The Sentinel - 1 mission for the improvement of the scientific understanding 2 and the operational monitoring of the seismic cycle

13 We describe the state of the art of scientific research on the earthquake cycle based on the analysis 14 of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data acquired from satellite platforms. We examine the 15 achievements and the main limitations of present SAR systems for the measurement and analysis of 16 crustal deformation, and envision the foreseeable advances that the Sentinel-1 data will generate in 17 the fields of geophysics and tectonics. We also review the technological and scientific issues which 18 have limited so far the operational use of satellite data in seismic hazard assessment and crisis 19 management, and show the improvements expected from Sentinel-1 data. 20