InSAR captures rifting and volcanism in East Africa

In the past decade, synthetic aperture radar interferometric (InSAR) has enjoyed increasing use as a tool for detecting and characterizing surface deformation associated with volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers, and other geological processes. Though InSAR can only image deformation that occurs along the radar line-of-sight and is subject to atmospheric, orbital, and other errors that can be difficult to quantify, the method has the advantage of high spatial resolution (especially in arid, unvegetated environments) without requiring equipment on the ground. As a result, InSAR is extremely useful for mapping deformation in poorly accessible or unmonitored parts of the world.