The earthquake of 25 April 2015 caused a shift of several meters in the location of a 90 kilometre long and 30 kilometre wide ribbon of land around Kathmandu according to an analysis by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Scientists at the DLR Earth Observation Center compared archived data for the area with current radar images collected by ESA’s Sentinel-1, a radar satellite.
The image shows the changes in elevation and physical location that took place between the two sets of data acquisitions along the satellite’s line of sight. The release of stress between the colliding Indian and Eurasian plates generated sudden jolts of ground movement. The resulting deformations are colour coded. Near the plate borders the ground moved toward the satellite, i.e., upward (blue area). Further to the north there was ground subsidence (red and yellow areas), a countermovement that frequently occurs with earthquakes at subduction zones. The scientists also noted horizontal shifting of the area up to two meters in a north-south direction. The image shows the epicentres of numerous subsequent earthquakes as well.