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Space and Airborne Remote Sensing for Geo-Hazards, Tectonics, and Earth Structure and Composition

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2020) | Viewed by 20324

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Earth Systems Analysis (ESA), Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Hengelosestraat 99, P.O. Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands
Interests: earth sciences; geodynamics; subsurface processes; geological hazards; geophysics
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Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
CEED, Department of Geoscience, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Interests: Lithospheric imaging and dynamics, numerical modelling, probabilistic inverse theory, joint inversion, geochemical geodynamics

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Guest Editor
National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Pakistan
Interests: landslides, geo-hazards assessment, remote sensing, digital terrain modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Remotely sensed data are increasingly being used to study geo-hazards and tectonics. Space and airborne earth observation data, in particular, add a spatial and time component compared to traditional analysis approaches. They thereby provide a unique dimension that is impossible to achieve with the ground-based observations that result from traditional fieldwork activities. Developments in the last 10 years, such as the ESA Sentinel missions (multiple sensors and resolutions), the ESA explorer missions GOCE and SWARM, and the NASA GRACE and follow-up missions, have strongly supported research in geo-hazards and tectonics using earth observation data.

In this special issue, we invite you to submit an innovative contribution that explicitly makes use of space and airborne remote sensing data and techniques for the study of geo-hazards and tectonics. We particularly encourage studies that address the links between subsurface or external processes and their surface manifestations in space and time, or directly estimate or invert the subsurface structure and physical state.

Papers are solicited in, but not limited to, the following areas:

  • earthquakes, landslides, and relations between them in a multi-hazard approach;
  • earth structure and composition in the framework of the tectonic events that have shaped them; and
  • surface manifestations of geodynamical events.

Prof. Dr. Mark van der Meijde
Prof Dr. Juan Carlos Afonso
Dr. Muhammad Shafique
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Geo-hazards
  • Tectonics
  • Earthquakes
  • Landslides
  • Satellite remote sensing
  • Airborne remote sensing
  • Radar
  • Gravity
  • (electro)magnetics
  • Earth structure and composition

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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18 pages, 10116 KiB  
Article
Analysis of 25 Years of Polar Motion Derived from the DORIS Space Geodetic Technique Using FFT and SSA Methods
by Qiaoli Kong, Linggang Zhang, Litao Han, Jinyun Guo, Dezhi Zhang and Wenhao Fang
Sensors 2020, 20(10), 2823; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20102823 - 16 May 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2949
Abstract
Polar motion (PM) has a close relation to the Earth’s structure and composition, seasonal changes of the atmosphere and oceans, storage of waters, etc. As one of the four major space geodetic techniques, doppler orbitography and radiopositioning integrated by satellite (DORIS) is a [...] Read more.
Polar motion (PM) has a close relation to the Earth’s structure and composition, seasonal changes of the atmosphere and oceans, storage of waters, etc. As one of the four major space geodetic techniques, doppler orbitography and radiopositioning integrated by satellite (DORIS) is a mature technique that can monitor PM through precise ground station positioning. There are few articles that have analyzed the PM series derived by the DORIS solution in detail. The aim of this research was to assess the PM time-series based on the DORIS solution, to better capture the time-series. In this paper, Fourier fast transform (FFT) and singular spectrum analysis (SSA) were applied to analyze the 25 years of PM time-series solved by DORIS observation from January 1993 to January 2018, then accurately separate the trend terms and periodic signals, and finally precisely reconstruct the main components. To evaluate the PM time-series derived from DORIS, they were compared with those obtained from EOP 14 C04 (IAU2000). The results showed that the RMSs of the differences in PM between them were 1.594 mas and 1.465 mas in the X and Y directions, respectively. Spectrum analysis using FFT showed that the period of annual wobble was 0.998 years and that of the Chandler wobble was 1.181 years. During the SSA process, after singular value decomposition (SVD), the time-series was reconstructed using the eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors, and the results indicated that the trend term, annual wobble, and Chandler wobble components were accurately decomposed and reconstructed, and the component reconstruction results had a precision of 3.858 and 2.387 mas in the X and Y directions, respectively. In addition, the tests also gave reasonable explanations of the phenomena of peaks of differences between the PM parameters derived from DORIS and EOP 14 C04, trend terms, the Chandler wobble, and other signals detected by the SSA and FFT. This research will help the assessment and explanation of PM time-series and will offer a good method for the prediction of pole shifts. Full article
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12 pages, 15419 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal
by Mark van der Meijde, Md Ashrafuzzaman, Norman Kerle, Saad Khan and Harald van der Werff
Sensors 2020, 20(3), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030678 - 26 Jan 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 10754
Abstract
It remains elusive why there was only weak and limited ground shaking in Kathmandu valley during the 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. Our spectral element numerical simulations show that, during this earthquake, surface topography restricted the propagation of seismic energy [...] Read more.
It remains elusive why there was only weak and limited ground shaking in Kathmandu valley during the 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. Our spectral element numerical simulations show that, during this earthquake, surface topography restricted the propagation of seismic energy into the valley. The mountains diverted the incoming seismic wave mostly to the eastern and western margins of the valley. As a result, we find de-amplification of peak ground displacement in most of the valley interior. Modeling of alternative earthquake scenarios of the same magnitude occurring at different locations shows that these will affect the Kathmandu valley much more strongly, up to 2–3 times more, than the 2015 Gorkha earthquake did. This indicates that surface topography contributed to the reduced seismic shaking for this specific earthquake and lessened the earthquake impact within the valley. Full article
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17 pages, 6660 KiB  
Article
Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region
by Chikondi Chisenga, Jianguo Yan, Jiannan Zhao, Qingyun Deng and Jean-Pierre Barriot
Sensors 2019, 19(20), 4445; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19204445 - 14 Oct 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3785
Abstract
The Von Kármán Crater, within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, is the landing site of China’s Chang’E-4 mission. To complement the in situ exploration mission and provide initial subsurface interpretation, we applied a 3D density inversion using the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory [...] Read more.
The Von Kármán Crater, within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, is the landing site of China’s Chang’E-4 mission. To complement the in situ exploration mission and provide initial subsurface interpretation, we applied a 3D density inversion using the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) gravity data. We constrain our inversion method using known geological and geophysical lunar parameters to reduce the non-uniqueness associated with gravity inversion. The 3D density models reveal vertical and lateral density variations, 2600–3200 kg/m3, assigned to the changing porosity beneath the Von Kármán Crater. We also identify two mass excess anomalies in the crust with a steep density contrast of 150 kg/m3, which were suggested to have been caused by multiple impact cratering. The anomalies from recovered near surface density models, together with the gravity derivative maps extending to the lower crust, are consistent with surface geological manifestation of excavated mantle materials from remote sensing studies. Therefore, we suggest that the density distribution of the Von Kármán Crater indicates multiple episodes of impact cratering that resulted in formation and destruction of ancient craters, with crustal reworking and excavation of mantle materials. Full article
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11 pages, 3473 KiB  
Letter
Selecting the Best Image Pairs to Measure Slope Deformation
by Wentao Yang
Sensors 2020, 20(17), 4721; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20174721 - 21 Aug 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2362
Abstract
Optical remote sensing images can be used to monitor slope deformation in mountain regions. Abundant optical sensors onboard various platforms were designed to provide increasingly high spatial–temporal resolution images at low cost; however, finding the best image pairs to derive slope deformation remains [...] Read more.
Optical remote sensing images can be used to monitor slope deformation in mountain regions. Abundant optical sensors onboard various platforms were designed to provide increasingly high spatial–temporal resolution images at low cost; however, finding the best image pairs to derive slope deformation remains difficult. By selecting a location in the east Tibetan Plateau, this work used the co-registration of optically sensed images and correlation (COSI-Corr) method to analyze 402 Sentinel-2 images from August 2015 to February 2020, to quantify temporal patterns of uncertainty in deriving slope deformation. By excluding 66% of the Sentinel-2 images that were contaminated by unfavorable weather, uncertainties were found to fluctuate annually, with the least uncertainty achieved in image pairs of similar dates in different years. Six image pairs with the least uncertainties were selected to derive ground displacement for a moving slope in the study area. Cross-checks among these image pairs showed consistent results, with uncertainties less than 1/10 pixels in length. The findings from this work could help in the selection of the best image pairs to derive reliable slope displacement from large numbers of optical images. Full article
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