The British Geophysical Association

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 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.” – Professor Andy Hooper, COMET

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.

For more information, see the full blog post here.

NERC has teamed up with BBC presenter Professor Iain Stewart and Shadow Industries, a Bristol-based production company, to create a new short film called ‘Anatomy of an Earthquake’.

The film uses graphics to provide an introduction to the physical causes of earthquakes, and what happens when a seismic hazard deep beneath the Earth’s surface meets a vulnerable city above. It also asks how we can prepare our mega-cities for a direct seismic strike, as people around the world flock to urban centres.

“Earthquakes are one of the planet’s most lethal natural forces”

The film was created with the GCSE and A’ Level curricula in mind, and is intended as a new resource to introduce students to the topic.

It was created in partnership with NERC’s British Geological Survey and Earthquakes without Frontiers, a programme jointly funded by NERC and the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) to improve understanding of the physical and social factors that cause vulnerability to earthquakes on continental interiors.