Mapping and monitoring geological hazards using optical, LiDAR, and synthetic aperture RADAR image data

Abstract

Geological hazards and their effects are often geographically widespread. Consequently, their effective mapping and monitoring is best conducted using satellite and airborne imaging platforms to obtain broad scale, synoptic coverage. With a multitude of hazards and effects, potential data types, and processing techniques, it can be challenging to determine the best approach for mapping and monitoring. It is therefore critical to understand the spatial and temporal effects of any particular hazard on the environment before selecting the most appropriate data type/s and processing techniques to apply. This review is designed to assist the decision-making and selection process when embarking on a hazard mapping or monitoring exercise. It focuses on the application of optical, LiDAR, and synthetic aperture RADAR technologies for the assessment of pre-event risk and post-event damage. Geological hazards of global interest summarized here are landslides and erosion; seismic and tectonic hazards; ground subsidence; and flooding and tsunami

3D displacement field retrieved by integrating Sentinel-1 InSAR and GPS data: the 2014 South Napa earthquake

“…Today, InSAR and GPS are two of the most important sources of information concerning the Earth's topography and surface deformation that can be synergistically combined with LiDAR and optical data [Joyce et al, 2014].…”

Reviews of Geospatial Information Technology and Collaborative Data Delivery for Disaster Risk Management

“…Moreover, although observation frequency could be a trade-off to spatial resolution, constellation satellites, such as RapidEye [51], COSMO-SkyMed [52], Pléiades system [53], and Sentinel system [50], breaks through the trade-off by using temporally-shifted satellites with identical specifications in the coplanar orbits [54]. Since changes in detection between pre-and post-disaster are the most effective and efficient methods for identifying hazard damages from satellite imagery [55,56], there is a potential need for baseline satellite images that cover disaster-prone areas, which can enable better preparedness.…”

Geo-Hazard Detection and Monitoring Using SAR and Optical Images in a Snow-Covered Area: The Menyuan (China) Test Site

“…Geo-hazards can be classified into two main categories [1,2]: natural hazards (such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and floods) and human-induced hazards (such as land subsidence due to groundwater-extraction, water contamination, and atmosphere pollution). Among all natural hazards, earthquakes represent one of the most devastating hazards in terms of economic damage and human suffering, while landslides, which are considered a secondary hazard, cause major infrastructural damages, casualties, and economic losses [3].…”

“…The demand for automated landslide detection is high, and the approaches using optical images include visual interpretation [9], post-classification comparison [10], image differencing [11], and change vector analysis [12], etc. As far as SAR is concerned for landslide detection, various approaches have been investigated, including the use of interferometric coherence [13], pre-and post-event backscatter information [14], and differential SAR interferometry (DInSAR) [5,[14][15][16][17][18]] (see Reference [2] for a review of using optical and SAR image data for geological hazard mapping and monitoring).…”