Application of InSAR techniques for monitoring landslide and bluff recession along Lake Michigan's coastal bluff
Abstract
Landslide, slope instability, and bluff recession along Lake Michigan coastal bluffs have, and continue to pose a threat to private property and infrastructure in these areas. These features were reported from steep (>34 º) bluffs and canyons that bound channels, crosscut bluffs, and drain in the lake. A three-fold exercise was conducted to address this issue. First, thirty two ascending European Space Agency (ESA), ERS-2, C-band images acquired (1995 to 1998) along three tracks (2727, 2745 and 2709) over Lake Michigan's coastal bluff were processed using Stanford Method for Persistent Scatters Small Baseline Subset Technique (StaMPS-SBAS) to identify areas undergoing land deformation. The following steps were conducted: (1) spatial baseline (< 1300 m) and temporal baseline (< 1690 days) thresholds were used for scene selection; (2) interferograms were generated between the master and each of the slave scenes; (3) topographic and orbital phase contributions were removed using 1-arcsecond SRTM DEM and precise orbital records from Delft precise orbits; (4) slant-range geometry was geocoded to a known reference system using orbital information and a DEM; and (5) velocities were calibrated against GPS station measurements. Secondly, the study area (965 km2) was delineated using a buffer zone that defines areas with steep slopes (> 60 degrees) that are either proximal (< 80 m) to the Lake shoreline, or proximal (< 100 m) to rivers draining into the Lake. Thirdly, spatial correlations were conducted in a GIS environment, between the radar land deformation results and other relevant datasets (e.g., distribution of streams, lakes, topography and hillshade). Findings include: (1) high subsidence rates ranging from -5 mm/year and up to -21 mm/year were found in several locations along Michigan's coastal bluff in Allegan, Muskegon and Leelanau counties, and (2) a number of the reported historical landslide locations in the Allegan county and northern part of the Sleeping Bear Dune State Park areas coincided with radar-based subsidence locations. Examples include lakeshores of Allegan County and northern part of sleeping bear Dune state park areas, where landslides were reported in years 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2004.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMNH21B0819S
- Keywords:
-
- 1810 Debris flow and landslides;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 4302 Geological;
- NATURAL HAZARDSDE: 4303 Hydrological;
- NATURAL HAZARDSDE: 4315 Monitoring;
- forecasting;
- prediction;
- NATURAL HAZARDS