Detecting precursors of an imminent landslide along the Jinsha River

Abstract

Abstract. Landslides are major hazards that may pose serious threats to mountain communities. Even landslides in remote mountains could have non-negligible impacts on populous regions by blocking large rivers and forming dam-breached mega floods. Usually, there are slope deformations before major landslides occur, and detecting precursors such as slope movement before major landslides is important for preventing possible disasters. In this work, we applied multi-temporal optical remote sensing images (Landsat 7 and Sentinel-2) and an image correlation method to detect subpixel slope deformations of a slope near the town of Mindu in the Tibet Autonomous Region. This slope is located on the right bank of the Jinsha River, ∼80 km downstream from the famous Baige landslide. We used a DEM-derived aspect to restrain background noise in image correlation results. We found the slope remained stable from November 2015 to November 2018 and moved significantly from November 2018. We used more data to analyse slope movement in 2019 and found retrogressive slope movements with increasingly large deformations near the riverbank. We also analysed spatial–temporal patterns of the slope deformation from October 2018 to February 2020 and found seasonal variations in slope deformations. Only the foot of the slope moved in dry seasons, whereas the entire slope was activated in rainy seasons. Until 24 August 2019, the size of the slope with displacements larger than 3 m was similar to that of the Baige landslide. However, the river width at the foot of this slope is much narrower than the river width at the foot of the Baige landslide. We speculate it may continue to slide down and threaten the Jinsha River. Further modelling works should be carried out to check if the imminent landslide could dam the Jinsha River and measures should be taken to mitigate possible dam breach flood disasters. This work illustrates the potential of using optical remote sensing to monitor slope deformations over remote mountain regions.