Landslide Inventory and Susceptibility Mapping in a Mexican Stratovolcano

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the on-going research project from the Institute of Geography at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) that seeks to conduct multi-temporal landslide inventories and produce landslide susceptibility maps by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The Rio Chiquito-Barranca del Muerto watershed on the southwestern flank of Pico de Orizaba volcano in Mexico is selected as a case–control study area. First, the project aims to derive a landslide inventory map from a representative sample of landslides using aerial photography and field work. Next, Multiple Logistic Regression (MLR) is used to examine the relation between landsliding and several independent variables (elevation, slope, contributing area, land use, geology, and terrain curvature) to create the susceptibility map. Finally, the model is compared with the reality expressed by the inventory map. In this study, the results of the landslide inventory and susceptibility mapping techniques are presented and discussed.