Post-Event Surface Deformation of the 2018 Baige Landslide Revealed by Ground-Based and Spaceborne Radar Observations

Abstract

On 11 October and 3 November 2018, two large landslides occurred in Baige Village, Tibet, China, forcing the Jinsha River to be cut off and form a dammed lake, resulting in massive economic damages and deaths. This paper uses ground-based radar (GBR) and spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technologies to perform dynamic monitoring of the Baige landslide. Firstly, the GBR results suggest that the cumulative deformation from 4 to 10 December 2018 was 1.4 m, and the landslide still exhibits a risk of instability. Secondly, with the Sentinel-1A ascending and descending orbit images from December 2018 to February 2022, the InSAR-stacking technology assisted by the generic atmospheric correction online service (GACOS) and the multidimensional small baseline subset (MSBAS) method are utilized to obtain the annual deformation velocity and cumulative deformation in the satellite radar line of sight (LOS) direction of the landslide. Finally, according to the spatial–temporal deformation characteristics of feature points, combined with optical images, field investigation, and geological conditions, the development trend and inducing factors of the Baige landslide are comprehensively analyzed. It is shown that the Baige landslide is in constant motion at present, and the deformation is spreading from the slope to its right side. This research establishes a framework of combining emergency monitoring (i.e., GBR) with long-term monitoring (i.e., spaceborne InSAR). The framework is more conducive to obtaining the deformation and evolution of landslides, providing a greater possibility for studying the development trend and risk assessment of landslides, and assisting in reducing or even avoiding the losses caused by landslides.