Abstract
Abstract. Airborne geophysics is a promising method for investigating landslides. Here we present a case study of multisensor airborne geophysical survey at the catastrophic landslide Stože near Log pod Mangrtom in Slovenia, which was conducted in the framework of the European FP7th Project "SafeLand". Based on the survey itself and achieved results, we discuss applicability, limits, and benefits and costs of the method for investigating landslides in steep alpine terrains. Despite of several operational constraints, the airborne electromagnetic survey of the area well presented the lithological pattern and water saturation. The high resistivity regions mostly indicated drained slope scree and landslide mass, drained and loosened material of the moraine deposit in the tension zone of the landslide with present cracks and cavities. The minima of the resistivity pattern were attributed to the outcrop of marls rich in clay, to water-saturated moraine deposit above impermeable marls in the tension zone, and to water-saturated porous alluvial gravel and landslide scree along the Koritnica River. The magnetic survey proved to be inapplicable for such a small and rough area. The Potassium and Thorium maps, on the other hand, both well identified the regions of tension inside the landslide zone, outcrops of marls and dolomite, clay-rich colluvium, weathered zones along a regional tectonic fault, and alluvial deposits and deposits of debris flows, and the minima of the 137Cs clearly revealed the zones of material removal due to recent mass movements.
Highlights
The minima of the resistivity pattern were attributed to the outcrop of marls rich in clay, to water-saturated moraine deposit above impermeable marls in the tension zone, and to water-saturated porous alluvial gravel and landslide scree along the Koritnica River
The Potassium and Thorium maps, on the other hand, both well identified the regions of tension inside the landslide zone, outcrops of marls and dolomite, clay-rich colluvium, weathered zones along a regional tectonic fault, and alluvial deposits and deposits of debris flows, and the minima of the 137Cs clearly revealed the zones of material removal due to recent mass movements
The resistivity pattern of the area achieved from the Airborne frequency domain electromagnetics (AEM) survey showed local zones of minima, ranging from 14 to 45 m, in the NW part of the landslide and in the lower central part of the tension zone (Fig. 5)
Summary
Thanks to rapid technological progress, the airborne geophysics has recently evolved into a promising method of investigating landslides due to rapid achievement of different geophysical data on the subsurface properties of large surveyed areas, as documented by a helicopter-borne surveying of the Austrian landslides of Sibratsgfäll (Supper et al, 2008) and Gschliefgraben (Supper et al, 2010, 2013); the approach was successfully applied for investigating landslides in Norway (Pfaffhuber et al, 2010) and in Japan (Nakazato et al, 2006). Tofani et al (2013) highlighted that the performances of airborne geophysics are increasing at a fast rate and that this emerging technique is currently used to investigate a large variety of landslide parameters, including fetures (e.g., peculiar morphological and geological structures) not sensed by more established remote sensing techniques. Tofani et al (2013) highlighted that the performances of airborne geophysics are increasing at a fast rate and that this emerging technique is currently used to investigate a large variety of landslide parameters, including fetures (e.g., peculiar morphological and geological structures) not sensed by more established remote sensing techniques. For more references on application the airborne geophysics to landslides, please refer to Supper et al (2013). We present the airborne geophysical survey of the Stože landslide, which is a catastrophic landslide triggered in 2000 in Slovenia. The survey was performed on 21 May 2010 in order to test the limits of applicability of airborne geophysics in a steep alpine setting with unfavourable survey conditions. The study was conducted as cooperation between the Geological Survey of Austria and the Geological Survey of Slovenia in the framework of the European FP7th Project “SafeLand”
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