Analysis of the Output from a Radar-Based Levee-Monitoring System Using In Situ Soil Data

Abstract

There is a critical need to advance the science of levee monitoring to enable the implementation of a cost-effective multi-scale monitoring system that can identify internal weakness and vulnerable points at early stages. In this study, a developed levee monitoring system using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) data is used. The PolSAR data are used as input in an automated classification system for characterizing areas in the levees facing anomalies with an emphasis on slump slides. In addition to the remotely sensed data, extensive set of in- situ soil data are collected to provide detailed information about the soils properties within the study area. In-situ data are collected via geotechnical field exploration to provide information regarding soil texture, moisture content and penetration resistance. The study area is focused on the mainline levee system of the Mississippi River along the eastern side of the river in the state of Mississippi. While the automated classification system correctly identified the location of actual slide, there were some referred as positive points, which were classified as anomaly by the classifier but no actual slide was found at those locations. This study focuses on these false positive points by comparing their in-situ soil properties with that of true positive points (i.e., actual slide areas) to understand if these false positive points are similar to the slide area, and if they can be vulnerable to future slump slides. The results showed that over 70% of the false positives have similar soil proprieties to the actual slide.