Low-Cost Radars Integrated into a Landslide Early Warning System - New Contributions in Information Systems and Technologies - page 9

Low-Cost Radars Integrated
into a Landslide Early Warning System

Sandra Costanzo, Giuseppe Di Massa, Antonio Costanzo, Luca Morrone,
Antonio Raffo, Francesco Spadafora, Antonio Borgia, Giuseppe Formetta,
Giovanna Capparelli, and Pasquale Versace

DIMES - University of Calabria
87036 Rende (CS), Italy
[e-mail]

Abstract. Radar activities performed at University of Calabria in the
framework of a national project on “Landslides Early Warning” are described in
this contribution. After a brief outline of the whole Landslides Early Warning
Integrated System, two compact and low-cost radar configurations, the first one
based on the adoption of a software radio platform, the second one using a
compact Vector Network Analyzer as SFCW scatterometer module, are deeply
described. Experimental results are discussed as validation tests to demonstrate
the radars range detection capabilities.

Keywords: Software Defined Radar, Scatterometers, Early Warning.

1 Introduction

In areas where landslide risk is very high, but financial resources are severely reduced
if compared with the necessary ones, an integrated approach that combines structural
and non-structural measurements is necessary. In recent years, attention has been
focused more and more on early warning systems, by developing both single
components and integrated systems [1- 4]. As defined in [5], an early warning system
is a “monitoring device designed to avoid, or at least to minimize, the impact imposed
by a threat on humans, damage to property, the environment, or/and to more basic
elements like livelihoods”.
According to the definition provided in UNISDR [6], a Landslides Early Warning
(LEW) system is a balanced combination of four main activities: planning, monitoring,
forecasting, education. Designing an early warning system is a very complex task that
depends on a series of factors, such as type of landslide, velocity scale, risk scenarios,
available data and exposed elements [7]. It includes qualitative and quantitative risk
analysis, monitoring, advanced early warning systems, mathematical modelling of
rainfall-landslide relationship, decision making procedures, a strategy for risk reduction
measurements and plans for emergency management. In recent years, developments and
applications of remote sensing techniques considerably improved LEW system
capabilities. Radar applications have been proposed in many monitoring fields [8], such