Relationships among remotely sensed soil moisture, precipitation and landslide events
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Natural Hazards
Abstract
Landslides are triggered by earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and heavy continuous rainfall. For most types of slope failure, soil moisture plays a critical role because increased pore water pressure reduces the soil strength and increases stress. However, in-situ soil moisture profiles are rarely measured. To establish the soil moisture and landslide relationship, a qualitative comparison among soil moisture derived from AMSR-E, precipitation from TRMM and major landslide events was conducted. This study shows that it is possible to estimate antecedent soil moisture conditions using AMSR-E and TRMM satellite data in landslide prone areas. AMSR-E data show distinct annual patterns of soil moisture that reflect observed rainfall patterns from TRMM. Results also show enhanced AMSR-E soil moisture and TRMM rainfall prior to major landslide events in landslide prone regions of California, U.S.; Leyte, Philippines; and Dhading, Nepal. © Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007.
First Page
211
Last Page
222
DOI
10.1007/s11069-006-9095-9
Publication Date
11-1-2007
Recommended Citation
Ray, R., & Jacobs, J. (2007). Relationships among remotely sensed soil moisture, precipitation and landslide events. Natural Hazards, 43 (2), 211-222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-006-9095-9