{"id":8962,"date":"2026-06-04T09:45:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=8962"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:10:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:10:34","slug":"conflict-ecology-uses-synthetic-aperture-radar-to-analyse-building-damage-in-lebanon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/04\/conflict-ecology-uses-synthetic-aperture-radar-to-analyse-building-damage-in-lebanon\/","title":{"rendered":"Conflict Ecology uses synthetic aperture radar to analyse building damage in Lebanon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Building<\/div>\n

Geospatial research studio Conflict Ecology has used synthetic aperture radar to identify damage to over 2,000 buildings in Lebanon<\/a> in the first five weeks of the recent war between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using synthetic aperture radar<\/a> (SAR) data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite constellation, Conflict Ecology<\/a> created an interactive map<\/a> detailing the areas of destruction in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

It found that 2,154 buildings have been damaged between 28 February and 4 April, out of a total 2,489,231 buildings monitored by Conflict Ecology in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The BBC reported<\/a> on 16 April that over 1,400 buildings in Lebanon have been destroyed since 2 March, based on analysis of verified visual evidence from the ground and satellite imagery, but it said that “the true scale is likely to be much higher”. Airstrikes in the country have continued<\/a> in the weeks since.<\/p>\n

According to Conflict Ecology, using radar allows for a more precise analysis of building damage compared to photographic satellite imagery.<\/p>\n

Radar identifies damage “that can’t be seen in photograph-like satellite imagery”<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Radar is sensitive to damage in the built environment that can’t be seen in the kind of photograph-like satellite imagery more commonly used by journalists to visualise building damage,” Conflict Ecology founder Jamon Van Den Hoek told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“There are many reasons for this additional sensitivity, but a major one is that we can precisely track how a radar wave is distorted when it reflects off a structure day after day and associate that with potential damage.”<\/p>\n

“We know how the wave should behave under ‘stable’ (pre-war) conditions, and so we look for strong deviations from that typical behaviour suggestive of structural damage,” he continued. “Optical satellite imagery, by contrast, is at the whim of atmospheric conditions, lighting conditions, and even how bright the sun is, which changes with the seasons.”<\/p>\n

“Having that extra control allows us to isolate what matters in the satellite signals.”<\/p>\n