Networks of sensors below ground could provide a reliable warning of impending, dangerous landslides days before they happen.
Scientists at University of California San Diego (UCSD) have spent four years installing advanced in-ground monitoring technology including a range of sensors of varying costs and sensitivity. They also expanded coastal lidar surveys, using the advanced laser imaging technology to map the surface elevation to precisely track the state of cliffs and beaches before and after failures.
Roughly 70% of the California coast is made up of eroding coastal cliffs. These cliffs are home to important infrastructure like highways, railways, coastal access points, energy facilities, and structures, and can be deadly to beachgoers when a cliff collapse occurs.
The researchers installed their sensor networks in areas already considered prone to collapse. The technology used included tiltmeters, instruments often used to measure the movement of earthquake faults. Those can measure...