MISR abstract

Pinty, B., N. Gobron,, M. M. Verstraete, F. Melin, J-L. Widlowski, Y. Govaerts, D. J. Diner, E. Fielding, D. L. Nelson, R. Madariaga, M. P. Tuttle (2003). Monitoring Earthquake Dewatering Processes Using MISR/Terra Satellite Data. EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003, abstract #07133.

The devastating Gujarat earthquake which hit the province of Gujarat in India on January 26, 2001, provoked an extensive dewatering/liquefaction process. This presentation reports on the spatio-temporal distribution of this liquefaction-induced surface phenomenon by analyzing time series measurements collected by the MISR sensor on board the Terra platform. The analysis of MISR measurements in the near-infrared spectral domain reveals the spatial extent of the surface water and its persistence. This event reactivated ancient river channels in the Rann of Kachchh. Other regions further away from the epicenter have also been affected by the liquefaction process. Indeed, the presence of water along the Nagar Parkar fault a few days after the earthquake was unveiled by the analysis of the MISR multi-angle data taken in the red spectral domain. Our study expands and complements the observations from geographically limited ground investigations. It demonstrates that the liquefaction phenomenon has affected areas far away from the epicenter.

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