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Post-failure landslide change detection and analysis using optical satellite Sentinel-2 images

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Abstract

Post-failure landslide change detection is crucial for mitigation strategies. However, the methods used to investigate this issue all involve a tough workflow, and the free access Sentinel-2 satellite is underutilized. In this study, we use ten Sentinel-2 optical images to explore the effectiveness of using these images to detect post-landslide changes in the Huangnibazi landslide failure using an easy workflow. We found that the landslide can be qualitatively divided into a startup and acceleration stage, a front and lateral edge expansion stage, and a stabilization stage using time-series true color images. After the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was calculated to identify landslide scars, which were validated using the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) orthoimages, we found that the same three change processes identified were also reflected by the landslide scar count change analysis in a quantitative way. Based on the three different stages, a red-green-blue (RGB) composite of the NDVI images was constructed and was found to reflect the different change period of the right and left landslide edges. Most importantly, the changes within a pixel unit were detected using an NDVI RGB composite with cold colors representing a retrogressive landslide mode. All of these findings indicate that the huge potential of the use of Sentinel-2 images in similar applications.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) Program(2019QZKK0903), International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (2018YFE0100100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41771539), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2019 M663792).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710127, China

    Feihang Qu, Haijun Qiu & Hesheng Sun

  2. Institute of Earth Surface System and Hazards, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710127, China

    Feihang Qu, Haijun Qiu & Hesheng Sun

  3. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710127, China

    Haijun Qiu

  4. State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Minggao Tang

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  1. Feihang Qu
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  2. Haijun Qiu
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  3. Hesheng Sun
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  4. Minggao Tang
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Correspondence to Haijun Qiu.

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Qu, F., Qiu, H., Sun, H. et al. Post-failure landslide change detection and analysis using optical satellite Sentinel-2 images. Landslides 18, 447–455 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01498-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01498-0

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