Estimation of Ground Vertical Displacement in Landslide Prone Areas Using PS-InSAR. A Case Study of Bududa, Uganda

Abstract

Estimation of ground displacement in landslide susceptible regions is very critical to understanding how landslides develop. The knowledge of ground displacement rates and magnitudes helps plan for the safety of the people and infrastructure. The early detection of landslides in Bududa is still a challenge due to the limited technology, hard to access, and a need for an affordable technique that can monitor a wide area continuously. In recent studies, the use of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (PS-InSAR) has provided vital information on landslide monitoring through the measurement of ground displacement. In this study, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) band C series of Sentinel 1-A and 1-B Satellite images were acquired between 2019 and 2020 along ascending and descending orbit paths. The Line of Sight Sight (LOS) displacement was determined for both satellite tracks, and then the LOS displacement was projected to the vertical direction. The PS-InSAR derived vertical displacement was then compared with GPS vertical displacement magnitudes over three GPS stations in the area. It was observed that vertical displacement velocity reached 20 cm/yr in Mountain Elgon. This displacement rate showed that there are points in the region that are highly unstable. The displacement velocity and magnitude in Bududa reached 6 cm/yr and 13 cm in two years. This rate and magnitude showed that Bududa is highly unstable compared with displacement velocities and magnitudes in landslide susceptible areas globally. The displacement was generally subsidence over the observation period. The vertical displacement estimated by PS-InSAR was comparable with GPS based on the estimated RMSE. The vertical displacement was highest at slopes between 32° and 60° and lowest between 0° and 9°. The vertical ground displacement was highly correlated with the rainfall that was received. The soil texture in Bududa has high clay content, with clay layering hence low drainage rates, field capacity, saturation and bulk density. It was observed that ground displacement was highly influenced by slope, rainfall and soil texture. Displacement could be estimated in three dimensions using PS-InSAR in the future if sufficient SAR images in ascending and descending tracks are made available with significantly different geometries. This would add to the knowledge of displacement patterns in the east and north directions at a large spatial scale.