DInSAR and statistical modeling to assess landslides: The case study of Sierras Chicas (central Argentina)

BRASCA MERLÍN, ALMENDRA; SOLARTE, ANDRÉS; BELLIS, LAURA; CARIGNANO, CLAUDIO; CIOCCALE, MARCELA; DELGADO, MANUEL; SCAVUZZO, CARLOS MARCELO; ARGAÑARAZ, JUAN PABLO

JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2021 vol. 108

0895-9811

The main goal of this investigation was toassess landslides in the steep West-facingslope of the Sierras Chicas mountainsin central Argentina usingtwo complementary approaches: Differential SAR interferometry (DinSAR)and statistical modeling. The combination of the geological characteristics ofthe area, wildfires, intense rainfall eventsand human disturbances have made the area highly susceptible to landslides.This condition has been recently aggravatedwith the construction of a roadway. In thiswork, we applied DInSAR methods to explore the suitability of COSMO-SkyMed(CSK) acquisitions to measure displacements and we used Sentinel-1 C-band images for accuracy comparison. In addition, GeneralizedLinear Models were fitted to identify landslide-conditioning factors. Basedon the results obtained, Sentinel-1 proved to be the most adequate source ofimages to perform interferometry, in contrast to Cosmo Skymed imagery thatshowed very poor coherence in the study area. Thestatistical modeling identified slope degree,distance to roads and fire frequency as the main variables explaining landslideoccurrence on the west escarpment of the Sierras Chicas. Results will hopefully contribute to improve future applications of SARinterferometry both in the study area andothers with similar characteristics, aswell as the tools and knowledge for decision making  in engineeringand urban development projects in order to minimizerisk.