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Space Geodesy Lab (SGAT)
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The lab uses space geodetic techniques to capture ground motion associated with earthquakes and volcanoes.
AboutAbout the lab
Capturing Earth's changes with eyes from space.
The Space Geodesy Lab uses space geodetic techniques to study Earth's changes, such as earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), the lab measures how much the ground has moved.
By combining observational data with numerical modeling, the lab aims to understand how earthquakes and volcanic activity occur.
Disturbances in the atmosphere and ionosphere, which get in the way of observation, are also reinterpreted as signals and studied in their own right.
Key terms
- Space geodetic techniques
- Techniques that use satellites and other means to precisely measure how the position and shape of the Earth's surface change.
- GNSS
- Global Navigation Satellite System. A system that receives radio signals from satellites to precisely determine the position of a receiver on the ground.
- Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
- An observation method that sends radio waves from a satellite or other platform toward the ground and detects the shape of the surface and its changes from how the waves are reflected.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies Earth's changes, including earthquakes and volcanoes, by combining observations from space geodetic techniques such as GNSS and SAR with numerical modeling. It is also always searching for new ideas, methods, and technologies.
*Illustrative imageVolcanic Activity and Crustal Deformation
Volcanoes deform for a variety of reasons, including the transport of magma and hydrothermal fluids. Through GNSS and SAR observations and modeling, the lab aims to gain a deeper understanding of how volcanic activity occurs.
*Illustrative imageCrustal Deformation Associated with Earthquakes
Geodetic data record the entire earthquake cycle, from the process of stress building up between earthquakes to its release during earthquakes. Including slow earthquakes, which release stress gradually, the lab explores how earthquakes occur through observation and modeling.
*Illustrative imageBroadband Geodesy
Geodesy has dealt with changes over timescales longer than a day, while seismology has dealt with changes over timescales shorter than a minute. Using methods such as kinematic GNSS, the lab searches for deformation in the band in between and studies the mechanisms behind it.
*Illustrative imageComplex Deformation of Plates
Plates move almost as rigid bodies, but near their boundaries this is not necessarily the case, and they deform in complex ways. The lab aims to explain plate motions observed with GNSS and other methods by combining them with numerical modeling.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Space Geodesy Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, doctoral and master's graduate students, visiting graduate students, and undergraduate interns.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorYosuke AokiPublications ↗
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RelatedLabs similar to Space Geodesy Lab (SGAT)
Fukuda Lab (Earthquake Occurrence Prediction Research Center)Faculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsGeodesy, crustal deformation, GNSS inversion analysis
Tanaka LabFaculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsHigh-energy geophysics (muography; volcano imaging with cosm…
Suzuki LabFaculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsVolcanology and volcano physics (numerical modeling of erupt…
Imanishi LabFaculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsGeodesy (gravity, superconducting gravimeters)The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Interferogram Iran” Roberto Monti / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Volcanic Activity and Crustal Deformation: “NASA Kilauea InSAR” ASI/NASA/JPL-Caltech / Public domain (cropped)
- Crustal Deformation Associated with Earthquakes: “Izmit interferogram” NASA/JPL-Caltech / Public domain (cropped)
- Broadband Geodesy: “CORS Shimada” IXTA9839 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Complex Deformation of Plates: “Aerial-SanAndreas-CarrizoPlain” John Wiley / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Fukuda Lab (Earthquake Occurrence Prediction Research Center)): “GEONET Continuously Operating Reference Station Ibusuki”
あじさか / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (Tanaka Lab): “AsamaYamaS” Beh / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Suzuki Lab): “Etna eruption seen from the International Space Station” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Imanishi Lab): “The Geoid (SVS5660)” NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - NASA/GSFC/Scott Luthcke, NASA/GSFC/Mark SubbaRao / Public domain (cropped)
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