journal article·2026-06-02Open access

Magnitude Estimation of the 2025 Sındırgı Earthquakes Using High-Rate GNSS-Derived Peak Ground Displacement (PGD): Insights from Low-Cost and Geodetic Receivers

Şeyma Şafak Yaşar, Halil İbrahim Solak, İbrahim Tiryakioğlu, Bahadır Aktuğ, Murat Doruk Şentürk, Vahap Engin Gülal

Applied Sciences· Volume 16· Issue 11

Abstract

The Sındırgı region of western Anatolia, located within the extensional tectonic regime of Türkiye, experienced two moderate earthquakes in 2025, occurring on 10 August (Mw 6.1) and 27 October (Mw 6.1). In this study, high-rate (1 Hz) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations were analysed to estimate earthquake magnitudes using peak ground displacement (PGD) measurements. GNSS data from 10 stations for the August event and 12 stations for the October event were processed using the PRIDE PPP-AR software to derive displacement time series. Earthquake magnitudes were estimated from PGD values using empirical relationships proposed in previous studies. Overall, the GNSS-based magnitude estimates show good agreement with values reported in seismic catalogues, ranging between Mw ≈ 5.5 and 6.1, with one of the evaluated empirical PGD–Mw relationships providing the closest agreement (Mw = 6.07 ± 0.3 and Mw = 6.13 ± 0.2, respectively). In addition, a strong consistency was observed between GNSS-derived PGD onset times and S-wave arrival times recorded at seismometer stations, particularly within 10–50 km of the epicentre, demonstrating the capability of GNSS observations to reliably capture both coseismic displacement and seismic-wave propagation characteristics. Furthermore, the observed consistency between co-located low-cost and geodetic-grade GNSS receivers highlights the potential of low-cost GNSS systems for reliable coseismic deformation monitoring and for the development of dense GNSS observation networks.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: GNSS positioning and interference · earthquake and tectonic studies · Seismic Performance and Analysis

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Distance Education Vocational School, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200 Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye

Earthquake Implementation and Research Center, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200 Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye

Department of Geomatics Engineering, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200 Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye

Department of Geophysical Engineering, Ankara University, 06830 Ankara, Türkiye

MDSoft Informatics, Ankara University Technopolis, 06830 Ankara, Türkiye

Directorate of Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD), 06100 Ankara, Türkiye

Department of Computer Engineering, Atlas University, 34408 Istanbul, Türkiye

Funding

TÜBİTAK-AFAD through the 1001-UDAP National Earthquake Research Program

References (32)

Show source-provided references
1. Demonstration of the Cascadia G-FAST Geodetic Earthquake Early Warning System for the Nisqually, Washington, Earthquake10.1785/0220150255 ↗
2. Effect of Near-Fault Vertical Ground Motions on Seismic Response of Highway Overcrossings10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0702(2008)13:3(282) ↗
3. Vector-Valued Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for the Effects of Vertical Ground Motions on the Seismic Response of Highway Bridges10.1193/1.3464548 ↗
4. The Role of Ground Motion Duration and Pulse Effects in the Collapse of Ductile Systems10.1002/eqe.3278 ↗
5. The 2014 Mw: 6.0 Napa Earthquake, California: Observations from Real-time GPS-enhanced Earthquake Early Warning10.1002/2014GL061923 ↗
6. Earthquake Magnitude Estimation Based on Peak Ground Displacements Recorded by High-Rate GNSS for February 6, 2023, Earthquake Sequence in Turkiye10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05576-3 ↗
7. Earthquake Magnitude Scaling Using Peak Ground Velocity Derived from High-Rate GNSS Observations10.1785/0220190347 ↗
8. Processing Aspects Related to Permanent GPS Arrays10.1186/BF03352259 ↗
9. Real-Time GPS Seismology with a Stand-Alone Receiver: A Preliminary Feasibility Demonstration10.1029/2010JB007941 ↗
10. Epicenter and Magnitude of Large Earthquake Determined from High-Rate GPS Observations: A Case Study of the 2008 M8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake10.1007/s11430-013-4803-2 ↗
11. Hohensinn, R., and Geiger, A. (2018). Stand-Alone GNSS Sensors as Velocity Seismometers: Real-Time Monitoring and Earthquake Detection. Sensors, 18.10.3390/s18113712 ↗
12. The Utility of GNSS for Earthquake Early Warning in Regions with Sparse Seismic Networks
13. Earthquake Magnitude Scaling Using Seismogeodetic Data10.1002/2013GL058391 ↗
14. Kinematic Rupture Scenarios and Synthetic Displacement Data: An Example Application to the Cascadia Subduction Zone10.1002/2016JB013314 ↗
15. Relationships between Peak Ground Acceleration, Peak Ground Velocity, and Modified Mercalli Intensity in California10.1193/1.1586058 ↗
16. Probabilistic Relationships between Ground-Motion Parameters and Modified Mercalli Intensity in California10.1785/0120110156 ↗
17. Volcanic Hail Detected with GPS: The 2011 Eruption of Grímsvötn Volcano, Iceland10.1029/2018GL080317 ↗
18. Seismogeodesy Using GPS and Low-Cost MEMS Accelerometers: Perspectives for Earthquake Early Warning and Rapid Response10.1785/0120160062 ↗
19. Broadband Velocities and Displacements From Integrated GPS and Accelerometer Data for High-Rate Seismogeodesy10.1029/2018GL079425 ↗
20. Earthquake Source Parameters Estimated from High-Rate Multi-GNSS Data: A Case Study of the 2022 M6.9 Menyuan Earthquake10.1007/s11600-022-01000-5 ↗
21. Kinematic Deformation and Intensity Assessment of the 2021 Maduo MS7.4 Earthquake in Qinghai Revealed by High-Frequency GNSS10.1016/j.geog.2023.08.002 ↗
22. Real-Time Seismogeodetic Earthquake Magnitude Estimates for Local Tsunami Warnings10.1029/2022JB025555 ↗
23. A Modified Phase Clock/Bias Model to Improve PPP Ambiguity Resolution at Wuhan University10.1007/s00190-019-01301-6 ↗
24. AFAD (2025, October 07). Earthquake Catalogue, Prime Ministry, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, Earthquake Department, 2025, Available online: https://Deprem.Afad.Gov.Tr/Event-Catalog.
25. Active Fault Database of Turkey10.1007/s10518-016-0041-2 ↗
26. Rapid Estimation of Source Parameters for the 2022 Mw 6.6 Menyuan Earthquake with Combined High-Rate GNSS and Strong Motion Data in Northeastern Tibet10.1007/s44195-024-00083-5 ↗
27. A Global Database of Strong-Motion Displacement GNSS Recordings and an Example Application to PGD Scaling10.1785/0220180177 ↗
28. Earthquake Magnitude Calculation without Saturation from the Scaling of Peak Ground Displacement10.1002/2015GL064278 ↗
29. A Ground-Motion Model for GNSS Peak Ground Displacement10.1785/0120210042 ↗
30. Hardy, T., Meilano, I., Abidin, H.Z., Sudrajat, A., Rohadi, S., Kambali, R.A.P., Rahman, A., Samapta, B.T., and Al Kautsar, M. (2025). Robust Estimation of Earthquake Magnitude in Indonesia Using PGD Scaling Law from Regional High-Rate GNSS Data. Sensors, 25.10.20944/preprints202505.0996.v1 ↗
31. Tiryakioğlu, İ., Gezgin, C., Aktuğ, B., Solak, H.İ., Özkaymak, Ç., Yaşar, Ş.Ş., Şahiner, F., Yıldırım, M.C., Aladoğan, K., and Çakanşimek Ünlükaya, E.B. (Adv. Space Res., 2026). Revealing the Source Mechanism of the August 10, 2025 Sındırgı Earthquake (Mw 6.3) with Geological and Geodetic Evidence, Adv. Space Res., in press.10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.047 ↗
32. High-Rate GNSS-Based Rapid Determination of Coseismic Deformation and Source Characteristics for the 2023 M6.2 Jishishan Earthquake10.1016/j.eqs.2025.01.002 ↗