Abstract
Nowadays the use of remote monitoring sensors is a standard practice in landslide characterization and monitoring. In the last decades, technologies such as LiDAR, terrestrial and satellite SAR interferometry (InSAR) and photogrammetry demonstrated a great potential for rock slope assessment while limited studies and applications are still available for ArcSAR Interferometry, Gigapixel imaging and Acoustic sensing. Taking advantage of the facilities located at the Poggio Baldi Landslide Natural Laboratory, an intensive monitoring campaign was carried out on May 2019 using simultaneously the HYDRA-G ArcSAR for radar monitoring, the Gigapan robotic system equipped with a DSLR camera for photo-monitoring purposes and the DUO Smart Noise Monitor for acoustic measurements. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of each monitoring sensor and to investigate the ongoing gravitational processes at the Poggio Baldi landslide. Analysis of multi-temporal Gigapixel-images revealed the occurrence of 84 failures of various sizes between 14–17 May 2019. This allowed us to understand the short-term evolution of the rock cliff that is characterized by several impulsive rockfall events and continuous debris production. Radar displacement maps revealed a constant movement of the debris talus at the toe of the main rock scarp, while acoustic records proved the capability of this technique to identify rockfall events as well as their spectral content in a narrow range of frequencies between 200 Hz to 1000 Hz. This work demonstrates the great potential of the combined use of a variety of remote sensors to achieve high spatial and temporal resolution data in the field of landslide characterization and monitoring.
Highlights
Varnes in 1978 described the rockfall process as “a detached fragment of rock that falls along a vertical or sub-vertical cliff, proceeds down slope by bouncing and flying along ballistic trajectories or by rolling on talus or debris slopes” [1]
Conventional geotechnical instrumentations like extensometers, inclinometers and piezo-electric transducers recording acoustic emissions (AE) caused by rock fracturing are currently used in rock slope monitoring with positive results [31,32,33,34,35,36,37]
Using the different Gigapixel images, rockfalls were dated with an accuracy of two hours
Summary
Varnes in 1978 described the rockfall process as “a detached fragment of rock that falls along a vertical or sub-vertical cliff, proceeds down slope by bouncing and flying along ballistic trajectories or by rolling on talus or debris slopes” [1]. Rockfalls are the most frequent and widespread instabilities affecting steep slopes in mountain regions and sea cliffs [2,3,4,5,6]. Their impact energy and the associated hazard can reach very high values [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Conventional geotechnical instrumentations like extensometers, inclinometers and piezo-electric transducers recording acoustic emissions (AE) caused by rock fracturing are currently used in rock slope monitoring with positive results [31,32,33,34,35,36,37]. Acoustic emissions have the potential to identify ongoing deformations affecting the slope, representing a key component in the development of early-warning systems [33,38]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
