Three days after the earthquake that devastated the Abruzzo region, TRE has produced the first co-seismic interferogram of the event.

A co-seismic interferogram is a comparison of two radar images: one taken before the event and one after. The resulting product will show the superficial deformation caused by the earthquake.

The images of the Abruzzo earthquake were acquired by the Canadian RADARSAT-1 satellite, with the second image taken only a few hours after the event.
The resulting interferogram clearly shows where surface deformation was most significant, as marked by the fringes of color.

The results have already been transmitted to the INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) with whom TRE has been working for many years. Radar satellite data can be considered as another investigative tool for understanding earthquake dynamics.

The Italian high resolution radar satellite constellation, COSMO-SkyMed, is also acquiring images of the area and TRE is ready to process this data as well to follow event evolution.