European Ground Motion Service

The Earth's surface is in constant motion due to phenomena like tectonic activity, volcanism, or human activities such as groundwater extraction and mining. These movements can significantly impact infrastructure and natural ecosystems, leading to a demand for comprehensive and reliable information. The European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) was developed to meet this need, providing cutting-edge space-based remote sensing data.

EGMS utilizes Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) data from Sentinel-1 to detect and measure ground movements across Europe with millimeter precision. The service offers datasets like EGMS Basic, which provides InSAR displacement data with geo-localisation and quality measures, and EGMS Calibrated, which references measurement points to a global navigation satellite system model. Both datasets are visualized as vector maps and distributed in CSV format, including time series of displacement.

Data from the EGMS is updated annually and accessible via the EGMS Explorer (an external site). It is invaluable for city, regional, and state authorities to monitor the structural integrity of infrastructure like dams, bridges, railways, and buildings. Urban planners use it for data-driven decisions regarding new infrastructure, assessing hazards such as landslides or subsidence. Researchers also leverage EGMS data to study climate change impacts, including thawing permafrost and coastal subsidence.