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NV5 Geospatial Blog

Each month, NV5 Geospatial posts new blog content across a variety of categories. Browse our latest posts below to learn about important geospatial information or use the search bar to find a specific topic or author. Stay informed of the latest blog posts, events, and technologies by joining our email list!



Deploy, Share, Repeat: AI Meets the Analytics Repository

Deploy, Share, Repeat: AI Meets the Analytics Repository

10/13/2025

The upcoming release of ENVI® Deep Learning 4.0 makes it easier than ever to import, deploy, and share AI models, including industry-standard ONNX models, using the integrated Analytics Repository. Whether you're building deep learning models in PyTorch, TensorFlow, or using ENVI’s native model creation tools, ENVI... Read More >

Blazing a trail: SaraniaSat-led Team Shapes the Future of Space-Based Analytics

Blazing a trail: SaraniaSat-led Team Shapes the Future of Space-Based Analytics

10/13/2025

On July 24, 2025, a unique international partnership of SaraniaSat, NV5 Geospatial Software, BruhnBruhn Innovation (BBI), Netnod, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) achieved something unprecedented: a true demonstration of cloud-native computing onboard the International Space Station (ISS) (Fig. 1). Figure 1. Hewlett... Read More >

NV5 at ESA’s Living Planet Symposium 2025

NV5 at ESA’s Living Planet Symposium 2025

9/16/2025

We recently presented three cutting-edge research posters at the ESA Living Planet Symposium 2025 in Vienna, showcasing how NV5 technology and the ENVI® Ecosystem support innovation across ocean monitoring, mineral exploration, and disaster management. Explore each topic below and access the full posters to learn... Read More >

Monitor, Measure & Mitigate: Integrated Solutions for Geohazard Risk

Monitor, Measure & Mitigate: Integrated Solutions for Geohazard Risk

9/8/2025

Geohazards such as slope instability, erosion, settlement, or seepage pose ongoing risks to critical infrastructure. Roads, railways, pipelines, and utility corridors are especially vulnerable to these natural and human-influenced processes, which can evolve silently until sudden failure occurs. Traditional ground surveys provide only periodic... Read More >

Geo Sessions 2025: Geospatial Vision Beyond the Map

Geo Sessions 2025: Geospatial Vision Beyond the Map

8/5/2025

Lidar, SAR, and Spectral: Geospatial Innovation on the Horizon Last year, Geo Sessions brought together over 5,300 registrants from 159 countries, with attendees representing education, government agencies, consulting, and top geospatial companies like Esri, NOAA, Airbus, Planet, and USGS. At this year's Geo Sessions, NV5 is... Read More >

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Using SAR to Map Damage From the Haiti Earthquake

Megan Gallagher

 

 

 

The Sentinel-1 sensor was used to collect SAR data for DinSAR analysis that was performed with the ENVI® SARscape Analytics Displacement Map workflow. Sentinel-2 Imagery is used as the background images.

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday morning August 14, 2021, leaving at least 1,941 people dead and more than 6,900 injured. Casualties are expected to increase over the week as search and rescue continues. Those efforts are currently being complicated by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Grace and blocked roads in the region due to damaged infrastructure and mudslides.

Remotely sensed data can be a life-saving tool following a natural disaster to understand damage and map routes to deliver aid. However, when bad weather is either the cause or follows the event, getting a clear picture of the situation on the ground is difficult. In those situations, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors which capture data at night and see-through cloud cover, dust and smoke, can provide the information needed.

DinSAR analysis is commonly used after events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to show land movement over time. With the surface changes measured at the meter scale, it’s evident that a tremendous amount of energy was released over a large area causing wide-spread destruction and damage to tens of thousands of homes, buildings and critical infrastructure.

 

The epicenter of Saturday’s earthquake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. It hit just 11 years after a 7.0 magnitude quake that occurred closer to the densely populated Port-au-Prince, killing an estimated 220,000 to 300,000 people and destroying 100,000 buildings.

Earthquakes in Haiti can be extremely devastating due to it being in a seismically active area with a high population density and buildings designed to hold-up under hurricane-force winds and not earthquakes. Haiti is also prone to mudslides due to its mountainous topography and years of deforestation.

There are two versions of ENVI SARscape to make this data type accessible to everyone, regardless of their knowledge and background. With ENVI SARscape, you can process and analyze SAR data as well as integrate this information with other geospatial products. ENVI SARscape Analytics has straight forward workflows that streamline processing to deliver answers that only SAR data can provide.

DISCOVER MORE

GEOSPATIAL DISTANCING

HOT MESS EPISODE

Hot Mess: Remote Sensing Applications for Wildfires and Other Natural Disasters

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

RECORDED WEBINAR

Effectively Use Geospatial Data in the Disaster Management Cycle

REAL-LIFE CASE STUDIES

SAR WEBINAR

Surface Motion Monitoring Using SAR Interferometric Techniques

 

 

 

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