On the derivation of coseismic displacement fields using differential radar interferometry: The Landers earthquake

Presents a map of the coseismic displacement field resulting from the Landers, CA, June 28, 1992 earthquake derived using data acquired from an orbiting high resolution radar system. Data from the ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar instrument acquired in April, July, and August 1992 are used to generate a high resolution, wide area map of the displacements. The data represent the motion in the direction of the radar line of sight to cm level precision of each 30 m resolution element in a 113 by 00 km image. The coseismic displacement contour map gives a lobed pattern consistent with theoretical models of the displacement field from the earthquake. Comparison of these data with GPS and EDM survey data yield a correlation of 0.06, thus the radar measurements are a means to extend the point measurements acquired by traditional techniques to an area map format. The technique used is i) more automatic, ii) more precise, and iii) better validated than previous similar applications of differential radar interferometry. Since only remotely-sensed satellite data are required with no additional requirements for ancillary information, the technique is well suited for global seismic monitoring and analysis