GPS measurements were first carried out in the northeastern Caribbean in 1986 at a total of six sites on the Bahamas Platform (TURK), southern Cuba (GTMO), St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (SCRX) and three sites in Hispaniola (ROJO, FRAN, CAPO; Dixon et al., 1991).
These sites were re-occupied in 1994 and the network was densified in 1998 to include additional sites in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands as part of the US-French CANAPE project (Caribbean North America Plate Experiment) (Dixon et al., 1998). Partial remeasurements of the network were subsequently carried out in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2001. The CANAPE GPS network in the Dominican Republic currently consists of 36 sites.
GPS campaign data were collected during previous surveys using various dual frequency, code/phase receiver/antenna combinations. The 1994 measurements were performed using Ashtech Z12 receivers with Geodetic II antennae and Trimble 4000 SSE with Trimble SST antennae. In 1996, we used Trimble 4000 SSE with Trimble SST antennae. All observations after June, 1996 were obtained with Trimble 4000 SSI receivers and Dorne-Margolin choke-ring antennae. Each site is typically surveyed 22 to 24 hours a day for an average of three consecutive days during each campaign. The data are collected at a 30 s sampling rate using a 10 degrees elevation cut-off angle.