High‐Resolution Surface Velocities and Strain for Anatolia From Sentinel‐1 InSAR and GNSS Data

TLDR

Measurements of present‑day surface deformation are essential for assessing long‑term seismic hazard, and Sentinel‑1 satellites provide global, high‑resolution InSAR observations of crustal motion. We have developed automated InSAR processing systems that exploit the first ~5 years of Sentinel‑1 data to measure surface motions for the ~800,000‑km² Anatolian region. The 3‑D velocity and strain rate fields show westward motion of Anatolia relative to Eurasia, localized strain accumulation along the North and East Anatolian Faults, rapid vertical signals from anthropogenic activities and extension across western Anatolia’s grabens, and confirm that automated Sentinel‑1 InSAR can map these patterns with high resolution and accuracy, aiding assessment of strain accumulation and release in earthquakes.

Abstract

Abstract Measurements of present‐day surface deformation are essential for the assessment of long‐term seismic hazard. The European Space Agency's Sentinel‐1 satellites enable global, high‐resolution observation of crustal motion from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). We have developed automated InSAR processing systems that exploit the first ~5 years of Sentinel‐1 data to measure surface motions for the ~800,000‐km 2 Anatolian region. Our new 3‐D velocity and strain rate fields illuminate deformation patterns dominated by westward motion of Anatolia relative to Eurasia, localized strain accumulation along the North and East Anatolian Faults, and rapid vertical signals associated with anthropogenic activities and to a lesser extent extension across the grabens of western Anatolia. We show that automatically processed Sentinel‐1 InSAR data can characterize details of the velocity and strain rate fields with high resolution and accuracy over large regions. These results are important for assessing the relationship between strain accumulation and release in earthquakes.