ESA ENVISAT: Earth movements from Japan earthquake

Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar coseismic interferogram from descending track 347, processed by JPL/Caltech ARIA project. Data acquired on 19 February and 21 March 2011, spanning the main shock of the magnitude 9 earthquake and several aftershocks that occurred in Japan on 11 March 2011 and the following days (until 21 March).

One colour cycle represents 50 cm of motion in the satellite line of sight (approximately east at 41 degrees from the vertical), i.e. about 35 cm of motion on the ground. The seismicity plot is from the US Geological Survey.

Credits: Based on ESA data - JPL/Caltech ARIA project (E. Fielding, Principal Scientist JPL/Caltech; S. Yun, Research Scientist JPL/Caltech; P. Agram, KISS Postdoctoral Fellow Caltech)