A new space radar technique, applied retrospectively to satellite imagery of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, has detected deformations that pre-empted its collapse.
In August 2018, a section of the bridge failed catastrophically, killing 43 people. By reviewing 15 years of satellite imagery – in particular Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data from the latest generation of European satellites – and analysing it with custom algorithms, it was shown that the bridge showed signs of warping in the months before the tragedy. Published in Remote Sensing, the research is the work of scientists and engineers at the University of Bath and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
“The state of the bridge has been reported on before, but using the satellite information we can see for the first time the deformation that preceded the collapse,” said Dr Giorgia Giardina from Bath’s Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering.“We have proved that it is possible to use this tool, specifically the combination of different data from satellites, with a mathematical model, to detect the early signs of collapse or deformation.”
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