U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            RAY, RAM - San Diego State Universityitem
                                            JACOBS, JENNIFER - University Of New Hampshireitem
                                            Cosh, Michael
  Submitted to: Remote Sensing of Environment
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2010
                                    Publication  Date: 9/8/2010
                                    Citation: Ray, R., Jacobs, J., Cosh, M.H. 2010. Landslide susceptibility mapping using downscaled AMSR-E soil moisture: A case study from Cleveland Corral, California, US. Remote Sensing of Environment. 114:2624-2636.Interpretive Summary: Land slides are a costly natural disaster which is often sudden and unpredictiable because of the lack of available data.  Slope stability modeling is the key to quantifying potential landslide locations, which is critical for areas prone to landslides, such as Nepal, or California.  However a key component to stability modeling, soil moisture, is lacking in situ data to support large scale monitoring.  An alternate method of soil moisture estimation, remote sensing, has been developed via the AMSR-E satellite instrument.  Using estimates from this sensor, slope stability maps can be generated which closely match maps generated from intensive modeling schemes, namely the VIC-3L model.  At a study site at Cleveland Corral landslide Area in California, the utility of the AMSR-E approach to landslide estimation proved that satellite remote sensing can be used to quickly assess the susceptibility of a region for landslides.
                                Technical Abstract: As soil moisture increases, slope stability decreases. Remotely sensed soil moisture data can provide routine updates of slope conditions necessary for landslide predictions. For regional scale landslide investigations, only remote sensing methods have the spatial and temporal resolution required to map hazard increases. Here, a dynamic physically-based slope stability model that requires soil moisture is applied using remote sensing products from multiple Earth observing platforms. The resulting landslide susceptibility maps using the advanced microwave scanning radiometer (AMSR-E) surface soil moisture are compared to those created using variable infiltration capacity (VIC-3L) modeled soil moisture at Cleveland Corral landslide area in California, US. Despite snow cover influences on AMSRE surface soil moisture estimates, a good relationship between the downscaled AMSR-E’s surface soil moisture and the VIC-3L modeled soil moisture is evident. The AMSR-E soil moisture mean (0.17 cm3/cm3) and standard deviation (0.02 cm3/cm3) are very close to the mean (0.21 cm3/cm3)) and standard deviation (0.09 cm3/cm3)) estimated by VIC-3L model. Qualitative results show that the location and extent of landslide prone regions are quite similar. Under the maximum saturation scenario, 0.42 and 0.49% of the study area was highly susceptible using AMSR-E and VIC-3L model soil moisture, respectively.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov