An integrated approach for monitoring and information management of the guanling landslide (China)

Abstract

Landslide triggered by earthquake or rainstorm often results in serious property damage and human casualties. It is, therefore, necessary to establish an emergency management system to facilitate the processes of damage assessment and decision-making. This paper has presented an integrated approach for mapping and analyzing spatial features of a landslide from remote sensing images and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). Several image interpretation tools have been provided for analyzing the spatial distribution and characteristics of the landslide on different dimensions: (1D) terrain variation analysis along the mass movement direction and (3D) morphological analysis. In addition, the results of image interpretation can be further discussed and adjusted on an online cooperating platform, which was built to improve the coordination of all players involved in different phases of emergency management, e.g., hazard experts, emergency managers, and first response organizations. A mobile-based application has also been developed to enhance the data exchange and on-site investigation. Our pilot study of Guanling landslide shows that the presented approach has the potential to facilitate the phases of landslide monitoring and information management, e.g., hazard assessment, emergency preparedness, planning mitigation, and response.