2019년 7월 11일 목요일 Today's deletion

[고세영]

Scars left on the surface of Earth by the strong earthquakes that hit California last week can be seen from space, with NASA images revealing how the ground was displaced during the events.

On July 4 and 5, Southern California was hit by magnitude 6.4 and 7.1 earthquakes, respectively. This was followed by over 1,000 aftershocks around the epicenter, near the city of Ridgecrest. The 7.1 quake was the biggest to hit the area in over 40 years.

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have now produced a map showing the surface displacement before and after the two earthquakes. The first image was taken on April 8 last year and the next on July 8, 2019. "Each color cycle represents 4.8 inches of ground displacement in the radar line-of-sight," a statement from NASA said. The image covers an area of 31 by 78 miles, and each pixel measures about 98 yards across.

"No filter was applied during the processing. The linear features across which the color fringes break indicate likely locations of surface rupture caused by the earthquakes, and the 'noisy' areas may indicate locations where ground surface was disturbed by the earthquakes."