Use of SAR data to study active volcanoes in Alaska

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data of Westdahl, Veniaminof, and Novarupta volcanoes in the Aleutian Arc of Alaska were analyzed to investigate recent surface volcanic processes. These studies support ongoing monitoring and research by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) in the North Pacific Ocean Region. Landforms and possible crustal deformation before, during, or after eruptions were detected and analyzed using data from the European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS), Japanese Earth Resources Satellite (JERS) and the U. S. Seasat platforms. Field observations collected by scientists from the AVO were used to verify the results from the analysis of SAR data.