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Ruinon landslide (Valfurva, Italy) activity in relation to rainfall by means of GBInSAR monitoring

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Abstract

The active Ruinon rockslide is located on the left bank of the Frodolfo River valley (Valfurva, Italian Alps) and is developed on the Confinale deep-seated gravitational slope deformation. Ruinon landslide is a major hazard for valley inhabitants in that rapid movement might dam the stream and create a debris flow. The landslide is strongly controlled by preexisting structural features and is believed to have been triggered by postglacial debuttressing. Ground-based radar interferometry has been used to map surface deformation over time of the entire unstable zone of Ruinon landslide with high spatial resolution and at a very high temporal acquisition rate (about five images per hour). The activity of the landslide shows strong periodicity, with summer and autumn accelerations and winter deceleration. From a correlation between the landslide acceleration and a class of rainfall event, we deduce the specific rainfall conditions that accelerate the instability of the landslide area. The study results suggest an improved tool for early warning of events of potentially catastrophic landslide instability.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been sponsored by the Valfurva municipality. Dr. Mannucci (ARPA Lombardia) is acknowledged for providing rainfall data, temperature data and in situ monitoring data. The authors are grateful to the Ellegi-Lisalab for providing the systems used for data acquisition and for the data processing, and to Dr. Luzi and Dr. Garfagnoli for the critical review of the manuscript. We also thank anonymous reviewers for the constructive revisions that helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Firenze, Via La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy

    Chiara Del Ventisette & Nicola Casagli

  2. Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen—IPSC, European Commission, V. E. Fermi 1, 21020, Ispra, VA, Italy

    Joaquim Fortuny-Guasch & Dario Tarchi

Authors
  1. Chiara Del Ventisette
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  2. Nicola Casagli
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  3. Joaquim Fortuny-Guasch
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  4. Dario Tarchi
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Correspondence to Chiara Del Ventisette.

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Del Ventisette, C., Casagli, N., Fortuny-Guasch, J. et al. Ruinon landslide (Valfurva, Italy) activity in relation to rainfall by means of GBInSAR monitoring. Landslides 9, 497–509 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-011-0307-3

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