Surface deformation in the Abruzzi region, Central Italy, from multitemporal DInSAR analysis

Abstract

We investigate the 1992-2000 surface deformation affecting the Abruzzi region, Central Italy, by exploiting two set of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, acquired by the ERS-1/2 SAR sensors from ascending and descending orbits, respectively. We apply the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) technique to the SAR data set to estimate the displacement time-series and the corresponding velocity maps. Our DInSAR analysis allows us to detect a previously unreported major change in crustal deformation moving from the highest elevation of the Central Apennines to the Adriatic sector, that we infer as evidence of a complex tectonic boundary between two Adriatic microplates involving a wide interaction zone. An extension effect, at a rate of about 0.10 × 10-6 yr-1, is also confirmed by our investigation. Our findings may have important implications in the seismic hazard assessment within the Adriatic region in Central Italy. © 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 RAS.