A new procedure for evaluating light-to-moderate earthquake location based on InSAR data and forward modeling tested on Mediterranean area

Abstract

We propose a procedure based on remote sensing Sentinel-1 InSAR data aiming at evaluating the variability of the moment tensor solutions provided by different agencies in case of light-to-moderate earthquake. We model the expected coseismic ground deformations from the available moment tensor solutions and compare them with the real ones retrieved with the InSAR data. Any differences between location and intensity of simulated and estimated seismic-induced deformation fields allow indirectly evaluating the variability of the solutions in terms of epicenter locations and kinematics of the causative faults.We applied this investigation method to several light (4<Mw < 4.9) to moderate (5<Mw < 5.9) earthquakes occurred along the Mediterranean area since the launch of the Sentinel-1A mission in 2014. The selected seismic events cover all the faulting mechanisms and are characterized by different estimated magnitudes and depths thus offering a synoptic view of the performance of the procedure in several cases. Thanks to the global coverage and the unprecedented revisit time of Sentinel-1 acquisitions, the proposed procedure can be easily extended to any seismic event occurred inland worldwide.

Keywords

• Moment tensor solution
• Sentinel-1
• InSAR data
• Mediterranean area
• Light-to-moderate earthquake