NATURAL HAZARDS

Radar satellites are used to provide unique ground motion data to support the monitoring and mitigation of various natural hazard events, such as earthquakes, volcanism, flooding and landslides.
The field of application includes support for preventive damage estimation, rapid mapping of ongoing events and post-event impact evaluation.

	Volcanoes and Earthquakes InSAR technology is able to measure ground motion on volcano surface due to changes of pressure in magmatic chamber before, during or after an eruption. For earthquakes, InSAR provides precise mapping of coseismic and postseismic deformation pattern.

	Dike stability/flood areas Dike stability is crucial to prevent accidents and flood risk. InSAR techniques enable the monitoring with millimetric measurements of dike displacement and deformation contributing to an exact quantification of possible flood risks. In other coastal lowlands the risk and zones of flooding are greatly influenced by settling or subsidence of soft sediments (e.g. in deltas). InSAR monitoring of these areas can help manage the dynamics of flood prone areas.

	Landslides Lanslides are a danger for infrastructure, urban areas as well as their surroundings. InSAR technology permits the monitoring of landslide advancement in order to take preventive measures.