Brief Communication: Rapid mapping of landslide events: the 3 December 2013 Montescaglioso landslide, Italy

We present an approach to measure 3-D surface deformations caused by large, rapid-moving landslides using the amplitude information of high-resolution, X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. We exploit SAR data captured by the COSMO-SkyMed satellites to measure the deformation produced by the 3 December 2013 Montescaglioso landslide, southern Italy. The deformation produced by the deep-seated landslide exceeded 10 m and caused the disruption of a main road, a few homes and commercial buildings. The results open up the possibility of obtaining 3-D surface deformation maps shortly after the occurrence of large, rapid-moving landslides using high-resolution SAR data

Radar Imaging in Challenging Scenarios from Smart and Flexible Platforms

undefine

An integrated investigative approach in health monitoring of masonry arch bridges using GPR and InSAR technologies

This paper provides an overview of the existing health monitoring and assessment methods for masonry arch bridges. In addition, a novel “integrated” holistic non-destructive approach for structural monitoring of bridges using ground-based non-destructive testing (NDT) and the satellite remote sensing techniques is presented. The first part of the paper reports a review of masonry arch bridges and the main issues in terms of structural behaviour and functionality as well as the main assessment methods to identify structural integrity-related issues. A new surveying methodology is proposed based on the integration of multi-source, multi-scale and multi-temporal information collected using the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR – 200, 600 and 2000 MHz central-frequency antennas) and the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR – C-band SAR sensors) techniques. A case study (the “Old Bridge” at Aylesford, Kent, UK – a 13th century bridge) is presented demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method in the assessment of masonry arch bridges. GPR has proven essential at providing structural detailing in terms of subsurface geometry of the superstructure as well as the exact positioning of the structural ties. InSAR has identified measures of structural displacements caused by the seasonal variation of the water level in the river and the river bed soil expansions. The above process forms the basis for the “integrated” holistic structural health monitoring approach proposed by this paper

Analisi di dati DInSAR in aree urbane affette da subsidenza o frane a cinematica lenta

2012 - 2013Subsidence and slow-moving landslides systematically cause social, economic and environmental impacts all over the world. For this reason studies aimed at both the characterization of subsidence and slow-moving landslides and the analysis of the consequences on the exposed elements interacting with them are of great interest for the scientific and the technical community. These studies, to be useful in land use planning and management, need a huge number of displacement measurements within and on the boundary of the affected areas. Recently the scientific community has shownan increasing interest in the potential of using satellite observation techniques and, in particular, interferometric methods of Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR)image processing. The literature review on DInSAR applications highlights the possibility of further researches pursuing the exploitation of DInSAR potentiality in studies at different scales and the development of procedures for the proper use of interferometric data and their validation with reference to well documented case studies. To this end, this PhD Thesis is aimed at developing original procedures for the analysis of the interferometric measurements specifically devotedto pursue two main objectives: the characterization of the phenomena of interest and the prediction of consequences to buildings interacting with them. The conceived procedures were tested, in sample areas of the Campania region (southern Italy)following a multi-scale approach. With reference to subsidence phenomena, the studies at small-scale involved the entire region and were mainly aimedatdetecting subsiding macro-areas; within these latter, more detailed studies at medium scale were carried out and the most affected municipalities were individuated. At large scale,focusing on one of these municipalities, studies dealing with the analysis of parameters whose variation leadsto the generation of the damage were carried out. Finally, at the scale of the single building the interferometric data were interpretedaccording todamageability criteria adopted in engineering practice. As forslow-moving landslides, the joint use of interferometric measurements and damage surveysallowed the updating of landslide inventory maps at medium scale and the analysis of the consequencesthrough the generation of fragility and vulnerability curves within a test area including 21 municipalities of BeneventoProvince. At large-scale studies were performed on a landslide-affected area within the municipality of Ascea(Salerno Province) in order to follow the evolution - in space and time - of the analyzed phenomenon as well as to deepen its kinematic behavior, in turn useful for zoning purposes. The obtained results highlight that the conceived procedures can valuably integrate the current practice for land use planning and as well as for the selection of the most suitablemanagement strategy.XII n.s

Book of short Abstracts of the 11th International Symposium on Digital Earth

The Booklet is a collection of accepted short abstracts of the ISDE11 Symposium

Landslide mapping and characterization through Infrared Thermography (IRT): Suggestions for a methodological approach from some case studies

In this paper, the potential of Infrared Thermography (IRT) as a novel operational tool for landslide surveying, mapping and characterization was tested and demonstrated in different case studies, by analyzing various types of instability processes (rock slide/fall, roto-translational slide-flow). In particular, IRT was applied, both from terrestrial and airborne platforms, in an integrated methodology with other geomatcs methods, such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and global positioning systems (GPS), for the detection and mapping of landslides’ potentially hazardous structural and morphological features (structural discontinuities and open fractures, scarps, seepage and moisture zones, landslide drainage network and ponds). Depending on the study areas’ hazard context, the collected remotely sensed data were validated through field inspections, with the purpose of studying and verifying the causes of mass movements. The challenge of this work is to go beyond the current state of the art of IRT in landslide studies, with the aim of improving and extending the investigative capacity of the analyzed technique, in the framework of a growing demand for effective Civil Protection procedures in landslide geo-hydrological disaster managing activities. The proposed methodology proved to be an effective tool for landslide analysis, especially in the field of emergency management, when it is often necessary to gather all the required information in dangerous environments as fast as possible, to be used for the planning of mitigation measures and the evaluation of hazardous scenarios. Advantages and limitations of the proposed method in the field of the explored applications were evaluated, as well as general operative recommendations and future perspectives