Land movement detection from terrestrial laser scanner (LiDAR) analysis

Abstract

At the beginning of 2018 a landslide was triggered in the Reina del Cisne (Cuenca - Ecuador) following the cut that was applied to a hillside for the construction of a small access road. From May to June 2018, the period of analysis of this work, the landslide has caused structural damage to several homes, deterioration of a field and the total collapse of the road that caused it. Field visits and the comparison of point clouds obtained with a terrestrial laser scanner (LiDAR) in the months of May and June 2018 have highlighted the high activity of this landslide. This article introduces the process that was performed to compare the point clouds obtained. The results show the feasibility of using terrestrial laser scanner (LiDAR) for early detection of landslides.