Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy)
The combined use of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with an integrated Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) module and an external GNSS base station allows photogrammetric surveys with centimeter accuracy to be obtained without the use of ground control points. This gr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1032 |
| _version_ | 1797239436269846528 |
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| author | Giuseppe Ciccarese Melissa Tondo Marco Mulas Giovanni Bertolini Alessandro Corsini |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Ciccarese Melissa Tondo Marco Mulas Giovanni Bertolini Alessandro Corsini |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Ciccarese |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The combined use of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with an integrated Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) module and an external GNSS base station allows photogrammetric surveys with centimeter accuracy to be obtained without the use of ground control points. This greatly reduces acquisition and processing time, making it possible to perform rapid monitoring of landslides by installing permanent and clearly recognizable optical targets on the ground. In this contribution, we show the results obtained in the Ca’ Lita landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) by performing multi-temporal RTK-aided UAV surveys. The landslide is a large-scale roto-translational rockslide evolving downslope into an earthslide–earthflow. The test area extends 60 × 10<sup>3</sup> m<sup>2</sup> in the upper track zone, which has recently experienced two major reactivations in May 2022 and March 2023. A catastrophic event took place in May 2023, but it goes beyond the purpose of the present study. A total of eight UAV surveys were carried out from October 2020 to March 2023. A total of eight targets were installed transversally to the movement direction. The results, in the active portion of the landslide, show that between October 2020 and March 2023, the planimetric displacement of targets ranged from 0.09 m (in the lateral zone) to 71.61 m (in the central zone). The vertical displacement values ranged from −2.05 to 5.94 m, respectively. The estimated positioning errors are 0.01 (planimetric) and 0.03 m (vertical). The validation, performed by using data from a permanent GNSS receiver, shows maximum differences of 0.18 m (planimetric) and 0.21 m (vertical). These results, together with the rapidity of image acquisition and data processing, highlight the advantages of using this rapid method to follow the evolution of relatively rapid landslides such as the Ca’ Lita landslide. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:51:30Z |
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| id | doaj.art-39fa914dc38145c6acfa3ed29c901a73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:51:30Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-39fa914dc38145c6acfa3ed29c901a732024-03-27T14:02:40ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-03-01166103210.3390/rs16061032Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy)Giuseppe Ciccarese0Melissa Tondo1Marco Mulas2Giovanni Bertolini3Alessandro Corsini4Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni, 67, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, ItalyReggio Emilia Office, Emilia-Romagna Regional Agency for Territorial Security and Civil Protection, Via Emilia Santo Stefano 25, 42121 Reggio Emilia, ItalyDepartment of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, ItalyThe combined use of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with an integrated Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) module and an external GNSS base station allows photogrammetric surveys with centimeter accuracy to be obtained without the use of ground control points. This greatly reduces acquisition and processing time, making it possible to perform rapid monitoring of landslides by installing permanent and clearly recognizable optical targets on the ground. In this contribution, we show the results obtained in the Ca’ Lita landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) by performing multi-temporal RTK-aided UAV surveys. The landslide is a large-scale roto-translational rockslide evolving downslope into an earthslide–earthflow. The test area extends 60 × 10<sup>3</sup> m<sup>2</sup> in the upper track zone, which has recently experienced two major reactivations in May 2022 and March 2023. A catastrophic event took place in May 2023, but it goes beyond the purpose of the present study. A total of eight UAV surveys were carried out from October 2020 to March 2023. A total of eight targets were installed transversally to the movement direction. The results, in the active portion of the landslide, show that between October 2020 and March 2023, the planimetric displacement of targets ranged from 0.09 m (in the lateral zone) to 71.61 m (in the central zone). The vertical displacement values ranged from −2.05 to 5.94 m, respectively. The estimated positioning errors are 0.01 (planimetric) and 0.03 m (vertical). The validation, performed by using data from a permanent GNSS receiver, shows maximum differences of 0.18 m (planimetric) and 0.21 m (vertical). These results, together with the rapidity of image acquisition and data processing, highlight the advantages of using this rapid method to follow the evolution of relatively rapid landslides such as the Ca’ Lita landslide.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1032earthslides–earthflowsUAV-RTKvisual trackingStructure from Motion |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Ciccarese Melissa Tondo Marco Mulas Giovanni Bertolini Alessandro Corsini Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) Remote Sensing earthslides–earthflows UAV-RTK visual tracking Structure from Motion |
| title | Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) |
| title_full | Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) |
| title_fullStr | Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) |
| title_short | Rapid Assessment of Landslide Dynamics by UAV-RTK Repeated Surveys Using Ground Targets: The Ca’ Lita Landslide (Northern Apennines, Italy) |
| title_sort | rapid assessment of landslide dynamics by uav rtk repeated surveys using ground targets the ca lita landslide northern apennines italy |
| topic | earthslides–earthflows UAV-RTK visual tracking Structure from Motion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1032 |
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