Satellite data gives snapshot of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake

Abstract

While it is well‐known that the collision of the Indian subcontinent with the Eurasian continent forms the Himalayas, the real‐time spatial crustal movement of these plates is difficult to observe. However, scientists can witness a part of this process of the formation of the Himalayas through an eye in space: synthetic aperture radar (SAR). From the European Space Agency's Envisat, a satellite with SAR, the details of crustal deformation resulting from a major earthquake—a chance snapshot of the growth of the Himalayas—has been captured. Envisat's SAR has provided important data about the northern Pakistan earthquake (M7.6) of 8 October 2005, which occurred in the Kashmir region in the northwestern part of the Himalayas.