Landslide monitoring

Landslides can be triggered by a variety of factors, including intense rainfall, snowmelt, earthquakes, volcanic activity, and human activities such as deforestation and construction. Monitoring these factors is critical to understanding landslide risks, but it presents significant challenges due to the following reasons:

• Unpredictable Timing: Landslides often occur with little warning, making it difficult to predict their timing and location.
• Remote Locations: Many landslide-prone areas are located in remote and hard-to-reach regions, complicating efforts to set up monitoring systems.
• Complexity of Geology: Landslides involve a variety of geological factors such as soil types, rock formations, and groundwater levels, requiring sophisticated instrumentation to monitor.

Landslide monitoring is crucial to limiting destruction of the environment and it’ surroundings. The ability to monitor various parameters of a slope provides engineers with a greater ability to predict and forewarn landslide potential. Geotechnical instrumentation can provide risk mitigation for unstable slopes by monitoring movement and other parameters.  Examples include pore water pressure through vibrating wire piezometers, in addition to inclinometers, tilt meters, extensometers, crack meters and automatic survey systems to monitor other movement and deformation. These instruments can be connected to a data logger, taking instrument readings at intervals that can warn the engineer of changes or if certain values are exceeded.

Bestech offers a variety of instrument solutions for the geotechnical industry and specifically to monitor landslides. These include:

• Inclinometers: Inclinometers are one of the most commonly used instruments in landslide monitoring. They are designed to measure the movement and displacement of soil and rock masses. With advanced inclinometer systems, we can detect the smallest of changes in slope stability, providing early warnings of potential landslides.
• Piezometers: Water pressure within soil and rock is crucial role in landslide initiation. Piezometers to measure pore water pressure in the subsurface, helping to assess whether conditions are becoming conducive to a landslide. These piezometers are installed at different depths, giving comprehensive data about the subsurface hydrological conditions.
• Extensometers: Extensometers are used to measure the horizontal displacement of the ground. They can detect small ground movements over large distances, making them ideal for long-term landslide monitoring. By providing real-time data, these instruments offer valuable insight into slope deformation patterns.
• Automated Total Stations (ATS): These stations automatically measure and record the movement of ground control points and transmit real-time data to monitoring stations. ATS systems are ideal for long-term monitoring of slow-moving landslides in remote locations.
• Data Loggers and Telemetry Systems: Collecting real-time data is essential for effective landslide monitoring. Our monitoring instruments are integrated with data loggers and telemetry systems that transmit data to a central monitoring station. This enables the company to offer real-time monitoring, which is crucial for issuing timely warnings and conducting detailed analysis.

One of our most notable projects involved monitoring of landslide at a hydropower station in the Himalayas. The region is highly prone to landslides due to its steep slopes and seismic activity. Encardio installed a comprehensive monitoring system that included inclinometers, piezometers, and ATS.

The system provided continuous data, which allowed engineers to closely monitor slope stability during the construction phase of the project. As a result, they were able to detect early signs of instability and take necessary actions to prevent a landslide, thus safeguarding the project’s infrastructure and the lives of workers.

Implementing our advanced landslide monitoring system offers numerous benefits such as:

• Early Warning Systems: Continuous real-time data enables the detection of potential landslides before they occur, allowing authorities to issue timely warnings and evacuations if needed.
• Minimizing Infrastructure Damage: By monitoring slope stability, construction projects in landslide-prone areas can be completed with reduced risk to infrastructure.
• Cost-Effective: Automated and remote monitoring systems reduce the need for frequent manual inspections, lowering operational costs.
• Scalability: Encardio’s systems can be adapted to different project sizes, from small-scale monitoring to large infrastructure projects in remote areas.