Near-Real-Time Radar Interferometry
of the Mw 7.1 Hector Mine Earthquake
David
T. Sandwell, Lydie Sichoix, Duncan Agnew, Yehuda Bock, and Bernard
Minster
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA
Submitted to Geophysical Research Letters, 4 November, 1999
Revised March 10, 2000
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Abstract
The Hector Mine Earthquake (Mw 7.1, 16 October 1999) ruptured
45 km of previously mapped and unmapped faults in the Mojave Desert. The
ERS-2 satellite imaged the Mojave Desert on 15 September and again on 20
October, just 4 days after the earthquake. Using a newly-developed ground
station we acquired both passes and were able to form an interferogram
within 20 hours of the second overflight. Estimates of slip along the main
rupture are 1-2 meters greater than slip derived from geological mapping.
The gradient of the interferometric phase reveals an interesting pattern
of triggered slip on adjacent faults as well as a 30 mm deep sink hole
along interstate 40.