Application of Radar Polarimetry to Monitor Changes in Backscattering Mechanisms in Landslide Zones Using the Example of the Collapse of the Bureya River Bank.

Bondur, V. G.; Chimitdorzhiev, T. N.; Dmitriev, A. V.; Dagurov, P. N.; Zakharov, A. I.; Zakharova, L. N.

Possibilities of using radar polarimetry methods for identifying landslide zones are analyzed. The transformation of the dominant mechanism of signal scattering by the reflecting surface was used as a key feature of landslide zones. The polarimetric data from the PALSAR-2 radar of the ALOS-2 satellite are processed using the Freeman–Durden and Cloude–Pottier decompositions at four test sites selected in the region of the landslide caused by the collapse of the bank of the Bureya River. It is found that the results of decompositions are consistent with each other; however, in some areas there are significant differences due to the specific features of the basic model assumptions. It is shown that, before the descent of the landslide masses, three main mechanisms of radar signal scattering existed in the analyzed region: single surface, volumetric, and double scattering. After the collapse, this area was dominated by single scattering characteristic of the reflective surface with large-scale irregularities free of vegetation, due to which the landslide descent zone can be confidently recognized. The significant potential of using radar polarimetry for remote diagnostics of the consequences of landslide phenomena has been demonstrated.

RIPARIAN areas; POLARIMETRY; RADAR; BACKSCATTERING; LANDSLIDE hazard analysis; LANDSLIDES; SURFACE scattering; HAZARD mitigation

Izvestiya, Atmospheric & Oceanic Physics, 2020, Vol 56, Issue 10, p916

0001-4338

Academic Journal

10.1134/S0001433820090054