Analysis of large, seismically induced, gravitational deformations imaged by high-resolution COSMO-SkyMed synthetic aperture radar

Using differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) on COSMO-SkyMed
(Constellation of Small Satellites for the Mediterranean Basin Observation) data, we obtain
an accurate and spatially continuous measure of the coseismic ground displacement due to
the Mw = 6.3 L’Aquila (central Italy) earthquake. We identify two local deformation patterns
associated with long-term gravitational mass movements, and interpret the deformation
mechanisms by integrating geological analysis and simple analytical modeling. These subtle
deformations, the role of which in landscape evolution and earthquake-induced hazard needs
to be fully assessed, may only be identifi ed using high-resolution DInSAR.

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