Assessment of the Evolution of a Landslide Using Digital Photogrammetry and LiDAR Techniques in the Alpujarras Region (Granada, Southeastern Spain)

Abstract

In this work a detailed analysis of the temporal evolution of the Almegíjar landslide is presented. It is a rock slide located in the Alpujarras region (Granada, Spain) that has developed over the last 30 years. Six datasets and photogrammetric flights corresponding to the years 1956, 1984, 1992, 2001, 2008, and 2010 were surveyed. The more recent flight of 2010 combined an aerial digital camera and a LiDAR sensor and was oriented by means of in-flight data and tie points. This 2010 flight allowed for the generation of a reliable and high-precision Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The other flights were oriented using second-order ground control points transferred from the 2010 flight, and the corresponding DTMs were prepared by automatic matching and subsequent editing from the stereoscopic models. After comparing the DTMs of different dates, it has been observed that the landslide was triggered after 1984 and since then has evolved in an irregular pattern with periods of variable activity. On average, the ground surface dropped more than 8 m in depleted zones and rose nearly 4 m in the accumulation zones, with a velocity catalogued as very slow (about 15–30 cm/year) over a time span corresponding to a degree VIII of diachroneity. The total volume of the mobilized mass of this large contemporary slide was about 300 × 103 m3.