Cartagena is subsiding at a higher rate compared to that of global climate-driven sea level rise. We investigate the relative sea level rise (RSLR) and the influence of vertical land movements in Cartagena through the integration of different datasets, including tide gauge records, GPS geodetic subsidence data, and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations of vertical motions. Results reveal a long-term rate (> 60 years) of RSLR of 5.98 ± 0.01 mm/yr. The last two decades exhibited an even greater rate of RSLR of 7.02 ± 0.06 mm/yr. GPS subsidence rates range between − 5.71 ± 2.18 and − 2.85 ± 0.84 mm/yr. InSAR data for the 2014–2020 period show cumulative subsidence rates of up to 72.3 mm. We find that geologically induced vertical motions represent 41% of the observed changes in RSLR and that subsidence poses a major threat to Cartagena’s preservation. The geodetic subsidence rates found would imply a further additional RSLR of 83 mm by 2050 and 225 mm by 2100. The Colombian government should plan for the future and serve as an example to similar cities across the Caribbean.

This study, involving remote sensing, seismology, and geology, revealed complex faulting during the mainshock of the Ston–Slano earthquake sequence (5 September, 1996, Mw = 6.0). The observed DInSAR interferogram fringe patterns could not be explained by a single fault rupture. Geological investigations assigned most of the interferogram features either to previously known faults or to those newly determined by field studies. Relocation of hypocentres and reassessment of fault mechanisms provided additional constraints on the evolution of stress release during this sequence. Available data support the scenario that the mainshock started with a reverse rupture with a left-lateral component on the Slano fault 4.5 km ESE of Slano, at the depth of about 11 km. The rupture proceeded unilaterally to the NW with the velocity of about 1.5 km/s for about 11 km, where the maximum stress release occurred. DInSAR interferograms suggest that several faults were activated in the process. The rupture terminated about 20 km away from the epicentre, close to the town of Ston, where the maximum DInSAR ground displacement reached 38 cm. Such a complicated and multiple rupture has never before been documented in the Dinarides. If this proves to be a common occurrence, it can pose problems in defining realistic hazard scenarios, especially in deterministic hazard assessment.

We address geometric and kinematic properties of the M w 6.3 26 November 2019 Durrës earthquake, the strongest earthquake in Albania in the past 40 years. Using coseismic surface displacements from Sentinel-1 Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) and nearby Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) stations, we invert for the geometry and slip of the causative fault. We find that both a steep SW-dipping fault (dip 71°) and a shallow NE-dipping fault (dip 15°) can fit the data equally well. However, the slip on the SW-dipping fault occurs at depths 11-23 km, similar to the depths of the mainshock and aftershock seismicity, and thus, we prefer that model. The location of our preferred fault plane correlates with the mapped SW-dipping backthrust, the Vore fault. The fault rupture did not reach the surface, which implies that an updip stress propagation onto the unruptured shallow portion of the Vore fault and its secondary structures pose an increased seismic hazard for cities in Albania, including the capital, Tirana.

<p>Major geological hazards can devastate essential infrastructure and result in widespread injury and death. Understanding the underlying processes that can lead to these hazards and providing analysis-ready datasets in a timely fashion is crucial for hazard monitoring and disaster response and recovery efforts. In support of NASA's vision, we are committed to an open-source science initiative enabling the transparency, inclusivity and accessibility, and reproducibility of  Earth observation data – all fundamental to the pace and quality of scientific progress. Under a NASA ACCESS effort, we have: 1) significantly lowered the latency of delivering displacement products, i.e. the Sentinel-1 Geocoded Unwrapped (S1-GUNW) products, and 2) enabled the expansion of the displacement data archive to over one million S1-GUNW products, currently making ARIA one of the largest open InSAR archives spanning continental scales across most major active tectonic and volcanic regions (Sangha et al., 2022). The scientific analysis of these products is streamlined via the open-source ARIA-tools, which simplifies the download and preparation of S1-GUNWs for time-series analysis through the open-source MintPy software (Yunjun et al., 2019). The derived datasets can support science applications as well as timely science-driven decision-making efforts, particularly, after or during disaster and recovery periods.</p> <p>Here we demonstrate how our updated infrastructure, driven by an open-source Hybrid Pluggable Processing Pipeline (HyP3) cloud architecture, can be leveraged to support open science and disaster response applications ranging from analysis of volcanic unrest and earthquakes, to characterizing broader-scale tectonic processes.</p>

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