
A. P. Mironov
a,
*, A. A. Suchilin
b
, and E. A. Rogozhin
c
a
Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234 Russia
b
Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991 Russia
c
Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 123242 Russia
*e-mail: almir@physics.msu.ru
Abstract—This article presents the results of processing observations of global navigation satellite systems
(GNSS) at satellite-geodetic stations located in Moscow, including stations of the Sternberg Astronomical
Institute (SAI) and the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). Horizontal
velocities of stations are estimated in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF2008) and fixed
Eurasia (ITRF2008–EURA). The results show good data quality and consistent velocity of stations in the
ITRF2008. The specificity of the calculated local velocities is due to the fault-block structure of the geolog-
ical environment of Moscow. Anomalously high vertical velocities are detected on Vorobyovy Gory. Appar-
ently, they are associated with the geodynamic features of the active landslide slope of Vorobyovy Gory, as
well as with the proximity of the stations and reservoir of the Leninogorsk water distribution facility of the
Mosvodokanal, which creates regular periodic loads on the soil.
Keywords: modern geodynamics, satellite geodesy, GNSS, modern crustal deformations, deep fault, litho-
spheric block
DOI: 10.1134/S0001433819100074
INTRODUCTION
Observations of global navigation satellite systems
(GNSS) have been widely used to study geodynamics in
recent decades. Unlike classical terrestrial surveying,
satellite geodesy makes it possible to carry out multidi-
mensional area observations with less labor costs and
significantly improve the measurement accuracy.
In the Moscow metropolitan area, there is a network
of GNSS reference stations created for coordinate-time
and navigation support. The first research stations were
created in 1995 at the Astronomical Observatory of the
Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sci-
ences near Zvenigorod (international code ZWE2), in
2000 at the Geophysical Service of the Russian Acad-
emy of Sciences in Obninsk (MOBN), and in 2001 at
the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Physi-
cal-Engineering and Radiotechnical Metrology in the
urban locality of Mendeleevo, Moscow oblast (MDVJ).
Measurements from the stations are transferred to the
international centers for processing of GNSS measure-
ments (International GNSS Service (IGS), official
website at http://www.igs.org/) and are added to the
International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF2008,
official website at http://itrf.ensg.ign.fr/). The coordi-
nates and velocities of these stations are defined in the
ITRF2008 for any time with very high accuracy, which
makes it possible to use them as references on the
Earth’s surface. Therefore, the addition of measure-
ments at reference stations to the joint processing makes
it possible to align stations with the ITRF2008 and con-
sider all measurements in a single reference frame.
In 2007, the SAI created GNSS stations at the Kras-
nopresnenskii Observatory (SAIP) and, in 2009, in the
main building of the institute at Universitetskii Pros-
pekt (SAIG). Since 2016, the Faculty of Geography of
Moscow State University at the meteorological station
on Vorobyovy Gory (MSGF) also installed GNSS
equipment, which is used for continuous monitoring.
In addition to the above stations, in Moscow there is a
long-term reference station of the Federal Scientific
and Technical Center for Geodesy, Cartography, and
Spatial Data Infrastructure (CNG1). The Faculty of
Geography of Moscow State University has been long
cooperating with G.F.K. LLC, an official distributor of
Leica Geosystems (Switzerland) surveying equipment
in Russia. G.F.K. LLC created a GNSS reference sta-
tion in Moscow (GFK1), and observations from it were
processed as part of this work.
There are a number of commercial satellite-geodetic
networks in Moscow and the Moscow metropolitan
area in addition to research stations. The data from
these networks are in demand in civil engineering and
cadastral surveys. The Mosgorgeotrest network is the
most representative one. According to the National