Repeated UAV Campaigns, GNSS Measurements, GIS, and Petrographic Analyses for Landslide Mapping and Monitoring

Landslides are posing a significant global hazard as they occur instantaneously with devastating consequences. The development of new remote sensing technologies and innovative processing techniques over the past few years opened up new horizons and perspectives in landslide monitoring research. The purpose of the current research is the integrated monitoring of an active landslide, located in Western Greece, using low-cost and high-repeatability remote sensing data like those obtained by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Repeated UAV campaigns and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) surveys were performed to assess the activity of the landslide and determine its kinematic behavior. UAV data were processed using structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry and the generated high-detailed orthophotos and digital surface models (DSMs) were submitted in further processing procedure in an ArcGIS environment. Regarding the GNSS data, a new low-cost technique for the estimation of the direction and the rate of movement of the displaced material was developed. The repeated measurements were displayed in a vector format in a three-axis diagram. In addition, GNSS measurements were used to verify the results of the photogrammetric processing. The final assessment was carried out taking into account geological data such as petrographic and crystallographic features of the material of the landslide. It was observed that the lithology and consequently the petrographic properties of the material plays a key role regarding the activity of the landslide.

Automated summary

This study integrated advanced remote sensing technologies to monitor an active landslide in Western Greece and revealed the key role of lithology and petrographic properties in landslide activity.