LANDSLIDES AND LAND SUBSIDENCE

WHY DOES LANDSLIDES AND LAND SUBSIDENCE
MATTER?

Landslides and land subsidence are among ground movement hazards that can have devastating effects on infrastructure, human lives, environment and sustainability of resources. Landslides are a natural hazard that include the movement of rock, soil, or debris down a slope. They can occur in various forms, such as rockfall, debris flows, mudslides, or avalanches, resulting in thousands of fatalities worldwide each year. Land subsidence, referring to the gradual sinking of the Earth's surface, occurs when the support beneath the surface decreases or is removed, leading to the collapse of overlying layers and soil compaction. It can be caused by varied reasons including withdrawal of groundwater, oil, gas and geothermal fluids, mining activities, tunneling, consolidation of certain types of soil, development of sinkholes in karstic environment or certain tectonic processes.

WHY A NEXUS APPROACH?

Landslides and subsidence are complex processes influenced by multiple interrelated factors including geological, geomorphological, hydrological, and climatic factors, as well as anthropogenic activities and land use practices. For example, heavy rainfall or snowmelt particularly when certain types of geological materials are present , can increase the likelihood of landslides. Human activities such urbanization and unregulated groundwater overexploitation can exacerbate risk of land subsidence. The nexus approach examines the relationship and dependencies between these interrelated factors in order to derive a comprehensive understanding of susceptibility to ground movement hazards. This is crucial for mitigation strategies to reduce the impacts of landslides and ground subsidence on communities and the environment, developing a proper early warning systems and optimized resource management.

AID TOOLS

The links provided below offer access to crucial parameters and datasets that influence Landslides and land subsidence. Although this list is not exhaustive, it provides valuable tools and resources for conducting Landslides and land subsidence studies and analysis. Depending on data availability and resources, additional parameters can be incorporated. Here are some of the tools and resources:

Inventories and Data Resources

European Landslide Susceptibility Map (ELSUS V2)

The European Landslide Susceptibility Map (ELSUS V2) is a tool that highlights landslide susceptibility across Europe, offering critical data for risk assessment and planning. By providing layers of susceptibility data, ELSUS V2 helps identify high-risk areas, enabling improved management and mitigation of landslide hazards.

Global Landslide Hazard Distribution (GDLND)

The Global Landslide Hazard Distribution (GDLND) is a worldwide assessment of landslide susceptibility based on factors such as slope, lithology, soil moisture, precipitation, seismicity, and vegetation cover, utilizing a range of data sources to assess and display landslide risk.

Nepal 2015 Earthquake: Landslide Maps

The detailed landslide maps created following the 2015 Nepal earthquake are crucial for understanding seismic landslide risks. These maps provide valuable insights into the areas most affected by landslides triggered by the earthquake.

U.S. Landslide Inventory (USGS)

The U.S. Landslide Inventory is an extensive database of landslide occurrences in the United States, offering a comprehensive national overview. It provides an integrated database of landslides with a selection of uniform attributes, and includes links to the original digital inventory files whenever available. Given the wide range of landslide information sources in this compilation, the database also includes an attribute to assess the relative confidence in the characterization of the location and extent of each landslide.

Atlas of Landslide (NRSC, India)

The Atlas of Landslides, developed by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of India, is a resource that maps and documents landslide-prone areas across the country. It provides detailed information on the spatial distribution of landslides, integrating data from satellite imagery, geological surveys, and field studies. This atlas is a tool for risk assessment, disaster management, and land-use planning in India, helping to identify vulnerable regions and guide mitigation efforts.

NASA's Global Landslide Catalog

The Global Landslide Catalog (GLC) was developed with the goal of identifying rainfall-triggered landslide events around the world, regardless of size, impact, or location. The GLC considers all types of mass movements triggered by rainfall, which have been reported in the media, disaster databases, scientific reports, or other sources.

Global Landslide Hazard Map (World Bank)

The World Bank's Global Landslide Hazard Map provides an extensive database of landslide susceptibilities around the world, aiding in risk assessment and mitigation planning on a global scale. It maps regions based on the likelihood and potential severity of landslides, which are influenced by various factors including topography, geology, land use, and precipitation patterns.

New Zealand's National Landslide Database (GNS)

The New Zealand Landslide Database, managed by GNS Science, stores detailed data on landslides, including their locations, types, causes, and impacts. It is continually updated and sourced from various methods, like aerial photos and field surveys.

Italian Landslide Inventory (IdroGEO)

IdroGEO is the Italian web platform dedicated to documenting and monitoring landslides and floods across Italy. This platform provides comprehensive access to the Italian Landslide Inventory, offering detailed information on the location, type, causes, and impacts of landslides, as well as flood events. The platform is designed to support disaster risk management, research, and public awareness by making this critical data easily accessible and regularly updated.

Swiss Flood and Landslide Damage Database (WSL)

The Swiss Flood and Landslide Damage Database, managed by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), records over 27,000 damage entries from naturally triggered floods, debris flows, landslides, and rockfalls since 1972, excluding avalanches and earthquakes. It offers detailed analyses of the location, extent, causes, and distribution of these events and is accessible to official institutions for hazard assessment.

Japanese Landslide Inventory (J.SHIS)

The Japanese Landslide Inventory (J.SHIS) is a comprehensive database managed by the Japan Seismic Hazard Information Station (J.SHIS). It documents landslide occurrences across Japan, providing detailed information on their locations, types, causes, and impacts.

Landslide Inventory of Kyrgyzstan

The Landslide Inventory of Kyrgyzstan is an extensive database maintained by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, focusing on landslide events across Kyrgyzstan.

Global Land Subsidence Mapping

Global Land Subsidence Mapping provides a high-resolution, global dataset on land subsidence, created using a combination of remote sensing data, advanced geospatial techniques, and machine learning models. The dataset specifically addresses groundwater overdraft, which can lead to land subsidence and irreversible loss of groundwater storage. Unlike existing approaches, this model offers fine-scale global estimates (approximately 2 km resolution), making it relevant for localized studies.

China’s Sinking Cities

China's Sinking Cities Land Subsidence Database tracks land subsidence in 82 major cities, providing detailed, multi-year data collected through technologies like InSAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar).

Land Subsidence Database of Iran

The dataset, "Uncovering the Impacts of Depleting Aquifers: A Remote Sensing Analysis of Land Subsidence in Iran," offers detailed insights into land subsidence across Iran using Sentinel-1 InSAR observations. It is intended for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in land subsidence, groundwater depletion, and related fields.

Subsidence in Coastal Cities

Subsidence in coastal cities refers to the gradual sinking of land in urban coastal areas, often caused by factors like excessive groundwater extraction, soil compaction, and natural processes. The InSAR observations conducted between 2014 and 2021 provide a global view of this issue, using satellite radar data to measure land displacement in high precision.

SEEQUENT

SEEQUENT is a comprehensive software suite for slope stability and soil analysis. It offers advanced tools for evaluating and modeling the stability of slopes and soil conditions, including analyses for landslides, embankments, and retaining walls. The software integrates various analytical methods and simulations, aiding engineering and geotechnical professionals in designing safe structures, assessing risks, and managing soil stability.

SNAP (Sentinel Application Platform)

SNAP (Sentinel Application Platform) is a common architecture developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of the Sentinel Toolboxes within the ESA's Sentinel Toolboxes and Exploitation Platform (STEP). It supports the exploitation of high-resolution satellite data, accommodating both radar and optical data from Sentinel satellites.

PyLandslide

PyLandslide is a Python tool designed for spatial mapping of landslide susceptibility and conducting uncertainty analysis. It employs "qualitative map combination" to integrate multiple contributing factors using weighted inputs, with machine learning used to determine these weights and their uncertainties. The tool supports sensitivity analysis by varying weight ranges and spatially comparing different weight outcomes.

GMTSAR (Generic Mapping Tools Synthetic Aperture Radar)

GMTSAR (Generic Mapping Tools Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an open-source software system for processing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data using Interferometric SAR (InSAR) techniques. Designed for users familiar with Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), GMTSAR converts satellite SAR data into a common format, processes it to create interferograms, and utilizes GMT for postprocessing and visualization. It handles data from various satellites, including Sentinel-1 and TerraSAR-X, and produces products like phase maps and displacement images.

ISCE (InSAR Scientific Computing Environment)

ISCE (InSAR Scientific Computing Environment) is a flexible, open-source software framework designed for automated processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, with a focus on InSAR techniques. It is commonly used for applications such as earthquake monitoring and surface deformation studies. ISCE is developed to handle various SAR data formats and integrates tools for detailed geophysical analysis. The software is hosted on GitHub under the repository Isce-Framework/Isce2, which provides version 2 of the framework and supports contributions from the community.

Mintpy (Miami INsar Time-series software in Python)

Mintpy (Miami InSAR Time-series software in Python) is an open-source Python package designed for analyzing Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) time series data, widely used in geophysics and geology for studying ground deformation. It processes stacks of coregistered and unwrapped interferograms from various formats such as ISCE, ARIA, and SNAP, generating three-dimensional displacement maps (2D spatial and 1D temporal). Mintpy includes time series analysis routines and additional toolboxes for detailed analysis.

STEP_TRAMM

STEP_TRAMM is a model designed to simulate rainfall-induced landslides globally. It works by modeling the progressive failure of soil columns interconnected through mechanical bonds, simulating how rainfall triggers landslides. The model requires detailed input data, including elevation, vegetation patterns, soil texture, and rainfall information. STEP_TRAMM calculates various outcomes such as soil depth, discharge into river networks, the timing and location of soil slides, and the runout pathways of the displaced soil.

TRIGRS (Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-Based Regional Slope-Stability)

TRIGRS (Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-Based Regional Slope-Stability) is a Fortran program used to model shallow, rainfall-induced landslides. It calculates how transient pore-pressure changes, due to rainfall infiltration, affect slope stability and factor of safety. The model handles variable rainfall inputs and simulates one-dimensional, vertical flow in isotropic, homogeneous materials under both saturated and unsaturated conditions. TRIGRS uses a simple infinite-slope model to assess slope stability on a cell-by-cell basis, incorporating horizontal variability in material properties and rainfall. It integrates with GIS software for input grid preparation and result visualization, making it useful for analyzing regional slope stability and predicting landslide occurrences.

D-Claw

D-Claw is an open-source software package for modeling granular-fluid flows (landslides, debris flows, etc.) within the larger Clawpack open-source project. D-Claw implements a two-phase granular mathematical model developed by Richard Iverson and David George at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Anura 3D

Anura3D is a software tool that utilizes a dynamic explicit Material Point Method (MPM) formulation to simulate multi-phase materials, including dry, saturated, and unsaturated soils, as well as free surface water. It integrates a fully coupled hydro-mechanical approach to model interactions among soil, water, and gas phases within porous media, treating them as a continuum mixture of solid and pore liquids. Anura3D features a GiD interface for geometry and mesh creation, material parameter definition, boundary condition setting, and calculation parameter specification. Calculations are executed by a stand-alone Anura3D program.

SLIDE2

SLIDE2 is an advanced, user-friendly software designed for 2D slope stability analysis. It offers a range of features to help engineers and geotechnical professionals assess the stability of slopes and embankments, perform detailed analyses, and ensure safe designs.

PLAXIS 2D

PLAXIS 2D is a sophisticated software for geotechnical engineering, offering advanced tools for 2D analysis of soil-structure interactions. It enables engineers to model and analyze complex soil behaviors, stability, and deformation issues with high precision. The software provides detailed graphical results and supports various soil models and structural analyses, making it essential for evaluating the impact of soil conditions on structures like foundations, embankments, and tunnels.

SUB

The Subsidence and Aquifer-System Compaction package is used for simulating the drainage, changes in groundwater storage, and compaction of aquifers, interbeds and confining units that constitute an aquifer system. Delays in the release of groundwater from interbed storage, and thus delays in aquifer-system compaction, can be simulated. Delayed drainage and compaction in confining units can also be simulated.

POEL

POEL is a computational code, written in FORTRAN, designed to simulate the coupled processes of fluid diffusion and mechanical deformation in response to fluid injection or extraction in a layered poroelastic half-space. Specifically, this tool is used for modeling how subsurface layers respond to fluid injection or extraction during pump tests, which are commonly conducted in hydrogeology and petroleum engineering. The simulations account for both the fluid movement through porous layers and the mechanical strain that fluid movement induces in the surrounding geological formations.

r.avaflow

r.avaflow is an open-source, GIS-supported software for simulating complex, cascading mass flows across diverse terrains. It supports up to three flow phases and employs the NOC-TVD numerical scheme along with models like the Voellmy-type model and a simplified Pudasaini multi-phase flow model. Key features include modeling of entrainment, deformation, fragmentation, dispersion, and phase transitions. Users can define the initial mass through raster maps or hydrographs, and the software supports multi-core computing for simultaneous simulations to aid in sensitivity analysis and optimization. Results can be visualized through maps, diagrams, and 3D/VR formats.

r.randomwalk

r.randomwalk is a free and innovative software supporting experts in the explorative and broad-scale analysis of past and possible future impact areas of various types of gravitational processes.

r.slope.stability

r.slope.stability aims at creating a free and innovative software supporting experts in identifying areas susceptible to different types of slope failures.

The European Ground Motion Service (EGMS)

The European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) is a service provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with several European institutions and organizations.
It plays a crucial role in supporting decision-making processes related to geohazard mitigation and land-use planning by providing accurate and up-to-date information on ground motion across Europe. By continuously monitoring and analyzing these ground movements, the service aims to improve the understanding of geohazards and contribute to risk assessment and management.

Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)

The main areas of focus for BGR include geological mapping, monitoring of groundwater resources, assessment of mineral and energy resources, geotechnical investigations, and the study of natural hazards like earthquakes and landslides. The institute carries out comprehensive research and monitoring activities to assess the geological and geophysical conditions in Germany and beyond. It also provides data, information, and expertise to policymakers, industry stakeholders, and the general public.

NASA Landslide Reporter

NASA Landslide Reporter is a crowdsourcing tool designed to collect and report landslide data from around the world. It is a key component of the Cooperative Open Online Landslide Repository (COOLR), which houses a global database of landslide events, including data from NASA’s Global Landslide Catalog. The tool allows users to contribute real-time landslide information, helping to enhance the database and improve understanding of landslide occurrences and trends globally.

Harris Subsidence Map

The Harris Subsidence Map is a tool that visualizes subsidence rates in Harris, Galveston, and surrounding counties in Texas, USA. It details the annual rate of change in ellipsoidal height based on GPS data collected between 2018 and 2022. The map provides period of record plots for each monitoring station, offering insights into how subsidence rates have evolved over time in these regions.

IGME Global Subsidence Information System

The IGME Global Subsidence Information System is a platform that visualizes and provides access to global subsidence data, which is essential for assessing ground stability and associated risks. It compiles and displays information on areas affected by subsidence, enabling better understanding and management of subsidence-related hazards, such as those caused by natural processes or human activities like groundwater extraction.

NASA landslide Viewer

Landslide Viewer is the portal to visualize the data from the Cooperative Open Online Landslide Repository (COOLR). Data visualized includes citizen science landslide reports, Global Landslide Catalog data, and other landslide catalog data. You can customize the map view by selecting different layers with landslide and environmental information. You can also download all landslide data or get the ArcGIS REST API for in-depth analysis from the portal.

Interactive Map of Land Subsidence in Iran

Interactive map of land subsidence in Iran is developed in a collaboration between Leibniz University Hannover and the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. It provides insights into land subsidence in Iran using InSAR analysis of Sentinel-1 satellite data, highlights regions affected by land subsidence and aids in monitoring and understanding subsidence trends.

COMET Subsidence Portal

The Land Subsidence Portal offers InSAR time-series data for 99 subsiding regions in Iran, processed by LiCSAR tools. Data from ESA’s Sentinel-1 satellites (2015-present) is available every 6-12 days for free. Unlike traditional GPS and leveling, which are precise but limited and time-consuming, InSAR provides accurate, extensive subsidence mapping. It measures phase changes between radar images to detect surface shifts, enabling long-term subsidence rate analysis through interferograms.

Norwegian ground motion service

InSAR Norway is a national initiative aimed at monitoring and measurement of ground movements powered by Copernicus Sentinel-1 data. The Norwegian Ground Motion Service offers InSAR subsidence data at full resolution, freely and openly available to the general public.

USGS Landslide Hazards Program

The USGS Landslide Hazards Program is a comprehensive resource designed to enhance understanding of landslides and mitigate their impacts. It offers educational materials, interactive maps, and research tools to help users learn about landslide risks and management. The primary goal of the National Landslide Hazards Program is to reduce long-term losses from landslides by improving knowledge of ground failure causes and recommending effective mitigation strategies.

American Geosciences Institute - Landslide Basics

The American Geosciences Institute’s "Landslide Basics" is a guide that provides essential information on understanding landslides. This guide aims to enhance public awareness and provide practical knowledge on managing and reducing landslide risks.

The Landslide Blog - AGU

The Landslide Blog by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) offers up-to-date commentary on global landslide events and research. It provides timely insights, analyses, and updates on landslide occurrences, trends, and advancements in the field, making it an excellent resource for staying current with the latest developments in landslide science and monitoring.

NASA Earthdata

NASA Earthdata provides a range of resources for Earth scientists, including data toolkits, webinars, tutorials, and articles. It offers comprehensive support for understanding and analyzing various Earth science phenomena, including land subsidence. These resources facilitate access to NASA’s extensive datasets and enhance the ability to study and address subsidence and other geophysical processes.

USGS Groundwater Information

The USGS Groundwater Information fact sheet offers insights into land subsidence in the United States, with a particular focus on groundwater withdrawal as a primary cause. It explains how the extraction of groundwater can lead to ground sinking, affecting infrastructure and natural systems. The fact sheet provides essential information on the impacts of subsidence and highlights the importance of managing groundwater resources to mitigate these effects.

Land Subsidence on the Virginia Coastal Plain

Land Subsidence on the Virginia Coastal Plain is a detailed resource from the Virginia-West Virginia Water Science Center that examines the measurement and causes of subsidence in coastal regions. Since 1979, the center, in collaboration with partners, has monitored subsidence using various tools, including land-surface elevation and groundwater level measurements, and by expanding the extensometer network. This long-term monitoring helps researchers predict future flooding severity, understand the impacts of groundwater use, make informed decisions for sustainability, and assess the effectiveness of groundwater restoration efforts.

The UNESCO Land Subsidence International Initiative (LaSII)

The UNESCO Land Subsidence International Initiative (LaSII) is a program aimed at addressing the issue of land subsidence, which refers to the sinking or settling of the Earth's surface due to various factors. The primary objective of LaSII is to increase awareness and understanding of land subsidence, its causes, and its impacts on society and the environment. Through scientific research and data sharing, LaSII aims to improve our knowledge of the processes leading to land subsidence and develop effective strategies to mitigate its effects.

Earth Observation Center Geoservice (EOC)

The EOC Geoservice, operated by the Earth Observation Center (EOC), is a service that provides access to various geospatial data and products derived from Earth observation satellites. It aims to support a wide range of applications in fields such as environmental monitoring, disaster management, urban planning, agriculture, and scientific research. It provides users with the ability to access, analyze, and visualize geospatial data through an online platform or through direct download.

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