NISAR: The Next Phase in Remote Sensing of the Earth - Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Aquifers, Glaciers and Devastation

Speaker: Dr. Mark Simons

John W. and Herberta M. Miles Professor of Geophysics, Seismological Laboratory Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences

Chief Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

5:00 P.M. Lecture
4:30 P.M. Reception
Sharp Lecture Hall - California Institute of Technology

Seating is limited and is available on a first come, first served basis.

Abstract:

Launching from India within a year from now (mid-2024), the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite mission will observe Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day regularity from two viewing geometries, thus sampling much of the Earth on average every 6 days. NISAR's unique measurements will provide information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater, and will support a host of other applications.

This lecture will provide an overview of the measurements NISAR will enable, with particular focus on the exquisite measurements of ground movement and examples of how we use these measurements to study earthquakes, aquifers, glaciers, and devastation associated with natural disasters.

Speaker's Biography:

Dr. Mark Simons did his university training at UCLA (B.Sc. 1989) and MIT (Ph.D. 1996). He started at Caltech as a postdoctoral scholar in 1996 and never left. He is currently the John W. and Herberta M. Miles Professor of Geophysics in the Seismological Laboratory which is part of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences. He also serves as the Chief Scientist of the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His current research interests include studies of earthquakes, volcanoes, aquifers, tides, post-glacial rebound, tectonics, and glaciology, as well as the tectonics of terrestrial planets and ocean worlds in our solar system. Mark is also active in developing applications of space geodesy for rapid response to natural and anthropogenic disasters.