Geodetic measurements and modeling of oblique convergence across transform faults. Application to the Northern Tibetan Plateau and to Southern California ; Mesures géodésiques et modélisation de la convergence oblique au travers de failles transformantes. Application au bord Nord du Plateau Tibétain et à la Californie du Sud

I focus on three major oblique transform faults in Tibet and in Southern California, in order to better measure and quantify the present-day strain accumulation on these structures. Interferometric synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has the potential to map and localize precisely the deformation over wide areas and thus constrain the deep geometry of these structures. However, its application in natural environments in hindered by strong decorrelation of the radar phase due to vegetation, relief, and freeze and thaw cycles, but also due to variable tropospheric phase delays across topographic feature and long-wavelength residual orbital ramps. Here, I develop methodologies to circumvent these limitations and separate tectonic from other parasite signals. In Tibet, I process data from the Envisat satellite archives, at the boundary of the Tibetan plateau, in two seismic gaps, which appear interesting to study the partitioning of the convergence: the Haiyuan Fault system in northeastern Tibet and the left-lateral Altyn Tagh Fault, in northwestern Tibet. A specific focus on the permafrost related deformation signal allows us to: (1) correctly unwrap interferograms from north to south, (2) quantify the temporal behavior of the freeze/thaw cycles, and (3) isolate bedrock pixels that are not affected by the permafrost signal for further tectonic analysis. I show that the seasonal subsidence depends greatly on the geological land unit and that lower elevations are thawing faster than higher elevations. I analyze the atmospheric signal across the high plateau margin and estimate proxy for the uncertainty on atmospheric corrections. I observe a strike-slip deformation of around 11-15 mm/yr across the Altyn Tagh fault, a clear line of concentrated strike-slip deformation of around 3 mm/yr within the Tarim basin, trending parallel to the Altyn Tagh Fault trace, as well as thrust signal uplifting terraces at a rate of 1 mm/yr. This work also shows a strain accumulation around the west extension of the south trace of the ...