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NASA NTRS2021

Global Connections Between El Nino and Landslide Impacts

El Nino is a critical part of global inter-annual climate variability, and the intensity of El Nino has major implications for rainfall-induced natural hazards in many vulnerable countries. The impact of landslides triggered by rainfall is likely to be modulated by the strength of El Nino, but the nature of this connection and the places where it is most relevant remains unconstrained. Here we combine new satellite rainfall data with a global landslide exposure model to show that El Nino has far-reaching effects on landslide impacts to people and infrastructure. We find that the impact of El Nino on landslide exposure can be greater in parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America than that due to seasonal rainfall variability. These findings improve our understanding of hazard variability around the world and can assist disaster mitigation efforts on seasonal timescales.

Robert Emberson↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Towards A National-Scale Automated Landslide Mapping System for Nepal

The mountains of Nepal are among the most hazardous environments in the world, with frequent landslides causing loss of lives and substantial damage to infrastructure every year. Landslide mapping is vital for characterizing impacts in the days after extreme triggering events, as well as for advancing landslide hazard models through robust calibration and validation. Conventionally, landslide inventories are produced by field surveys and/or manual interpretation of aerial photos and satellite images. This process is very subjective and time consuming.

Pukar Amatya↗

NASA NTRS2016

Rainfall-Triggered Landslides Bury Sri Lankan Villages

On the afternoon of May 17th, 2016, a major landslide event caused at least 92 deaths, with 109 still missing*. The site was rated highly susceptible to landslides in a new global landslide susceptibility map. GPM precipitation data suggest that both antecedent and current rainfall as well as complex topography played a role in the slope failures.

IMERG↗

NASA NTRS2017

Comparison of Satellite Rainfall Estimates and Rain Gauge Measurements in Italy, and Impact on Landslide Modeling

Landslides can be triggered by intense or prolonged rainfall. Rain gauge measurements are commonly used to predict landslides even if satellite rainfall estimates are available. Recent research focuses on the comparison of satellite estimates and gauge measurements. The rain gauge data from the Italian network (collected in the system database Verifica Rischio Frana" (VRF)) are compared with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) products. For the purpose, we couple point gauge and satellite rainfall estimates at individual grid cells, evaluating the correlation between gauge and satellite data in different morpho-climatological conditions. We then analyze the statistical distributions of both rainfall data types and the rainfall events derived from them. Results show that satellite data underestimates ground data, with the largest differences in mountainous areas. Power-law models, are more appropriate to correlate gauge and satellite data. The gauge and satellite-based products exhibit different statistical distributions and the rainfall events derived from them differ. In conclusion, satellite rainfall cannot be directly compared with ground data, requiring local investigation to account for specific morpho-climatological settings. Results suggest that satellite data can be used for forecasting landslides, only performing a local scaling between satellite and ground data.

landslide; satellite rainfall; TRMM; rain gauges; ↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Landslide Runout Analysis Using Remote Sensing for Lower and Upper Barun Lakes

Landslides are recognized as common triggers of glacial lake outburst floods in high mountain regions, but the remoteness of dangerous glacial lakes makes monitoring and disaster management very difficult. Using a very high resolution digital elevation model produced from a series of stereo satellite images, we simulate debris flows and rock avalanche runout around two very dangerous lakes in high mountain Nepal. We constrain particularly likely sources of these slope failures to simulate 79,800 potential debris flows and rock avalanches of volumes ranging from 1,000 m3 to 1,000,000 m3. This allowed us to identify zones in and around dangerous glacial lakes that are most exposed to landslide runout hazards, along with the most frequent source areas that produced landslides that may run into either of the two glacial lakes. Although our empirical-statistical model presented limitations that numerical models attempt to overcome, our probabilistic approach combined with a very high resolution DEM may shed new light on how to identify sources and impact areas of debris flows and rock avalanches that may cascade into downstream disasters.

landslides↗

NASA NTRS2019

Completeness Index for Earthquake-Induced Landslide Inventories

Understanding the global relation between Earthquake-Induced Landslides (EQILs) and the factors contributing to their initiation is still an open topic within the geomorphological community. Accessing EQIL inventories and analyzing them concerning their potential causes is the key to explore such relation. However, each of the existing EQIL inventories has its level of completeness and associated uncertainty which makes any unified relationship which is challenging to obtain. So far, the completeness of EQIL inventories has never been clearly defined. As a result, it has never been accounted for in global EQIL predictive models. In this technical note, we propose a simple definition for the completeness of EQIL inventories. We analyze 30 digital EQIL for 21 earthquakes and develop a semi-quantitative method to estimate the completeness level, which we refer to as Completeness Index (CI). The CI results from a combination of topographic factors, ground shaking parameters, and a measure derived from landslide size statistics. The proposed CI consists of Low, Moderate, and High completeness classes which can be used to evaluate any landslide inventory. We made the whole procedure to compute the CI accessible in an ArcGIS toolbox together with a test dataset.

Hakan Tanyas↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Interactions Between Landslides, the Mining Industry, and the Communities Tethered to This Industry in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

The nature of the hilly and insecure terrain of the mining industry can also be home to numerous landslides that impact the lives of those dependent on this economy for survival. However, the connections between localized landslides in the mining sector and impacts to lives and livelihoods are often overlooked. This research focuses on the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality of the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa where frequent summer rains along with the steep terrain leads to abundant number of landslides. The mining analysis was performed within the eThekwini Municipality, while the entirety of KwaZulu-Natal Province was considered for the societal impact research.

Rachel Soobitsky↗

NASA NTRS2022

The 28 November 2020 Landslide, Tsunami, and Outburst Flood – A Hazard Cascade Associated With Rapid Deglaciation at Elliot Creek, British Columbia, Canada

We describe and model the evolution of a recent landslide, tsunami, outburst flood, and sediment plume in the southern Coast Mountains, British Columbia, Canada. On November 28, 2020, about 18 million m3 of rock descended 1,000 m from a steep valley wall and traveled across the toe of a glacier before entering a 0.6 km2 glacier lake and producing >100-m high run-up. Water overtopped the lake outlet and scoured a 10-km long channel before depositing debris on a 2-km2 fan below the lake outlet. Floodwater, organic debris, and fine sediment entered a fjord where it produced a 60+km long sediment plume and altered turbidity, water temperature, and water chemistry for weeks. The outburst flood destroyed forest and salmon spawning habitat. Physically based models of the landslide, tsunami, and flood provide real-time simulations of the event and can improve understanding of similar hazard cascades and the risk they pose. Plain Language Summary Glacier retreat exposes unstable slopes that can suddenly fail. We describe and model one such event with far-reaching consequences. The landslide mass (50 million tonnes, equivalent to the combined mass of all Canadian automobiles) entered and suddenly drained a 0.6-km2 alpine lake in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Displaced water destroyed salmon-spawning habitat over a distance of 8.5 km and created a plume of sediment and organic matter more than 60 km from the head of the fjord into which the floodwaters discharged. Physically based models are able to simulate the hazard cascade, and such models could be used to improve hazard and risk assessments of these events under future climate change.

M. Geertsema↗

NASA NTRS2024

Applications of ArcticDEM for measuring volcanic dynamics, landslides, retrogressive thaw slumps, snowdrifts, and vegetation heights

Topographical changes are of fundamental interest to a wide range of Arctic science disciplines faced with the need to anticipate, monitor, and respond to the effects of climate change, including geohazard management, glaciology, hydrology, permafrost, and ecology. This study demonstrates several geomorphological, cryospheric, and biophysical applications of ArcticDEM – a large collection of publicly available, time-dependent digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Arctic. Our study illustrates ArcticDEM's applicability across different disciplines and five orders of magnitude of elevation derivatives, including measuring volcanic lava flows, ice cauldrons, post-failure landslides, retrogressive thaw slumps, snowdrifts, and tundra vegetation heights. We quantified surface elevation changes in different geological settings and conditions using the time series of ArcticDEM. Following the 2014–2015 Bárðarbunga eruption in Iceland, ArcticDEM analysis mapped the lava flow field, and revealed the post-eruptive ice flows and ice cauldron dynamics. The total dense-rock equivalent (DRE) volume of lava flows is estimated to be (1431 ± 2) million m 3 . Then, we present the aftermath of a landslide in Kinnikinnick, Alaska, yielding a total landslide volume of (400 ± 8) × 103 m 3 and a total area of 0.025 km 2 . ArcticDEM is further proven useful for studying retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS). The ArcticDEM-mapped RTS profile is validated by ICESat-2 and drone photogrammetry resulting in a standard deviation of 0.5 m. Volume estimates for lake-side and hillslope RTSs range between 40,000 ± 9000 m 3 and 1,160,000 ± 85,000 m 3 , highlighting applicability across a range of RTS magnitudes. A case study for mapping tundra snow demonstrates ArcticDEM's potential for identifying high-accumulation, late-lying snow areas. The approach proves effective in quantifying relative snow accumulation rather than absolute values (standard deviation of 0.25 m, bias of −0.41 m, and a correlation coefficient of 0.69 with snow depth estimated by unmanned aerial systems photogrammetry). Furthermore, ArcticDEM data show its feasibility for estimating tundra vegetation heights with a standard deviation of 0.3 m (no bias) and a correlation up to 0.8 compared to the light detection and ranging (LiDAR). The demonstrated capabilities of ArcticDEM will pave the way for the broad and pan-Arctic use of this new data source for many disciplines, especially when combined with other imagery products. The wide range of signals embedded in ArcticDEM underscores the potential challenges in deciphering signals in regions affected by various geological processes and environmental influences.

Chunli Dai↗

NASA NTRS1975

LANDSAT imagery analysis: An aid for predicting landslide prone areas for highway construction

The most obvious landform features of geologic significance revealed on LANDSAT imagery are linear trends or lineaments. These trends were found to correspond, at least to a large degree, with unmapped faults or complex fracture zones. LANDSAT imagery analysis in northern Arkansas revealed a lineament complex which provides a remarkable correlation with landslide-prone areas along major highway routes. The weathering properties of various rock types, which are considered in designing stable cut slopes and drainage structures, appear to be adversely influenced by the location and trends of LANDSAT defined lineaments. Geologic interpretation of LANDSAT imagery, where applicable and utilized effectively, provides the highway engineer with a tool for predicting and evaluating landslide-prone areas.

Macdonald, H. C.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Geomorphic clues to the Martian volatile inventory: Landslides

Eight landslide locales were selected in Valles Marineris for preliminary geomorphological mapping. Four main suites of morphological features were identified. In four order outward from the head scarp they are: (1) large ridges in head area, transverse to movement direction, probably slump blocks or pieces of wall that fell or toppled, possibly backward rotated; (2) smaller ridges, convex toward distal edge of slides, many with lobate pattern, some possibly step like scarps rather than ridges; (3) thin, sheet like debris cover, forms discrete fan shaped lobe with edge scarps unconfined; and (4) low transverse, continuous ridges (possibly folds) found at distal edge of slides, where debris appears to have encountered obstructions (e.g., opposing canyon walls), but not all confined slides exhibit this feature. Any one landslide can possess all or some of these features. Slides in the western Valles Marineris are more complex and show more variety than those in the eastern part.

Pieri, D.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Remote Sensing and Modeling of Landslides: Detection, Monitoring and Risk Evaluation

Landslides are one of the most pervasive hazards in the world, resulting in more fatalities and economic damage than is generally recognized_ Occurring over an extensive range of lithologies, morphologies, hydrologies, and climates, mass movements can be triggered by intense or prolonged rainfall, seismicity, freeze/thaw processes, and antbropogertic activities, among other factors. The location, size, and timing of these processes are characteristically difficult to predict and assess because of their localized spatial scales, distribution, and complex interactions between rainfall infiltration, hydromechanical properties of the soil, and the underlying surface composition. However, the increased availability, accessibility, and resolution of remote sensing data offer a new opportunity to explore issues of landslide susceptibility, hazard, and risk over a variety of spatial scales. This special issue presents a series of papers that investigate the sources, behavior, and impacts of different mass movement types using a diverse set of data sources and evaluation methodologies.

Kirschbaum, Dalia↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Stratigraphy of the Apollo 17 Landslide Core 73002 From FMR Maturity and VNIR and Mössbauer Spectroscopy

A suite of samples from the Apollo missions to the Moon (1969-1973) were set aside and stored under controlled conditions to have unexamined lunar samples available decades later for analyses that take advantage of evolved sample handling techniques, maturation of then existing instrumentation, and development of new analytical techniques and instrumentation [e.g., 1]. One preserved sample is the Apollo 17 double drive tube core (73001/2) that was driven into the lunar surface on the landslide deposit at Station 3 on the South Massif in the Taurus-Littrow valley [2]. The deeper section (73001) was stored frozen in a Core Sample Vacuum Container (CSVC) to maximize preservation of lunar volatiles. We report here, as a part of the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) Initiative [1,3], stratigraphy for the upper core section (73002) with respect to maturity (ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) maturity index Is/FeO [4-6]), visible-near-IR (VNIR) spectroscopy, and, for representative samples, grain-size analysis and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Stratigraphy provides data to model the dynamics of lunar landslide deposits and their post-emplacement evolution in comparison to impact-driven mixing on an airless body and stratigraphic context for volatile and (if any) organic behavior. Reported by [7] are preliminary results for multispectral imaging and hyperspectral scanning of the first dissection pass of 73002.

R. V. Morris↗

NASA NTRS1970

Lunar landslides

Lunar geomorphic features and mass wasting relation, discussing landslides, rockfalls, debris slides, slump and creep play

Cannon, P. J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

An unusual landslide feature on Mars

A flow feature on a crater wall, characteristic of a landslide, has been identified in a Mariner 9 high resolution photograph. Although other evidence of mass wasting is common in Mariner 9 photography, the case presented appears unique. A tentative conclusion is that, at least in some cases, Martian soil exhibits significant internal friction in mass movements.

Veverka, J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Remote sensing and landslide hazard assessment

Remotely acquired multispectral data are used to improve landslide hazard assessments at all scales of investigation. A vegetation map produced from automated interpretation of TM data is used in a GIS context to explore the effect of vegetation type on debris flow occurrence in preparation for inclusion in debris flow hazard modeling. Spectral vegetation indices map spatial patterns of grass senescence which are found to be correlated with soil thickness variations on hillslopes. Grassland senescence is delayed over deeper, wetter soils that are likely debris flow source areas. Prediction of actual soil depths using vegetation indices may be possible up to some limiting depth greater than the grass rooting zone. On forested earthflows, the slow slide movement disrupts the overhead timber canopy, exposes understory vegetation and soils, and alters site spectral characteristics. Both spectral and textural measures from broad band multispectral data are successful at detecting an earthflow within an undisturbed old-growth forest.

Mckean, J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The Apollo 17 samples: The Massifs and landslide

More than 50 kg of rock and regolith samples, a little less than half the total Apollo 17 sample mass, was collected from the highland stations at Taurus-Littrow. Twice as much material was collected from the North Massif as from the South Massif and its landslide (the apparent disproportionate collecting at the mare sites is mainly a reflection of the large size of a few individual basalt samples). Descriptions of the collection, documentation, and nature of the samples are given. A comprehensive catalog is currently being produced. Many of the samples have been intensely studied over the last 20 years and some of the rocks have become very familiar and depicted in popular works, particularly the dunite clast (72415), the troctolite sample (76535), and the station 6 boulder samples. Most of the boulder samples have been studied in Consortium mode, and many of the rake samples have received a basic petrological/geochemical characterization.

Ryder, Graham↗

NASA NTRS2021

Martian subsurface cryosalt expansion and collapse as trigger for landslides

On Mars, seasonal martian flow features known as recurring slope lineae (RSL) are prevalent on sun-facing slopes and are associated with salts. On Earth, subsurface interactions of gypsum with chlorides and oxychlorine salts wreak havoc: instigating sinkholes, cave collapse, debris flows, and upheave. Here, we illustrate (i) the disruptive potential of sulfate-chloride reactions in laboratory soil crust experiments, (ii) the formation of thin films of mixed ice-liquid water “slush” at −40° to −20°C on salty Mars analog grains, (iii) how mixtures of sulfates and chlorine salts affect their solubilities in low-temperature environments, and (iv) how these salt brines could be contributing to RSL formation on Mars. Our results demonstrate that interactions of sulfates and chlorine salts in fine-grained soils on Mars could absorb water, expand, deliquesce, cause subsidence, form crusts, disrupt surfaces, and ultimately produce landslides after dust loading on these unstable surfaces.

J. L. Bishop↗