The study of research institutes on soil deformations and the identification of the geological structures that generated the earthquake of August 24, 2016, through the use of satellite data, continues. The analysis is enriched by the new radar images of the sensors of the Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation which provide information on the deformation field with great spatial detail thanks to the high resolutions of the system. A deformation linked to a slope instability phenomenon has been highlighted in an area of about 800 meters by 600, located on the side of Monte Vettore
The study of ground deformations and seismic sources linked to the events of 24 August 2016 continues. This activity is coordinated by the Department of Civil Protection (DPC) and is carried out by a team of researchers from the National Research Council (Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, CNR-IREA of Naples) and theIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), centers of expertise in the fields of satellite radar data processing and seismology, with the support of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Following the initial results obtained by the CNR-INGV team using radar data from the Japanese ALOS 2 satellite and the European Sentinel-1 satellites of the European Copernicus Program, the analysis is further enhanced by the results obtained using sensors (operating in the X-band) of the Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation, developed by ASI in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense. Specifically, using the Differential SAR Interferometry technique, which is based on the comparison of radar images acquired before the earthquake and images acquired after the event, it was possible to detect ground deformations with centimeter accuracy. In this regard, a co-seismic deformation map was generated from radar images acquired by the COSMO-SkyMed satellites from descending orbits on August 20, 2016 (pre-event) and August 28 (post-event). "These results provide information on ground deformations in great spatial detail, thanks to the high resolution of the COSMO-SkyMed system, and may therefore be particularly relevant for the study of ongoing geological and geophysical processes," explains Riccardo Lanari, director of CNR-IREA. "The improved deformation measurement resolution provided by the COSMO-SkyMed satellites allows us to identify localized effects (landslides, reactivated faults) that are continuously verified in the field by our emergency teams," continues Stefano Salvi, senior technology officer at INGV. Confirming this, the figure shows the deformation map obtained from COSMO-SkyMed data, covering the area from the Tufo and Pescara del Tronto areas to the Castelluccio area. Thanks to the high resolution of the processed data, it clearly highlights localized deformation (identified by the arrow) likely related to slope instability. This area extends approximately 800 by 600 meters, on the flank of Mount Vettore.
"For the acquisition frequency, number of images and resolution, COSMO-SkyMed confirms itself as a national asset of fundamental importance, also for the European and international synergies in emergency management", concludes Alessandro Coletta of ASI, director of the Cosmo- SkyMed.