Landslides, as one of the main problems in mountainous areas, are a challenging issue for modern geophysics. The triggers that cause these phenomena are diverse (including geological, geomorphological, and hydrological conditions, climatic factors, and earthquakes) and can occur in conjunction with each other. Human activity is also relevant, undoubtedly contributing to the intensification of landslide phenomena. One of these is the production of artificial snow on ski slopes. This paper presents a multimethod approach for imaging the landslide structure in Cisiec, in southwestern Poland, where such a situation occurs. In the presented work, the integration of remote sensing with multi-method geophysical imaging was used to visualize landslide zones, and to estimate ground motion. To verify the uncertainty of the obtained data, the combination of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), multi-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW), and seismic refraction method (SRT) was supported by synthetic modeling. Using geophysical data with accurate GPS-based topography and a terrestrial laser scanning-based digital terrain model (DTM), it was possible to model the spatial variability and surface area of the landslide more precisely, as well as to estimate the velocity field in the nearest surface more accurately. The final result shows displacement up to 1 m on the ground surface visible on the DTM models, while the geophysical methods confirm the change in internal structure. The proposed methodology is fast, cost-effective, and can be used to image the structure of landslides, where the shallowest parts are usually complex and thus difficult to observe seismically.
11 May 2022 in Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment
In the area of the Skalni Potok Nature Reserve (Hrubý Jesenik), studies of gneissic cliffs were carried out to determine the role of lithology in the process of their formation. The research included geometric measurements of vertical discontinuity zones of selected rock outcrops and the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements of strongly weathered subsurface layers. As a result of the measurement, the orientation of the main crack systems (NW–SE and NE–SW) responsible for the location of cliffs within the Skalni Potok Valley was obtained. In addition, the main crack directions for the gneiss occurring in the studied mountain region were identified. Interpretation of the ERT models allowed to characterise the structure of the rock mass, including the reach of the rainwater infiltration level and the depth of the weathering front.