GPS SURVEYS IN EASTERN NEPAL

The Nepal region, between the Ganges plain and the Tibetan Plateau, sh ows the great effects of the orogenetic deformation which started betw een 40 and 55 Ma, following the collision between the Indian and Asiat ic continental plates. Today the Himalayan chain and the Tibetan plate au are some of the best manifestations of the collision process. Data from a geodetic network in Eastern Nepal were employed to study the mo tion of the crust in this recently evolved area. The data were collect ed by means of the Global Positioning System; this geodetic space tech nique can achieve a centimetric resolution in coordinate definition an d baseline computation for observation sites, even those located at lo ng distances away and it provides a powerful new tool for the comprehe nsion of the dynamics of active tectonic regions.