Kinematic Parameter Inversion of the Slumgullion Landslide Using the Time Series Offset Tracking Method With UAVSAR Data

Abstract

The Slumgullion landslide in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado is a translational debris slide whose active part has been moving for at least 300 years. To further study the kinematic characteristics of the spatiotemporal domain of landslides, we establish a kinematic model based on the behavior of the Slumgullion landslide. The kinematic parameters are inverted with 45 sets of surface displacement fields measured by the time series offset tracking method using uninhabited aerial vehicle synthetic aperture radar (UAVSAR) data obtained for the period from August 2011 to November 2013. The inversion results indicate that the Slumgullion landslide moves with an average velocity of up to 1.2 cm/day and presents obvious seasonal changes in velocity. According to the change of sliding velocity, the head and tail of the Slumgullion landslide tend to be stable, whereas the neck of the landslide is accelerating. The topography has an important influence on the kinematic parameters. Based on the kinematic parameters, we identify the main geological structures of the Slumgullion landslide, including tension cracks, strike-slip faults, and thrust faults. The geological structures inferred by the kinematic parameters are consistent with a geological interpretive map. We derive more detailed kinematic characteristics for these structures using the obtained the kinematic parameters and infer two previously unmapped thrust faults. Additionally, we also analyze the relationship between the meteorology and the seasonal velocity of the Slumgullion landslide. The consistency between the periodic changes in meteorology (mainly including precipitation and snowmelt) and the seasonal velocity further verifies the rationality of using the kinematic model.