Detection of ground surface deformation associated with earthquakes by using ALOS-2 data－The effort of SAR Analysis Working Group of the Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction, Japan－

Abstract

The Earthquake SAR Analysis Working Group is a group of experts which was established under the Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction in order to detect detailed coseismic ground surface deformation through analyses of SAR images of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2), develop related techniques, solve seismogenic mechanism from the deformation field and seek ways to utilize SAR data for disaster response and mitigation. Once an earthquake occurs and it is expected to cause coseismic deformation, ALOS-2 urgently observes the affected area upon request from the working group and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) promptly provides the observation data to members of the working group. Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), the Secretariat of the working group, has analyzed the data and successfully detected detailed ground surface deformation caused by a lot of earthquakes including the 2014 North Nagano Prefecture Earthquake, the 2015 Nepal (Gorkha) Earthquake and the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake.