ITRF coordinates and plate velocities from repeated GPS campaigns in Antarctica -: an analysis based on different individual solutions

The GPS campaigns of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) between 1995 and 1998 provide a valuable data set which is used to link Antarctica with the ITRF (International Terrestrial Reference Frame), and to gain the first detailed insights into the tectonic behaviour of the Antarctic plate. The data analysis is based on seven individual solutions with four different software packages (Bernese, GAMIT/GLOBK, GIPSY/OASIS II, GEONAP), and provides the possibility to study the existing software noise. The combined solution yields an accuracy of I cm for the horizontal and 2 cm for the vertical coordinate components within ITRF96. Based on repeated observations during a total time span of three years, it is possible to determine detailed regional deformations in the area of the Antarctic Peninsula and to obtain an estimate for the rotation vector of the whole Antarctic plate. The main findings of a very comprehensive project of, in total, seven working groups are summarized and presented for the first time. The main emphasis is on the geodetic aspects of the project, i.e. the analysis of the same data set with different software packages, and on the final results from repeated observations, namely station coordinates and horizontal velocities in TTRF96.