article · Remote Sensing
Geophysical surveys offer a non-invasive and reliable way to enhance geological models without relying solely on costly borehole drilling campaigns. Combining seismic refraction tomography, electrical resistivity tomography, and borehole calibration data is highly effective for determining landslide geometries, though its practical use remains infrequent. In a study of a slow-moving landslide in the Spanish Pyrenees, these techniques were integrated with lithological logs to construct a three-dimensional geological model. Strong contrasts in P-wave velocities and electrical resistivity between colluvial debris and clayey siltstone yielded precise geometric details of the sliding surface and involved materials. This geophysical approach mapped the critical sliding surface across an extensive area at reduced cost compared to traditional borehole programmes. Stability analyses based on the resulting model confirmed that the lower section of the landslide is more unstable than the upper units.
Landslides pose significant risks to infrastructure and communities, yet assessing subsurface stability across large areas is traditionally slow and expensive. Demonstrating that combined non-invasive geophysical techniques can accurately map complex failure planes reduces the need for disruptive drilling. This helps geologists and engineers assess hazardous slopes more rapidly, comprehensively, and cost-effectively.
This methodology has direct practical application for geotechnical engineering firms, environmental consultants, and civil protection agencies conducting site investigations for slope stability. Because the testing took place on an active landslide using existing geophysical tools, the approach is applied and tested for field use. It offers a cost-effective alternative to intensive borehole drilling for risk assessment projects.
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Geophysical surveys are a noninvasive reliable tool to improve geological models without requiring extensive in situ borehole campaigns. The usage of seismic refraction tomography (SRT), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and borehole data for calibrating is very appropriate to define landslide body geometries; however, it is still only used occasionally. We present here the case of a Spanish Pyrenees slow-moving landslide, where ERT, SRT and lithological log data were integrated to obtain a geological three-dimensional model. The high contrasts of P-wave velocity and electrical resistivity values of the upper materials (colluvial debris and clayey siltstone) provided accurate information on the geometry of the materials involved in the landslide body, as well as the sliding surface. Geophysical prospecting allowed us to identify the critical sliding surface over a large area and at a reduced cost and, therefore, gives the geophysical method an advantage over borehole data. The three-dimensional model was used to carry out stability analyses of a landslide in 2D and 3D, which, coherently with previous studies, reveal that the lower part is more unstable than the upper units.
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DOI: 10.3390/rs14246333
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