{"id":8746,"date":"2014-09-05T12:36:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T16:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8746"},"modified":"2014-09-05T12:36:44","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T16:36:44","slug":"esa-sentinel-radarsat-maps-changes-in-ground-from-napa-valley-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8746","title":{"rendered":"ESA Sentinel radarsat maps changes in ground from Napa Valley earthquake"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESA’s\u00a0Sentinel-1<\/a>\u00a0radar satellite sees the effects of the recent earthquake in Napa Valley:<\/p>\n

Radar vision maps Napa Valley earthquake<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

2 September 2014<\/strong>: Sentinel-1A has added yet another string to its bow. Radar images from this fledgling satellite have been used to map the rupture caused by the biggest earthquake that has shaken northern California in 25 years.<\/p>\n

Scientists collaborating through the UK Natural Environment Research Council\u2019s Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET), used Sentinel-1A\u2019s special capabilities to analyse the quake.<\/p>\n

\"Sentinel-1_maps_earthquake_node_full_image_2[1]\"<\/a>Space in Images – 2014 – 09 – Sentinel-1 maps earthquake<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Synthetic aperture radar interferometry\u2019 is a technique where two or more satellite radar images of the same area are combined to detect large-scale surface changes. Small changes on the ground modify the reflected radar signal and lead to rainbow-coloured fringes in the \u2018interferogram\u2019.<\/p>\n

Yngvar Larsen from Norway\u2019s Northern Research Institute and Petar Marinkovic from PPO.labs in the Netherlands processed this new interferogram from two images: one that Sentinel-1A acquired on 7 August, the day the satellite reached its operational orbit, and another captured on 31 August.<\/p>\n

It clearly confirms that part of the West Napa Fault system was responsible for the 6.0 earthquake that rocked California\u2019s wine-producing region. However, the fault had not been identified as being particularly hazardous prior to the quake that hit on 24 August.<\/p>\n

Importantly, the extent of the ground deformation in the interferogram shows that the fault slip continues further north than the extent of the rupture mapped at the surface.<\/p>\n

Sharp lines in the interferogram show minor movements on other faults, such as the part of the West Napa Fault system that crosses Napa airport.<\/p>\n

COMET Director, Tim Wright, from University of Leeds said, \u201cThis successful demonstration of Sentinel-1A marks the beginning of a new era for our ability to map earthquakes from space.<\/p>\n

\u201cCOMET scientists are building a system that will provide these results routinely for all continental earthquakes, as well as mapping the slow warping of the ground surface that leads to earthquakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof. Andy Hooper, also at the University of Leeds, added, \u201cThis satellite represents a sea change in the way we will be able to monitor catastrophic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the future, due to its systematic observation strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n