Geological Society of America

105 Looking to the Future of Environmental and Engineering Geology: EEGD 75th Anniversary

Monday, 10 October 2022
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Mile High Ballroom 2AB/3AB

DETECTING AND MONITORING LANDSLIDES FROM AIR AND SPACE: RAIN OR SHINE, DAY OR NIGHT

Paper number: 105-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM

Authors

Alexander Handwerger Presenting Author
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Alexander Handwerger Presenting Author
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Eric Fielding
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Mong-Han Huang
University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD
Pukar M. Amatya
University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore
Pukar M. Amatya
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt
David P.S. Bekaert
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

Abstract

Detecting and monitoring landslides is critical for emergency response, disaster mitigation, and for generally improving our understanding of landslide processes. Satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be used to detect landslides, often within days after triggering events, because it penetrates clouds, operates day and night, and is regularly acquired worldwide. Airborne SAR systems can then be used for targeted data acquisitions in areas with high landslide activity. Here we present our work that utilizes SAR and other remote sensing (e.g., optical images, digital elevation models) data to identify and monitor landslides in California and around the world. We first show how SAR backscatter change can be used to detect areas with high landslide density following catastrophic triggering events (e.g., earthquakes, storms). We then show results from a large scale landslide monitoring campaign in California that uses satellite- and airborne-based interferometric SAR (InSAR) to quantify the response and sensitivity of landslides in response to changes in rainfall. Our findings indicate that despite more than an order of magnitude difference in mean annual rainfall, landslides in both wet and dry regions of California were similarly sensitive to seasonal and multi-year changes in precipitation. Our findings confirm landslide sensitivity to rainfall under diverse hydroclimate conditions and highlight the need to establish a long time series of landslide behaviors that can be used to better predict future landslide activity. Together, our SAR-based remote sensing approaches enable rapid and accurate investigations of landslides that have broad applications.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-381035

© Copyright 2022 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.