A satellite has mapped the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, showing how the ground deformed, researchers say. Radar data from the Japanese Alos spacecraft show the magnitude 6.3 tremor that killed more than 160 people Feb. 22 was centered directly under the city's southeastern suburbs, the BBC reported Monday.
The "map" made by combining a sequence of radar images acquired before and after the quake showed that in some places the ground rose almost 20 inches while other areas sank."It's like a contour map but it's showing to the southeast of Christchurch that the ground motion is towards Alos. That's uplift," John Elliott at Oxford University in the United Kingdom said.
Scientists are using the Alos information to understand the future seismic hazards in this part of New Zealand, including "blind" faulting -- faulting at risk of rupture but which shows little surface evidence of its existence, so the potential danger it poses is not easily recognized.
Published by: Dalje on March 8, 2011
Full article: http://dalje.com/en-world/new-zealand-earthquake-mapped-by-satellite/344380
