Description

Large numbers of satellites currently circle Earth, continuously observing its surface in a variety of ways. In this lecture, Professor Barry Parsons will explain how these satellites may be used to investigate earthquakes – mapping earthquake faults; determining the topography produced by past and recent earthquakes; imaging the displacement of the earth’s surface in earthquakes; measuring the straining of near-surface material, strain that will eventually be released in future earthquakes – and to find out what happens in an earthquake below the surface.

Professor Barry Parsons was Director of the Centre for the Observation and Modelling for Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET) from 2002 to 2013. COMET is an Earth Observation Centre of Excellence supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) that links scientists at several earth science departments, deploying earth observation (satellite) techniques on questions concerning the science and hazard of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Barry is currently Principal Investigator for a NERC-funded consortium project, Looking inside the Continents from Space (LiCS), which aims to exploit the opportunities to measure crustal strain accurately and in detail presented by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 radar satellites.

This lecture is suitable for an audience of approx 16+, especially those with an interest in Physics, Geography, space technology and applied sciences.