Powerful new satellites from US and India track Earth’s changing surface

NISAR’s mission will help researchers study how the Earth’s surface changes over time, including the lead-up to the pictured volcanic eruption at Redoubt Mountain in southern Alaska in April 2009. It will help you understand more deeply. Credit: RG McGimsey/AVO/USGS
Data from NISAR improves our understanding of phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and damage to infrastructure.
Although we don’t always realize it, much of the Earth’s surface is constantly in motion. Scientists have used satellites and ground-based instruments to track land movements associated with volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, and other phenomena. But a new satellite from NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) aims to improve on what we know, potentially helping us prepare for and recover from natural and man-made disasters. There is a gender.
The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission will measure the movement of nearly all of Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces twice every 12 days. NISAR’s pace of data collection will allow researchers to better understand how Earth’s surface changes over time. “These types of routine observations allow us to study how Earth’s surface moves almost across the globe,” said Cass, who leads NISAR applications at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Leanne Jones said.
Together with complementary measurements from other satellites and instruments, NISAR’s data provides a more complete picture of how Earth’s surface moves horizontally and vertically. This information is critical to better understanding everything from how the Earth’s crust works to which parts of the world are prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It may also help resolve whether a section of the embankment is damaged or if a landslide is starting to move the hillside.
what’s underneath
The mission, targeted for launch in early 2025 from India, will be able to detect surface movement down to a fraction of an inch. In addition to monitoring changes on Earth’s surface, satellites will be able to track the movement of ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice and map changes in vegetation.
The source of that surprising detail is a pair of radar instruments operating at long wavelengths. L-band system built by JPL and S-band system built by ISRO. The NISAR satellite is the first satellite to carry both. Each instrument collects measurements day and night and can even see through clouds that may obstruct the view of optical instruments. L-band instruments can also penetrate dense vegetation and measure ground movement. This feature is especially useful in areas around volcanoes and faults that are covered with vegetation.
“The NISAR satellite will not tell us when earthquakes will occur. Instead, it will help us better understand which regions of the world are most susceptible to large earthquakes.” California said Mark Simmons, the U.S. solid earth science lead for the mission at the Institute of Technology. Located in Pasadena, California.
Data from satellites allows researchers to gain insight into which parts of faults move slowly without causing earthquakes, and which parts are locked together and can suddenly slip. can. In relatively well-monitored areas like California, researchers can use NISAR to zero in on specific areas that are likely to cause earthquakes. But in areas of the world that aren’t well monitored, NISAR’s measurements could reveal new earthquake-prone areas. And when an earthquake occurs, data from satellites can help researchers understand what happened on the fault that ruptured.
“From an ISRO perspective, we are particularly interested in the Himalayan plate boundary,” said Sreejith KM, ISRO’s NISAR solid earth science leader at the Center for Space Applications in Ahmedabad, India. “This region has produced large earthquakes in the past and NISAR will provide us with unprecedented information about the seismic risk in the Himalayas.”
Surface movement is also important to volcano researchers. Volcano researchers need to collect data regularly over long periods of time to detect land movements that may signal an eruption. When magma moves below the surface, land can rise or sink. NISAR satellites can help provide more information about why volcanoes deform and whether their movements indicate an eruption.
find normal
When it comes to infrastructure such as levees, aqueducts, and dams, NISAR’s ability to provide continuous measurements over many years helps establish the normal conditions of the structures and surrounding land. Then, if something changes, resource managers may be able to identify specific areas to investigate. “Instead of inspecting the entire aqueduct every five years, we can focus the inspection on problem areas,” Jones says.
This data could be equally valuable for showing that dams remain unchanged after disasters such as earthquakes. For example, if a large earthquake were to strike San Francisco, liquefaction (a phenomenon in which loosely compacted or waterlogged sediment loses stability after violent ground shaking) could occur, causing the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to It can cause problems for nearby dams and levees.
“There are over 1,000 miles of levees,” Jones said. “We need the military to go and see them all.” The NISAR mission will help authorities survey from space and identify affected areas. “That way, you save time and you can go out just to see what has changed. That can potentially save you a lot of money on post-disaster repairs.”
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