Investigation of crustal deformations caused by earthquakes of different magnitude by means of InSAR method

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a geodetic technique frequently used for detecting deformations. With its wide range of applications, it is especially utilized for determining surface deformations and studying large-scale events in detail. Since earthquakes are natural phenomena that affect vast areas, InSAR is often employed for monitoring earthquakes. However, the ability of this technique to monitor earthquakes of varying magnitudes is a subject of interest. This thesis aims to assess the detectability of surface deformations caused by earthquakes of different magnitudes using the InSAR method. For this purpose, three earthquake regions in different parts of Turkey were selected: a low-magnitude earthquake (Mw=4.5, Erzurum-Başaklı), a medium-magnitude earthquake (Mw=5.6, Denizli-Acıpayam), and a high-magnitude earthquake (Mw=6.8, Elazığ-Sivrice). Sentinel satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA) were analyzed using the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) software to evaluate the detectability of these earthquakes with InSAR. In this context, Sentinel-1 satellite data were utilized and analyzed in SNAP to reveal the monitoring capability for different earthquakes. The results of the analysis indicate that while low-magnitude earthquake regions are not detectable with InSAR, medium and high-magnitude earthquake regions can be effectively monitored using this method.