Lidar availability and application for landslide science
Josh Roering, University of Oregon
1) What areas are slide-prone?
2) What does landscape form reveal about landslide style, mechanics, and history?
opentopography.org
Natl. Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM)
Lidar availability (public) for landslide science
3D Elevation Program (3DEP): Lidar Acquisition Priorities and Coverage
Priority
Available/in-progress/planned: High-quality (1m DEM):
Available/in-progress/planned: Moderate-quality (>2m DEM):
• Acquisition and management
framework with full coverage
goal of high-quality lidar for 2022
(currently <10%)
• Hazard mitigation ranks high on
list of benefits
• Prioritization and increased data
quality depend on needs and
partners
2014
ifsar (AK)
Lead agency: USGS
nationalmap.gov/3DEP/
Puget
Sound,
WA
Application 1: Lidar for landslide
mapping and inventories
•
•
•
•
•
Lidar landslide maps:
Require trained geoscientists and protocols
Increase landslide densities by 3 to 200 times
Reveal complex landslide geometries
Are often more accurate than field surveys
Focus field investigations and analysis of
archival photos for historical activity
Burns & Madin, 2009; Mackey & Roering, 2011; Guzzetti
et al., 2012; Schulz, 2007; van den Eeckhaut, 2012
Portland, OR
Puget
Sound,
WA
Application 1: Lidar for landslide
mapping and inventories
•
•
•
•
•
Lidar landslide maps:
Require trained geoscientists and protocols
Increase landslide densities by 3 to 200 times
Reveal complex landslide geometries
Are often more accurate than field surveys
Focus field investigations and analysis of
archival photos for historical activity
Portland, OR
Ardennes, Belgium
Burns & Madin, 2009; Mackey & Roering, 2011; Guzzetti
et al., 2012; Schulz, 2007; van den Eeckhaut, 2012
Eel River, CA
Application 2: Lidar for ‘automated’
landslide mapping algorithms
South Island, New Zealand
Landslide-prone terrain:
• Tends to be rough relative to stable slopes
1. Roughness can be measured in myriad ways
2. Simple and complex methods work well
3. Landslide style, vegetation, and age of
instability produce a range of textures
• Exhibits different characteristic wavelengths
depending on:
1. Landslide style or mechanics
2. Age of activity
McKean & Roering, 2004; Glenn et al., 2006;
Cavalli et al., 2008; Berti et al., 2013; Booth et al.,
2009; Frankel and Dolan, 2007; Tarolli et al., 2010
Application 2: Lidar for ‘automated’
landslide mapping algorithms
South Island, New Zealand
Apennines, Italy
Landslide-prone terrain:
• Tends to be rough relative to stable slopes
1. Roughness can be measured in myriad ways
2. Simple and complex methods work well
3. Landslide style, vegetation, and age of
instability produce a range of textures
• Exhibits different characteristic wavelengths
depending on:
1. Landslide style or mechanics
2. Age of activity
McKean & Roering, 2004; Glenn et al., 2006;
Cavalli et al., 2008; Berti et al., 2013; Booth et al.,
2009; Frankel and Dolan, 2007; Tarolli et al., 2010
Puget Sound, WA
South Island, New Zealand
Apennines, Italy
Application 2: Lidar for ‘automated’
landslide mapping algorithms
Landslide-prone terrain:
• Tends to be rough relative to stable slopes
1. Roughness can be measured in myriad ways
2. Simple and complex methods work well
3. Landslide style, vegetation, and age of
instability produce a range of textures
• Exhibits different characteristic wavelengths
depending on:
1. Landslide style or mechanics
2. Age of activity
McKean & Roering, 2004; Glenn et al., 2006;
Cavalli et al., 2008; Berti et al., 2013; Booth et al.,
2009; Frankel and Dolan, 2007; Tarolli et al., 2010
Application 3: Lidar for mapping
relative age of slope instability
• Slope failures tend to smooth over time
• Absolute dating: tephrochronology,
radiometric dating, cosmogenic dating,
dendrochronology, & others
Stillaguamish
River, WA
Haugerud, 2014; Cerovski-Darriau et al., 2014
Application 3: Lidar for mapping
relative age of slope instability
• Slope failures tend to smooth over time
• Absolute dating: tephrochronology,
radiometric dating, cosmogenic dating,
dendrochronology, & others
1km
North Island, New Zealand
Stillaguamish
River, WA
Roughness
1km
Haugerud, 2014; Cerovski-Darriau et al., 2014
Age (kyr)
Thickness
Yosemite
Valley, CA
Application 4: Lidar for multi-temporal
characterization of active landslides
France
Taiwan
Apennines,
Italy
• Link deformation to environmental variables
• Detection limit for elevation changes:
0.2m (bare, gentle surfaces, 1m DEM) to
>1m (forested, steep terrain, 2 to 5m DEM)
• Used for rockfalls to slow-moving landslides
• Landslide thickness inverted from velocity fields
• Robust landslide area-volume scaling
relationships for sediment flux estimates
• Satellite Interferometry
San Diego, CA
Young, 2015; Zimmer et al., 2012; Burns et al., 2010; Tseng
et al., 2013; Booth et al., 2014; Handwerger et al., 2013
Thickness
Yosemite
Valley, CA
Application 4: Lidar for multi-temporal
characterization of active landslides
France
Taiwan
E
Apennines,
Italy
• Link deformation to environmental variables
• Detection limit for elevation changes:
0.2m (bare, gentle surfaces, 1m DEM) to
>1m (forested, steep terrain, 2 to 5m DEM)
• Used for rockfalls to slow-moving landslides
• Landslide thickness inverted from velocity fields
• Robust landslide area-volume scaling
relationships for sediment flux estimates
• Satellite Interferometry
Eel River, CA
San Diego, CA
Young, 2015; Zimmer et al., 2012; Burns et al., 2010; Tseng
et al., 2013; Booth et al., 2014; Handwerger et al., 2013