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5 December 2007
Sensing Our Planet: NASA Earth Science Research Features now available
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by Laura Naranjo
May 20, 2007
Situated in the Himalaya Mountains, the Kashmir region inhabits a crossroads between the Middle East and Asia. Kashmir's valleys and snow-clad peaks have historically hosted a variety of people, fostered divergent cultures, and housed scholarly learning centers. The region's natural resources and complex heritage have caused border disputes, and parts of the region are administered by the neighboring countries of Pakistan and India. Kashmir also inhabits another crossroads: The region lies atop a web of active faults with underground dynamics that rival the complexities above ground. On October 8, 2005, one of the faults gave way, resulting in a magnitude 7.6 earthquake. In a matter of seconds, the rugged terrain that lures travelers became a waystation for relief workers providing food and shelter, military rescue operations airlifting supplies, and scientists seeking to understand how the earthquake happened.
After a major earthquake, scientists have traditionally relied on ground surveys to understand the damage. But satellite imagery is producing increasingly accurate ways to spot exposed faults and map deformation caused by earthquakes, especially in remote areas like Kashmir. What scientists learn by studying earthquake geology and post-earthquake deformation can advance what we know about earthquake dynamics, as well as provide valuable information to relief organizations.
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