ESA Satellite Sentinel-1A maps out Napa Valley earthquake

A radar interferogram from Sentinel-1A showing how the ground moved in the Napa Valley earthquake. 

Each coloured fringe is caused by a change in distance between the ground and the satellite of about 3cm. 

The extent of the ground deformation in the interferogram shows that the fault slip which occurred in this earthquake continues further north than the extent of the mapped rupture at the surface. 

Credit: Copernicus data (2014) /ESA/PPO.labs-Norut–COMET-SEOM Insarap study

Scientists have used a new Earth-observation satellite called Sentinel-1A to map the ground movements caused by the earthquake that shook up California's wine-producing Napa Valley on 24 August 2014.

This is the first earthquake to be mapped by the European Space Agency's (ESA) new satellite and demonstrates the capabilities of the Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET) in analysing its observations quickly.

COMET Director, Professor Tim Wright, from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, said: "This successful demonstration of Sentinel-1A marks the beginning of a new era for our ability to map earthquakes from space.

COMET scientists are building a system that will routinely provide results for all continental earthquakes, as well as mapping the slow warping of the ground surface that leads to earthquakes."

Professor Andy Hooper, a member of the COMET team from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, added: "This satellite represents a sea change in the way we will be able to monitor catastrophic events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, due to its systematic observation strategy."

Sentinel-1A was launched on 3 April 2014, but it only reached its final operational orbit on 7 August. The pre-earthquake image was acquired on that day.

By comparing it with an image acquired on 31 August, COMET collaborators Dr Yngvar Larsen, from the research institute Norut in Norway, and Dr Petar Marinkovic, from PPO.labs in the Netherlands, created a map of the surface deformation, called an 'interferogram', caused by the magnitude 6.0 earthquake.

The images are being used by scientists on the ground to help them map the surface rupture.

Austin Elliott, a PhD student at the University of California, Davis, who has been among the team mapping the earthquake rupture on the ground said: "The data from satellites are invaluable for completely identifying the surface break of the earthquake, deformation maps from satellite imagery guide us to places where rupture has not yet been mapped."

Although the Sentinel-1 satellite system, which will also include the future Sentinel-1B satellite, is still being tested and commissioned, ESA was able to ensure data covering the earthquake were acquired, and provide this to the science team rapidly.

When the Sentinel-1 constellation is fully operational, the average time delay between an earthquake and a radar acquisition will only be a few days, which will mean the results will also be useful for helping with humanitarian responses on the ground.

The interferogram clearly confirms that the West Napa Fault was responsible for the earthquake. This fault had not been identified as being particularly hazardous prior to the event.

Geologists warning of mega Earthquake for Iquique North Chile

North Chile is at risk of a mega earthquake after a tremor in April released only some of the tension building along a high-risk fault zone since 1877, researchers said Wednesday.

Two studies published in the journal Nature said the 8.1-8.2 magnitude quake that shook the city of Iquique, killing six people and forcing a million to leave their homes, may not have been the anticipated Big One.

Scientists have long kept an eye on the north Chile subduction zone, where a slab of the Earth's crust is driving under the South American continent at an average rate of about seven centimetres per year.

Subduction zones are known for yielding powerful quakes.

In 1877, a tremor with an exponentially much higher 8.6-8.8 magnitude ruptured nearly 500 kilometres of the north Chilean fault.

The April 1 Iquique rattler, followed by a strong aftershock, broke only a section of the so-called seismic gap; a section of an active fault that had not ruptured in a long time, building up stress to be released as a major quake.

Gavin Hayes

"Our results... indicate that this (Iquique) was not the earthquake that had been anticipated," wrote the authors of the first study led by Gavin Hayes of the United States Geological Survey.

The study "Continuing Megathrust Earthquake potential in Chile after the Iquique Earthquake" is published in the journal Nature.

"Significant sections of the northern Chile subduction zone have not ruptured in almost 150 years, so it is likely that future megathrust earthquakes will occur to the south and potentially to the north of the 2014 Iquique sequence."

Megathrust earthquakes are often followed by killer tsunamis.

"Observations suggest that enough strain has accumulated along this plate boundary segment to host an earthquake close to M9 (magnitude 9)," the team cautioned.

The authors of the second study said the Iquique quake broke about a third of the northern Chile seismic gap, and agreed that "the remaining locked segments now pose a significant increased seismic hazard."

They put the potential magnitude of such a quake at 8.5.

The second study "Gradual unlocking of plate boundary controlled initiation of the 2014 Iquique earthquake" is also available in the journal Nature.

The corresponding author of this study is Bernd Schurr of GFZ Potsdam.

"The Big One may still be to come," added University of California geologist Roland Burgmann, who wrote a comment on the studies.

Hayes and his team said that on the basis of their findings, "Chilean and global seismologists now face the difficult task of communicating this uncertain yet perhaps elevated hazard, without appearing alarmist."

Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.

ESO ALMA: Chile Earthquake Leaves Astronomy Observatories Unscathed

The epicenter for the 8.2 earthquake that rocked Chile on Tuesday was approximately 310 miles (500 km) from the Very Large Telescope and ALMA.

Credit: ESO

The massive earthquake that struck Chile on Tuesday (April 1) left three main European-built observatories in the region relatively untouched despite causing damage and a tsunami along the country's western coast.

The powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of the coastal city Iquique, causing several landslides and triggering a tsunami that rose some 7 feet (2.1 meters).

The earthquake struck at 8:46 p.m. local time (7:46 EDT).

A powerful 7.6-magnitude aftershock rattled the area late Wednesday night (April 2).

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) operates three major observatories in Chile, each with multiple telescopes: the Paranal Observatory, which is home to Europe's Very Large Telescope; the La Silla Observatory, which hosts various telescopes, such as the 2.2-m Max-Planck telescope, 1.2-m Swiss Leonhard Euler Telescope and the 1.5-m Danish Telescope; and ALMA and APEX, or the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. (Also in the Chajnantor region is Caltech's Chajnantor Observatory.)

The epicenter was located approximately 310 miles (500 km) from both the ALMA/APEX and Paranal sites.

"The quake was felt at the ALMA camp as a prolonged swaying, which lasted for about 2 minutes," the ALMA Observatory said in a statement.

However, none of the ESO facilities reported any damage.

Arecibo Observatory undergoing emergency repairs after earthquake damage

The Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico.

The NAIC Arecibo Observatory's 305 meter (1,000 ft) radio telescope is undergoing emergency repair after being damaged during a 6.4 magnitude earthquake on January 13, 2014.

A large cable that supports the telescope's receiver platform had "serious damage," according to Bob Kerr, the Director of the Arecibo Observatory.

Bob Kerr

"A protocol structural survey following the January 13 earthquake revealed serious damage to [a] short cable section, with apparent breach of several cable strands," Kerr told reporters.

"An experienced structural engineering firm was brought to assess the damage, and to consider repair options."

The earthquake's epicenter was located in the ocean about 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of Arecibo and was one of the largest to hit Puerto Rico in several years.

The quake caused some floor cracking in buildings and homes on the island, as well as power outages, but no major damages or injuries, officials said.

There were, however, at least 70 aftershocks with at least three of a magnitude 3.5 or greater.

The famous radio observatory is located near Puerto Rico's north coast, and opened in 1963. It was built inside a depression left by a sinkhole and is the largest curved focusing dish on Earth.

The dish's surface is made of thousands of perforated aluminum panels, each about 1 by 2 meters (3 by 6 feet), supported by a mesh of steel cables.

The receiver is on a 900-ton platform suspended 137 meters (450 feet) above the dish by 18 cables running from three reinforced concrete towers.

It was one of these 18 cables that was damaged, and this particular cable was actually a known potential problem.

Kerr said that during original construction of the telescope in 1962, one of the original platform suspension cables that was delivered to the observatory was too short, and another short cable section was "spliced" to provide sufficient reach to the platform.

"That cable segment and splice near the top of one of the telescope towers was consequently more rigid than the balance of the suspension system," Kerr said.

"When the earthquake shook the site, just after midnight on January 13, it is that short cable and splice that suffered damage."

The platform hangs above the Arecibo dish, supported by cables. 

Credit: Cornell University.

"You might say that our structural Achilles heel was exposed," Kerr added.

Inspectors from New York's Ammann & Whitney Bridge Construction, who have been inspecting the Arecibo observatory site since 1972, were brought in to access the situation.

Kerr said a relatively low-cost (less than $100,000) repair option was designed, and materials are now being procured to complete a repair that is expected to bring the telescope back into full service.

Yellowstone magma much bigger than thought

This graphic provided by University of Utah geophysicists shows the first large-scale picture of the electrical conductivity of the gigantic underground plume of hot and partly molten rock that feeds the Yellowstone supervolcano. 

The plume of molten rock feeding the supervolcano under the surface of Yellowstone National Park is much larger than previously thought, according to University of Utah geophysicists whose findings will be published in Geophysical Research Letters. 

AP Photo/University of Utah

The hot molten rock beneath Yellowstone National Park is 2 ½ times larger than previously estimated, meaning the park's supervolcano has the potential to erupt with a force about 2,000 times the size of Mount St. Helens, according to a new study.

By measuring seismic waves from earthquakes, scientists were able to map the magma chamber underneath the Yellowstone caldera as 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) long, lead author Jamie Farrell of the University of Utah said Monday.

The chamber is 18 miles (29 kilometers) wide and runs at depths from 3 to 9 miles (5 to 14 1/2 kilometers) below the earth, he added.

That means there is enough volcanic material below the surface to match the largest of the supervolcano's three eruptions over the last 2.1 million years, Farrell said.

The largest blast—the volcano's first—was 2,000 times the size of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state.

A similar one would spew large amounts of volcanic material in the atmosphere, where it would circle the earth, he said.

"It would be a global event," Farrell said. "There would be a lot of destruction and a lot of impacts around the globe."

The last Yellowstone eruption happened 640,000 years ago, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. For years, observers tracking earthquake swarms under Yellowstone have warned the caldera is overdue to erupt.

A large earthquake at Yellowstone is much more likely than a volcano eruption, Farrell said.

The 7.5-magnitude Hebgen Lake earthquake killed 28 people there in 1959.

Farrell presented his findings last week to the American Geophysical Union. He said he is submitting it to a scholarly journal for peer review and publication.

Brigham Young University geology professor Eric Christiansen said the study by Farrell and University of Utah Professor Bob Smith is very important to understanding the evolution of large volcanos such as Yellowstone's.

"It helps us understand the active system," Christiansen said.

"It's not at the point where we need to worry about an imminent eruption, but every piece of information we have will prepare us for that eventuality."

ESA GOCE: Earth's gravity scarred by earthquake

Changes in Earth's gravity field resulting from the earthquake that hit Japan on 11 March 2011 (mE=10-12s-2). 

A combination of data from ESA's GOCE mission and the NASA-German Grace satellite, shows the 'vertical gravity gradient change'. 

The 'beachball' marks the epicentre.  

Image courtesy DGFI /TU Delft.

ESA's GOCE satellite has revealed that the devastating Japanese earthquake of 2011 left its mark in Earth's gravity - yet another example of this extraordinary mission surpassing its original scope.

GOCE mapped Earth's gravity with unrivalled precision for over four years, but nobody really expected the data to show changes over time.

Now, careful analysis shows the effects of the 9.0 earthquake that struck east of Japan's Honshu Island on 11 March 2011 are clearly visible in GOCE's gravity data.

Large earthquakes not only deform Earth's crust, but can also cause tiny changes in local gravity.

The strength of gravity varies from place to place on our planet's surface and it was GOCE's task to map these variations very precisely.

There are a number of reasons why values of gravity differ, but one is a consequence of material inside Earth being inhomogeneous and unevenly distributed.

Since earthquakes shift around rock and other material tens of km below the surface, they also cause small changes in the local gravity.

Earthquakes under oceans, as in the 2011 Japanese quake, can also change the shape of the sea bed. This displaces water and changes the sea level, which in turn also affects gravity.

After more than doubling its planned life in orbit, the satellite recently ran out of fuel and reentered the atmosphere, largely disintegrating in the process.

Although it is no longer in orbit, the real mission is only just starting because scientists will be analysing the data for years to come to help understand many aspects of our world.

Information from GOCE is being used to understand how oceans transport huge quantities of heat around the planet and to develop a global height reference system, for example.

The mission has already shed new light on different aspects of Earth - from atmospheric density and winds, to mapping the boundary between the crust and upper mantle, and to understand geodynamic processes occurring in these layers far below our feet.

In a surprising discovery earlier this year unrelated to gravity changes, the satellite's accelerometer and ion thruster also revealed that GOCE had 'felt' sound waves in space from the Japanese quake.

ESA ENVISAT Image: Bali, Lombok, and Sumbawa: Where Worlds Collide

This image from the Envisat satellite is dominated by the Indonesian islands of Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa.

All three are part of the volcanic Sunda Arc along the submarine Java trench, where two tectonic plates are moving towards one another, and one slides under the other.

This tectonic deformation along the Java trench caused the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

To the west is Bali, one of Indonesia's main tourist destinations. The island's central mountains include peaks that reach over 3000 m, including an active volcano visible on the right side of the island.

Strong reflections of the radar signal used to produce this image appear like specks of light. They are mainly detectable in the southern part of the island, and are particularly concentrated around the provincial capital city of Denpasar.

This is the typical appearance of built-up areas in radar images, owing to the multiple reflection of the radar beam by buildings and especially metal constructions.

In the centre of the image is Lombok. Similar to Bali, we can see multiple reflections concentrated around the city of Mataram.

Varying colours stretch across the island's lowlands, which are highly cultivated, depicting changes in the land.

Sumbawa island lies to the east, dominated by mountainous terrain. This is also home to Mount Tambora, an active volcano.

In 1815, its massive eruption caused heavy ash falls that ruined local agriculture and even affected much of the Northern Hemisphere.

The deaths of over 70 000 people are attributed to this event. This image is a compilation of three passes by Envisat's radar on 20 June, 19 August and 17 December 2011.

Each is assigned a colour (red, green and blue) and combined to produce this representation. The colours reveal changes in the surface between Envisat's passes.

NASA - Oblique View of Borrego Fault

This 3-D airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) oblique view of the Borrego Fault, taken from the post-earthquake topographic survey, shows a wide zone of numerous small faults that slice the ground surface and offset the floor of a desert wash surrounding the main fault. 

The various colours in the landscape represent elevation changes during the earthquake. Image generated in Crusta (keckcaves.org) with 2x vertical exaggeration.

Earthquake Damage La Libertad, Negros Oriental in central Philippines

A vehicle transporting a body of an earthquake victim tries to pass through a destroyed road in La Libertad, Negros Oriental in central Philippines. Local media reports said 29 were killed and 71 are still missing in a 6.7 magnitude quake that severely hit Negros island on Monday.

Japan Quake Struck Earth's Atmosphere First

The devastating earthquake that struck Japan this year may have rattled the highest layer of the atmosphere even before it shook the Earth, a discovery that one day could be used to provide warnings of giant quakes, scientists find.

The magnitude 9.0 quake that struck off the coast of Tohoku in Japan in March ushered in what might be the world's first complex megadisaster as it unleashed a catastrophic tsunami and set off microquakes and tremors around the globe.

Scientists recently found the surface motions and tsunamis this earthquake generated also triggered waves in the sky.

These waves reached all the way to the ionosphere, one of the highest layers of the Earth's atmosphere.

NASA Evacuates during East Coast Quake

While NASA often sets its sights on the heavens, the space agency is still affected by events here on terra firma — like yesterday's East Coast earthquake.

The 5.8-magnitude temblor — the biggest quake in the region in more than 100 years — struck near the small Virginia town of Mineral yesterday morning (Aug. 23). It then radiated outward, shaking the ground in dozens of states.

Several nearby NASA research and administration centers felt the jolt.

NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., for example, was evacuated briefly yesterday, agency officials said.

[Infographic: Earthquake Shakes Northeastern US]

VTSO: Central Virginia Seismic Zone

EARTHQUAKES IN THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA SEISMIC ZONE
Since at least 1774, people in central Virginia have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones. 

The largest damaging earthquake (magnitude 4.8) in the seismic zone occurred in 1875. Smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two.

Earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S., although less frequent than in the western U.S., are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast.

A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).

FAULTS
Earthquakes everywhere occur on faults within bedrock, usually miles deep. Most bedrock beneath central Virginia was assembled as continents collided to form a supercontinent about 500-300 million years ago, raising the Appalachian Mountains.

Most of the rest of the bedrock formed when the supercontinent rifted apart about 200 million years ago to form what are now the northeastern U.S., the Atlantic Ocean, and Europe.

At well-studied plate boundaries like the San Andreas fault system in California, often scientists can determine the name of the specific fault that is responsible for an earthquake.

In contrast, east of the Rocky Mountains this is rarely the case. The Central Virginia seismic zone is far from the nearest plate boundaries, which are in the center of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea.

The seismic zone is laced with known faults but numerous smaller or deeply buried faults remain undetected. Even the known faults are poorly located at earthquake depths.

Accordingly, few, if any, earthquakes in the seismic zone can be linked to named faults. It is difficult to determine if a known fault is still active and could slip and cause an earthquake.

As in most other areas east of the Rockies, the best guide to earthquake hazards in the seismic zone is the earthquakes themselves.

Source: NEIC/USGS

Two maps showing the geology of central Virginia: Geology Map 1 | Geology Map 2

VTSO: Central Virginia Seismic Zone

DC Earthquake: Powerful tremor shakes region - Capital Weather Gang - The Washington Post

U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed an earthquake struck central Virginia at 1:53 p.m 4 miles south southeast of Louisa, Virginia near Mineral, Va.

It has been felt throughout the D.C. metro region and over a large part of the eastern U.S. Initial indications are that it measured 5.9 on the Richter scale.

Minutes after the quake, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Marcia McNutt -- who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office -- cautioned that the shaking might not be over.

“What the concern is, of course, is that this is a foreshock. If it’s a foreshock, then the worse is yet to come.”
She said the energy from earthquakes on the East Coast does not attenuate as quickly as it does on the West Coast, and thus even a relatively modest tremor can shake a very broad.

“When something like this happen, everyone has to remember, more than half of the states in the U.S. are considered earthquake country.

something like this happens, remember what to do in the case of a seismic event. Duck, get under something sturdy like a desk or a doorway, get away from falling glass.

Make sure that you are not in the way of falling objects like pictures, bookshelves, books, anything that’s not firmly connected the wall.”


An earthquake also occurred in the D.C. metro region July 16, 2010. A 3.6 magnitude quake centered near Gaithersburg shook the area. Today’s 5.9 magnitude quake is 200 times bigger than that quake and more than 2800 times as powerful (USGS How Much Bigger Calculator).

CNN is reporting Virginia has recorded only 25 earthquakes since it became a state.

Experts say there are two active earthquake areas in Virginia: The one apparently responsible for Tuesday’s quake runs along the James River between Charlottesville and Richmond and is known as the Central Virginia Seismic Zone.

The other is an area centered in Giles County in southwest Virginia, which had a 5.8-magnitude quake more than a century ago.

The Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory(VTSO) offers the following on earthquake history in the central Virginia seismic zone:

Since at least 1774, people in central Virginia have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones. The largest damaging earthquake (magnitude 4.8) in the seismic zone occurred in 1875. Smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two.

It would appear today’s quake is the largest on record in that region. USGS said it was the strongest quake to hit the entire state since 1897.

VTSO adds the following:
A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).

Early reports on the USGS website indicate that the quake, half a mile deep, was felt from New York City to Charlotte, N.C. and as far west as Cleveland. Twitter reports state the quake was felt as far away as Ottawa, Canada and Alabama.

Aftershock risk?
From Mike Blanpied, associate coordinator for the USGS earthquakes hazards program:

“Aftershocks could go on for days, weeks, or even months. They’re most likely to be felt under the next 3 or 4 days.”

“The rocks are old and cold and they carry the seismic energy very far. Even a magnitude 6 or less earthquake can be felt over a considerably large area, unlike California where the shaking is more concentrated,” Blanpied said.

Washington and Virginia Earthquake

People flood the streets outside The Washington Post, moments after an earthquake hit Washington. (David Nakamura/The Washington Post) An earthquake hit the East Coast Tuesday afternoon, rattling nerves up and down the coast. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit near the town of Mineral, Va. with a 5.9 magnitude .
People reported feeling the ground move as far north as Boston and as far south as Anderson, S.C. A Columbus, Ohio, government worker reported the building shook there, as well. The earthquake’s epicenter is located near the North Anna Nuclear power plant. Dominion, the company that runs the power plant, said it is awaiting a report on its status.
In Washington, people spilled out onto the streets and reports came in that the earthquake was strong enough in Virginia to break glass and a spire broke off from the National Cathedral. There have been no reports of injury yet.
For full Post coverage, follow the Capital Weather Gang.
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Earthquake in Virginia, USA. Magnitude 5.9: Shakes Washington DC, NYC

An earthquake in Virginia rocked much of the East Coast Tuesday afternoon, with early reports of shaking being felt all the way from Charlotte, N.C., to New York City and Ohio.

The U.S.G.S. says that the quake had a magnitude of 5.9 and that its epicenter was 4 miles south of Mineral, Virginia, and 83 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

The federal agency had originally assigned the quake a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 in the immediate aftermath of the quake. The earthquake occurred roughly 0.6 miles below the earth's surface.

News of the earthquake quickly dominated Twitter, with users suggesting that they felt the quake up and down much of the Atlantic Coast and even as far away as Toronto.

Reuters reports that both the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol building were being evacuated shortly after the shaking started.

NASA/University Japan Quake Study Yields Surprises

An overhead model of the estimated fault slip due to the earthquake.

The fault responsible for this earthquake dips under Japan, starting at the Japan Trench indicated by the barbed line, the point of contact between the subducting Pacific Plate and the overriding Okhotsk Plate.

The magnitude of fault slip is indicated by the colour and the contours, at 8-meter intervals.

The question mark indicates the general region where researchers currently lack information about future seismic potential.

Credit: Mark Simons/Caltech Seismological Laboratory

ESA ENVISAT - GPS measurements from Japan earthquake

GPS measurements of the coseismic displacement of the Japan earthquake on 11 March 2011 by GEONET (reference provided by Prof. Hashimoto).

This displacement chart shows the direction of ground movement. This type of in-situ data can be found on the GeoHazard Supersites web site.

Credits: GEONE

ESA ENVISAT: Terrain Displacement from Japan earthquake from space

A map of the terrain displacement based on Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar of the earthquakes that struck Japan beginning on 11 March 2011.

The map is derived from an interferogram generated by INGV using data acquired on 19 February and 21 March 2011 on track 347.

The map shows a large portion of the surface displacement field. The maximum displacement along the Line Of Sight (of the satellite) reaches about 2.5 m relative to a reference point within the entire frame strip located nearby the southern boundary.

Credits: Based on ESA data -The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (S. Stamondo, M. Chini and C. Bignami)

QinetiQ providing Robots to Japan recovery operations

In the aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, 2011, the country faces a massive cleanup and rebuilding effort that will take years.

To assist in the dangerous task of clearing hazardous debris that stretches for hundreds of miles along Japan's east coast, the North American arm of global defense technology company QinetiQ has announced it will provide unmanned vehicle equipment and training to aid in the colossal undertaking.

Robotic Appliqué Kits
The equipment includes QinetiQ's Robotic Appliqué Kits that convert standard Bobcat loaders into unmanned vehicles in just 15 minutes.

This allows all of the Bobcat's 70 vehicle attachments, such as shovels, buckets, grapples, tree cutters and tools to break through walls and doors, to be operated remotely from a safe distance of up to one mile (1.6 km) away.

The kits fit a Bobcat with seven cameras, night vision, thermal imagers, microphones, two-way radio systems and radiation sensors to allow operators to safely remove rubble and debris, dig up buried objects and carry smaller equipment.

If needed, QinetiQ says it is also readying TALON and Dragon Runner robots in Japan.

TALON robot
The TALON robots are small, tracked military robots that are equipped with a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) detection kits that can identify more than 7,500 environmental hazards including toxic industrial chemicals, volatile gases, radiation and explosive risks, as well as temperature and air quality indicators.

The robots, which have used in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as for search and recovery in Ground Zero after September 11, also provide night vision and sound and sensing capabilities from up to 3,280 ft. (1,000 m) away.

Dragon Runner robot
The smaller and more lightweight Dragon Runner robots are designed for use in small spaces and could be used to investigate spaces too small or dangerous for humans to access, such as rubble piles, trenches, culverts and tunnels.

Light enough to be carried in a backpack, the four-wheeled robot is designed to function any way up and its front-mounted tilting thermal cameras and sound sensors can relay data back to its master controller up to 2,625 ft. (800 m) away.

In addition to the unmanned equipment, QinetiQ North America will also provide a team of technical experts to give training and support to Japan's disaster response personnel.

"We are honored to have this opportunity to support Japan's recovery efforts," said QinetiQ North America Technology Solutions Group President JD Crouch. "Our unmanned vehicles will provide reliable, effective, first responder technology to help protect the brave men and women who are working to save lives and restore critical services."

EOG Satellite picture of Japan's Blackout

It might appear to be glowing with light, but this recently released image shows just how much of northern Japan was left without power the day after a powerful earthquake hit the country.

The picture is actually a composite of two satellite images, one taken in 2010 and one taken on 12 March, 2011.

The yellow colour shows where lights were detected in both years. The red lights are where lights were seen in 2010 but were not visible the day after the earthquake.

Only a handful of lights remain in operation around the city of Sendai and the ravaged coast north-east of Tokyo, which bore the brunt of the tsunami.

The image was taken by an F18 satellite as part of the NOAA EOG US Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

Large swathes of Japan are still suffering from rolling blackouts and power cuts more than a week on from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country.