Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (Nov 2024)

Brief communication: Monitoring impending slope failure with very high-resolution spaceborne synthetic aperture radar

  • A. Manconi,
  • A. Manconi,
  • Y. Bühler,
  • Y. Bühler,
  • A. Stoffel,
  • A. Stoffel,
  • J. Gaume,
  • J. Gaume,
  • J. Gaume,
  • Q. Zhang,
  • V. Tolpekin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-3833-2024
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24
pp. 3833 – 3839

Abstract

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We demonstrate how high spatial and temporal resolution spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery can improve slope deformation monitoring. We process ICEYE data over the Brienz/Brinzauls slope instability in the Swiss Alps, where a catastrophic failure occurred on 15 June 2023. Image correlation applied to retrieve surface velocities shows results comparable to in situ measurements. Pre- and post-failure acquisitions used to map areas invaded by debris and to compute associated volumetric changes are in good agreement with photogrammetric data. This study sets the baseline for new-generation satellite SAR data aimed at providing timely information in landslide early warning scenarios.