Scientists with NASA/Caltech's Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis project (ARIA) used new satellite data to produce a map of ground deformation on the resort island of Lombok, Indonesia, following a deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake on August 5.
The false-color map shows the amount of permanent surface movement that occurred, almost entirely due to the quake, over a 6-day period between satellite images taken on July 30 and August 5.
From the pattern of deformation in the map, scientists have determined that the earthquake fault slip was on a fault beneath the northwestern part of Lombok Island, and it caused as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of uplift of the ground surface. White areas in the image are places where the radar measurement was not possible, largely due to dense forests in the middle of the islands.
Through these maps, NASA and its partners are contributing important observations and expertise that can assist with response to earthquakes and other natural or human-produced hazards.
The deformation map is produced from automated interferometric processing of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the European Union's Copernicus Sentinel-1A and -1B satellites using the JPL-Caltech ARIA data system. The European Space Agency operates the Sentinel-1A and -1B satellites.
This and similar products were developed in support of the NASA Disasters Program. More information on them and on the Disasters Program is available at the following links:
https://disasters.nasa.gov/lombok-indonesia-earthquake-2018
More information about ARIA is available here:
Updated at 5 p.m. PDT on Aug. 9, 2018, to change the headline to reflect that the deformation occurred during the earthquake.