The image shows the terrain deformations caused by the 29 May earthquake in Emilia Romagna (Italy) as obtained by processing satellite data. The colour shading highlights displacements of up to 20 cm (red) around the epicentre, but also an area of slight subsidence (blue) some kilometres eastwards. In addition to the two main shocks of May 20 and May 29, the Emilia Romagna event was characterised by a large seismic strain. Several shocks of magnitude larger than 2.5 on the Richter scale were registered in the area in the same period: for these, the epicentres locations are shown on the map by means of white circles.

Source: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). Satellite Data: Cosmo-SkyMed

Earthquakes reaching 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna on 20 and 29 May 2012. The earthquakes caused 27 fatalities, an estimated 350 people were injured and over 43 000 people had to be put up in temporary accommodation. Historical buildings, infrastructure and the region's economy suffered serious damage as a result of the quakes. Like other countries in the central and eastern Mediterranean and in the Balkan Peninsula, Italy lies in a seismically active region, has a dense population and many historical buildings so is at great risk when catastrophic events occur. The Emilia Romagna earthquake, caused by a displacement of the African plate towards the Eurasian plate, was even felt in Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, southeast France, southern Germany and Switzerland. It generated terrain deformations of several centimetres.

Copernicus satellites can help to precisely measure deformation of the Earth's surface following an earthquake and to support related seismological analyses.Complementing ground information, satellites provide frequent, synoptic views of areas in crisis to provide the bigger picture of where the ground has moved. In particular, spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs) are capable of measuring terrain displacements down to millimetres. Displacements can indicate activity in underground faults and such information can support the analyses of vulnerability and site-specific hazards. These data are used to update risk maps and are especially useful when reconstruction is underway. The integration of all available independent measurements (in situ and from space) is considered instrumental for supporting research efforts by the global scientific community and to improve our understanding of the tectonic processes.

HOW SATELLITES CAN MEASURE TERRAIN

DISPLACEMENTS AFTER EARTHQUAKES

Epicentre

29th of May

2,5 - 4,0

4,1 - 5,0

5,1 - 5,4

5,5 - 5,9

LAND MARINE ATMOSPHERE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE SECURITY

ISSUE 32 / SEPTEMBER 2013

www.esa.int/copernicus • http://copernicus.eu/

Facts

> Each claiming more than 200.000 lives, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake have been the most deadly so far this century

> In the last 15 years, almost 5.000 people have died in earthquakes in countries of the EU

> The most seismically active regions in Europe are in the Mediterranean area (in particular, Greece, Italy and southern Spain, Turkey) and in some parts of Eastern Europe and the Balkans

Benefits

Satellite measurements of ground displacement help to:

> improve models of what happens during an earthquake

> improve the understanding about tectonic processes, especially with respect to hidden faults and in remote regions

Policy Objectives

> International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)

> EU Council Regulation on Humanitarian Aid

> Community Mechanism for Civil Protection

> EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement

Observing how the Earth surface moves

This image is an interferogram of the Emilia Romagna earthquakes in May 2012. The irregular, rainbow coloured patterns of the interferogram highlight the surface displacements, the amount of which is proportional to the spatial frequency of the fringes. In the image, hotspots of vertical displacements are evident in the large number of fringes around the locations of the epicentres.

The interferogram was generated using data from RADARSAT-1, which is a Copernicus contributing mission carrying a SAR instrument similar to that of Sentinel-1.

Source: Tele-Rilevamento Europa (TRE)

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission carries a SAR that will provide detailed measurements of terrain displacements worldwide. This is made possible through a processing technique called SAR interferometry (InSAR). The technique is based on making a comparison between phase measurements of SAR acquisitions of the same place taken over time, similar to a sophisticated version of 'spot the difference'. Sentinel-1, with its improved regular acquisition coverage, will play a key role in advancing interferometry. The first Sentinel-1 satellite is expected to be ready for launch in 2014 and will be followed by a second satellite shortly after to fulfil Copernicus coverage needs.

Sentinel-1

Epicentre

29th of May

Epicentre

20th of May

ISSUE 32 / SEPTEMBER 2013

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service makes use of satellite data to support damage assessment following disasters.

Example products:

> Rapid mapping reference maps

> Delineation and grading maps

> Pre- and post- disaster situation maps

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission will increase the capability for monitoring by providing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, supporting:

> operational, routine monitoring of vulnerable areas at high spatial resolution

> all-weather, day-and-night measurements

> constant and regular acquisition to build a large global archive

> wide area coverage, thanks to the 250 km image swath width

Sentinel contribution

> Create and maintain tectonic strain maps and seismic hazard maps based on systematic SAR acquisitions

> Improve models of earthquake cycles fully integrating available Earth observation and GNSS data

> Improve the rapid and automated production of SAR-based earthquake displacement maps to support aftershocks hazard analyses

> Integrate satellite-based terrain displacement products in crisis management activities

COPERNICUS ACTIVITIESCopernicus services Next steps

www.esa.int/copernicus • http://copernicus.eu/