Surface velocity map of the Afar Rift Zone from 2014-19

This dataset contains a map of ground movements covering the Afar Rift Zone in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti for the time period between October 2014 and August 2019. The Afar region is located where three tectonic plates are pulling apart, creating rift segments which are 50-100 km long. Surface deformation on these segments is not constant in time, with episodes of rifting occurring periodically and magma intrusions causing sudden ground movements. We use frequent Sentinel-1 satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations to measure surface displacements through time across the whole region. We relate these to ground based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) observations and combine data from different satellite tracks to produce maps of the average surface velocity in three directions (perpendicular to the rift zone, parallel to the rift zone, and vertical). The continued observation of these time-varying ground movements is important for understanding how continents break up, with data here providing evidence of how tightly focussed extension is around the rift segments and of the subsurface magma movement at several volcanic centres.