Remote Sensing in Seismology

Dear Colleagues,

Satellite Remote Sensing has demonstrated to be a reliable tool for natural disasters studies and to detect the surface effects in terms of deformation and damage.

In particular, Seismology represents one of the fieldworks where SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and Very High Resolution (VHR) Optical Remote Sensing obtained the higher number of results.

Since early ’90 the capabilities of SAR Interferometry (InSAR) technique have been exploited to study the surface displacement due to moderate-to-strong earthquakes. Recently SAR and Optical image correlation tools have been developed to measure the surface displacements based on co-registration of satellite images.

Furthermore, multitemporal InSAR techniques have been applied to detect and measure slow surface movements within high seismic risk areas thus providing a possible monitoring tool for interseismic surface deformation.

Concerning the effects of strong earthquakes to manufactures, Optical data can also furnish valuable information on settlement conditions after an earthquake. The spatial resolution of satellite optical sensors is rapidly increasing in the last years, reaching less than 1m (Ikonos, Quickbird, Eros satellites), becoming an effective tool for detecting changes of individual buildings.

Dr. Salvatore Stramondo
Guest Editor