Near Field Deformation of the Mw 6.0 24 August, 2014 South Napa Earthquake Estimated by Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Change Detection Techniques

Abstract:

We examine surface deformation caused by the M_w 6.0 24 August, 2014 South Napa Earthquake using high-resolution pre and post event airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) observations. Temporally spaced LiDAR surveys taken before and after an earthquake can provide decimeter-level, 3D near-field estimates of deformation. These near-field deformation estimates can help constrain fault slip and rheology of shallow seismogenic zones. We compare and contrast estimates of deformation obtained from pre and post-event LiDAR data sets of the 2014 South Napa Earthquake using two change detection techniques, Iterative Control Point (ICP) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The ICP algorithm has been and still is the primary technique for acquiring three dimensional deformations from airborne LiDAR data sets. It conducts a rigid registration of pre-event data points to post event data points via iteratively matching data points with the smallest Euclidian distances between data sets. PIV is a technique derived from fluid mechanics that measures the displacement of a particle between two images of known time. LiDAR points act as the particles within the point cloud images so that their movement represents the horizontal deformation of the surface. The results from these change detection techniques are presented and further analyzed for differences between the techniques, the effects of temporal spacing between LiDAR collections, and the use of permanent LiDAR scatterers to constrain deformation estimates. The airborne LiDAR results will also be compared with far field deformations from space based geodetic techniques (InSAR and GNSS) and field observations of surface displacement.