Using Sentinel-1 radar amplitude time series to constrain the timings of individual landslides: a step towards understanding the controls on monsoon-triggered landsliding

Abstract

Heavy-rainfall events in mountainous areas trigger destructive landslides, which pose a risk to people and infrastructure and significantly affect the landscape. Landslide locations are commonly mapped using optical satellite imagery, but in some regions their timings are often poorly constrained due to persistent cloud cover. Physical and empirical models that provide insights into the processes behind the triggered landsliding require information on both the spatial extent and the timing of landslides. Here we demonstrate that Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar amplitude time series can be used to constrain landslide timing to within a few days and present four techniques to accomplish this based on time series of (i) the difference in amplitude between the landslide and its surroundings, (ii) the spatial variability in amplitude between pixels within the landslide, and (iii) geometric shadows and (iv) geometric bright spots cast within the landslide. We test these techniques on three inventories of landslides of known timing, covering various settings and triggers, and demonstrate that a method combining them allows 20 %–30 % of landslides to be timed with an accuracy of 80 %. Application of this method could provide an insight into landslide timings throughout events such as the Indian summer monsoon, which triggers large numbers of landslides every year and has until now been limited to annual-scale analysis.