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Expansion of Landslide Activity Detected on Palos Verdes Peninsula

Recent analysis by NASA’s airborne radar has revealed significant movement in a long-active landslide area on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have utilized airborne radar technology to monitor the gradual landslides that impact the Palos Verdes Peninsula, located in Los Angeles County. The study indicates that during a month-long observation in the fall of 2024, sections of the residential region experienced shifts toward the ocean reaching up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) each week.

This coastal peninsula, extending into the Pacific Ocean just south of Los Angeles, is characterized by an ancient array of landslides that have been ongoing for over sixty years, significantly affecting numerous structures in the area. The landslide activity appears to have intensified and expanded in the aftermath of unprecedented rainfall in 2023 and additional heavy rain observed in early 2024.

The Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team developed this analysis using data gathered from four flights of NASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) conducted between September 18 and October 17. This advanced instrument was installed on a Gulfstream III jet based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, with missions designed to evaluate landslide movement in three dimensions.

The resulting visualizations, depicting movement rates from late September to October, utilize a color gradient to showcase varying speeds, with the deepest reds indicating the most rapid motion. Arrows illustrate the horizontal movement direction, while white solid lines outline the active landslide boundaries established by the California Geological Survey in 2007.

“The extent of land affected by these significant movements has noticeably increased, and the velocity poses considerable risks to both human safety and infrastructure,” stated Alexander Handwerger, a landslide scientist at JPL who conducted the analysis.

In addition to the UAVSAR data, the ARIA team’s comprehensive analysis incorporated information from the European Space Agency’s (Copernicus Sentinel-1A/B satellites). These findings were shared with California state officials to aid in addressing the consequences of these landslides and can be accessed publicly via NASA’s Disaster Mapping Portal.

Handwerger also leads NASA’s forthcoming Landslide Climate Change Experiment, which aims to assess how extreme weather patterns, both wet and dry, affect landslides. This initiative will include aerial assessments over the coastal slopes throughout California.

The ARIA program represents a collaborative effort between JPL and Caltech, with the goal of utilizing radar and optical remote-sensing, GPS, and seismic data not only for scientific research but also for enhancing disaster response efforts. This initiative explores various natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, fires, and the movement of subsurface fluids.

Since its inception in 2007, UAVSAR has conducted thousands of radar missions worldwide, investigating critical phenomena including glaciers, ecosystem vegetation, and various natural hazards.

Source
www.nasa.gov