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Space Geodesy Lab
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The lab uses satellite-based space geodetic techniques to measure the movements of the ground, glaciers, and the atmosphere.
AboutAbout the lab
Capturing a dynamic Earth through surveying from space
The Space Geodesy Lab studies changes in Earth's shape, gravity, and rotation.
Its tools are space geodetic techniques such as GPS/GNSS, very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), satellite laser ranging, and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR).
The lab considers what these tools can do and applies them to earthquakes, volcanoes, and tectonics; to the atmosphere, oceans, terrestrial water, and snow and ice; and even to the Moon and Mars.
Its research is not limited by region: the whole world, from the Arctic to the equator, is its subject.
Key terms
- Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR)
- A method that measures the same location twice with satellite radar and reads ground motion from the difference
- Crustal deformation
- The shifting, stretching, or shrinking of the ground caused by earthquakes, volcanic activity, or forces acting underground
- Permafrost
- Ground that stays frozen throughout the year, found across cold regions such as Siberia and Canada
NewsLab news
A doctoral student's paper is featured in Eos of the American Geophysical Union
A student's paper is selected for Highlighted Papers 2024 of the journal Earth, Planets and Space
A student wins the Student Outstanding Presentation Award at the Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2024 for the second consecutive year
ResearchResearch themes
The three pillars of geodesy are Earth's shape, gravity, and rotation. Using modern satellite-based geodetic tools, the lab captures changes from the solid Earth to the atmosphere and snow and ice, and aims to build an earth and planetary science that is not bound by disciplinary boundaries.
*Illustrative imageCrustal deformation associated with earthquakes
Using InSAR, the lab measures how much the ground moved in earthquakes around the world. It studies not only the deformation during an earthquake but also the deformation that continues for some time afterward, and uses both to interpret how the fault moved.
*Illustrative imageGlacier flow and permafrost
The lab observes temporal changes in the speed of mountain glacier flow and the ground subsidence that occurs as permafrost thaws. In Siberia and Canada, it has captured permafrost subsidence after wildfires with satellite radar.
*Illustrative imageThe atmosphere, ionosphere, and Earth's rotation
Space geodetic tools are also used to capture the distribution of water vapor during localized torrential rain and the spread of ionospheric disturbances. The Chandler wobble, a slight wobble of Earth's rotation axis, is another subject, whose period and damping are examined from observation data.
*Illustrative imageContinental crustal deformation and the origin of topography
Using synthetic aperture radar and GNSS, the lab investigates how the continental crust is deforming, and tests the mechanisms with numerical simulations based on continuum mechanics. It has pursued research on why the heterogeneous structures that produce crustal deformation exist, in discussion with geology researchers.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Space Geodesy Lab are faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers.As of 2025
- ProfessorMasato Furuya
- Associate ProfessorYoichiro Takada
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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: “Sisters07 TheHusband gps station 05-10-07” Dave Sherrod, en:United States Geological Survey / Public domain (cropped)
- Crustal deformation associated with earthquakes: “Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img 0327” Ikluft / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Glacier flow and permafrost: “Omulyakhskaya and Khromskaya Bays, Northern Siberia, Zoom” NASA Earth Observatory / Public domain (cropped)
- The atmosphere, ionosphere, and Earth's rotation: “The Blue Marble (remastered)” NASA/Apollo 17 crew / Public domain (cropped)
- Continental crustal deformation and the origin of topography: “ISS-43 Himalaya range near the China–India border” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Seismic Observation Lab): “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” Z22 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Earth and Planetary Materials Science Lab): “Calcite-20188” Robert M. Lavinsky / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Seismology Lab): “Ashio Seismological Observatory” Qurren / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Volcanic Activity Lab): “Mount Usu from Shōwa-shinzan ( )” Hiroshi Nakai / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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