Watch maps assist landslide early warning
The LEWIS project developed a new integrated Earth Observation (EO) method for creating landslide-warning maps. The process began with the analysis of historical multi-source satellite data that detects surface feature changes of causative and triggering mechanisms which happened prior to landslide occurrences. The images were gathered from test sites which already had available records of ground-monitored landslide motion. Surface changes were then tested against landslide occurrences in the instrumented test site areas. Finally a warning map that can highlight seven levels of warning was created through the use of static and dynamic information gathered from EO data and ground networks. It operates according to displacement information coming from the persistent scatterers (PS) detection and from the results of the inference engine. In this way it can incorporate and automate expert competences so increasing landslide hazard may be recognised. For example, when a land use change happens in an area with possible susceptibility, it produces a warning represented by a warning map. This technology is of particular interest for land use planning, civil protection and for private entities such as insurance or engineering consultancy services.
