Integration of radar interferometry and laser scanning for remote monitoring of an urban site built on a sliding slope

The alpine village of Lamosano, Belluno, Italy, located near a wide and active landslide, has been seriously threatened by ground instabilities since 1960. In this paper, the results obtained by two different remote-monitoring techniques, synthetic aperature radar interferometry and three-dimensional laser-scanner imaging, planned for Lamosano hazard assessment, are presented. Both techniques compare images taken at different times to map and classify changes that occurred on the imaged scenario. The radar and laser data are gathered at the same dates with about ten-month temporal separation. The displacements measured separately by each of the two techniques highlight a similar sliding motion on the Lamosano village area, providing a good validation to each other and contributing to the definition of the village instability hazard. © 2006 IEEE