Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, China

Shawan Gully historically experienced recurrent debris flow events, resulting in significant losses of life and property. The Nuole and Huajiaoshu landslides are two major high-elevation landslides in Shawan Gully, serving as primary sources of debris flow material. To monitor landslides movements,...

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Main Authors: Jianming Zhang, Xiaoqing Zuo, Daming Zhu, Yongfa Li, Xu Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1580
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author Jianming Zhang
Xiaoqing Zuo
Daming Zhu
Yongfa Li
Xu Liu
author_facet Jianming Zhang
Xiaoqing Zuo
Daming Zhu
Yongfa Li
Xu Liu
author_sort Jianming Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Shawan Gully historically experienced recurrent debris flow events, resulting in significant losses of life and property. The Nuole and Huajiaoshu landslides are two major high-elevation landslides in Shawan Gully, serving as primary sources of debris flow material. To monitor landslides movements, this study used interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and Sentinel-1 SAR imagery acquired between 2014 and 2023 to analyze surface deformation in Shawan Gully. Prior to InSAR processing, we assessed the InSAR measurement suitability of the involved SAR images in detail based on geometric distortion and monitoring sensitivity. Compared to conventional SBAS-InSAR results without preprocessing, the suitability-refined datasets show improvements in interferometric phase quality (1.55 rad to 1.41 rad) and estimation accuracy (1.45 mm to 1.18 mm). By processing ascending, descending, and cross-track Sentinel-1 SAR images, we obtained multi-directional surface displacements in Shawan Gully. The results reveal significant deformation in the NL1 region of Nuole landslide, while the northern scarp and the foot of the slope exhibited different movement characteristics, indicating spatially variable deformation mechanisms. The study also revealed that the Nuole landslide exhibits a high sensitivity to rainfall-induced instability, with rainfall significantly changing its original movement trend.
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spelling doaj-art-8826367a4b7341858efcbcc4be828bea2025-08-20T02:59:12ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-04-01179158010.3390/rs17091580Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, ChinaJianming Zhang0Xiaoqing Zuo1Daming Zhu2Yongfa Li3Xu Liu4Faculty of Land Resources Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, ChinaFaculty of Land Resources Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, ChinaFaculty of Land Resources Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, ChinaFaculty of Land Resources Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, ChinaFaculty of Land Resources Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, ChinaShawan Gully historically experienced recurrent debris flow events, resulting in significant losses of life and property. The Nuole and Huajiaoshu landslides are two major high-elevation landslides in Shawan Gully, serving as primary sources of debris flow material. To monitor landslides movements, this study used interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and Sentinel-1 SAR imagery acquired between 2014 and 2023 to analyze surface deformation in Shawan Gully. Prior to InSAR processing, we assessed the InSAR measurement suitability of the involved SAR images in detail based on geometric distortion and monitoring sensitivity. Compared to conventional SBAS-InSAR results without preprocessing, the suitability-refined datasets show improvements in interferometric phase quality (1.55 rad to 1.41 rad) and estimation accuracy (1.45 mm to 1.18 mm). By processing ascending, descending, and cross-track Sentinel-1 SAR images, we obtained multi-directional surface displacements in Shawan Gully. The results reveal significant deformation in the NL1 region of Nuole landslide, while the northern scarp and the foot of the slope exhibited different movement characteristics, indicating spatially variable deformation mechanisms. The study also revealed that the Nuole landslide exhibits a high sensitivity to rainfall-induced instability, with rainfall significantly changing its original movement trend.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1580SBAS-InSARNuole landslideSentinel-1suitability assessmentdeformation monitoring
spellingShingle Jianming Zhang
Xiaoqing Zuo
Daming Zhu
Yongfa Li
Xu Liu
Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, China
Remote Sensing
SBAS-InSAR
Nuole landslide
Sentinel-1
suitability assessment
deformation monitoring
title Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, China
title_full Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, China
title_fullStr Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, China
title_full_unstemmed Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, China
title_short Long-Term Monitoring of Landslide Activity in a Debris Flow Gully Using SBAS-InSAR: A Case Study of Shawan Gully, China
title_sort long term monitoring of landslide activity in a debris flow gully using sbas insar a case study of shawan gully china
topic SBAS-InSAR
Nuole landslide
Sentinel-1
suitability assessment
deformation monitoring
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1580
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