The Department of Geology at the College of Science discussed a master’s thesis entitled (Using InSAR techniques to estimate ground deformation resulting from earthquakes in northeastern Iraq). The researcher's thesis, Muhammad Walid Abdel Amir, aims to evaluate the applicability of radar satellite data, specifically Sentinel-1, to analyze and estimate ground deformation, displacement, and fault activity using InSAR technology, and to draw a map of the deformation areas along the Iraqi-Iranian border and calculate the amount of displacement in them.
The study included collecting radar and seismic data covering the region, then carrying out many advanced processing operations for this data, which are related to the synthetic aperture interferometer radar technology, to know and calculate the amount of deformation that occurred in the region due to the devastating seismic tremors, and it gave successful results in identifying the deformation areas.
The results concluded that the region located along the Iraqi-Iranian border has been subjected to very large deformation due to the large and devastating earthquakes that the region suffered, especially in two years (2017-2018), when the intensity of the earthquakes reached between (Mw5.3 - Mw7.3). The deformation extends from the north of the city of Amara to the north of the city of Sulaymaniyah. The maximum deformation was reached in two areas, the first in the Ezgeleh Sarpol-Zahab area, where the maximum height was about 100 cm and the minimum depression was about 40 cm. The second area is Mandali-Sumar, where the maximum height was about 20 cm.
The study recommends establishing monitoring stations for this region equipped with the Global Navigation Fluids System, in addition to using radar and seismic data for monitoring. These stations will make it possible to monitor the area very accurately and continuously, allowing the slightest movement occurring in it to be identified.
