Ground and Satellite-Based Methods of Measuring Deformation at a UK Landslide Observatory: Comparison and Integration

Abstract

With the advances of ESA’s Sentinel-1 InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission, there are freely available remote sensing ground deformation observations all over the globe that allow continuous monitoring of natural hazards and structural instabilities. The Digital Environment initiative in the UK aims to include these remote sensing data in the effort at forecasting and mitigating hazards across the UK. In this paper, we present a case study of the Hollin Hill landslide in North Yorkshire where a variety of ground-based geophysical measurements are available for comparison with InSAR data. To include Sentinel-1 data in the UK’s Digital Environment, it is important to understand the advantages and limitations of these observations and interpret them appropriately. The Hollin Hill landslide observatory (HHLO) is used by the British Geological Survey to understand landslide processes, and to trial new technologies and methodologies for slope stability characterisation and monitoring. In July 2019, six corner reflectors were installed to improve the coherence of the InSAR measurements. We use Sentinel-1 InSAR data acquired between October 2015 and January 2019 to study the behaviour of this landslide, and find that the line-of-sight component of the down-slope movement is 2.7 mm/year in the descending track, and 7.5–7.7 mm/year in the ascending track. The InSAR measurements also highlight the seasonal behaviour of this landslide. Using InSAR data after the installation of the six corner reflectors, we are able to track the most recent movement on the landslide that occurred in January 2021. This result is in agreement with other ground-based measurements such as tracking of pegs, and soil moisture data derived from electrical resistivity tomography.