A model for estimating parameters of rotational landslide using a first-order differential equation

Abstract

A first-order differential equation was developed and proposed as a search tool in the detection and determination of rotationallandslides from two epochs of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system data in the form of 3D points. To test the proposed methodtwo epochs of LiDAR data were used: one before and one after a rotational landslide occurred. The first epoch of LiDAR data was real,while the second epoch of LiDAR data was simulated based on the first epoch to ensure one or more rotational landslides were included.From the last returns of LiDAR data of both epochs, two functional surfaces were created. Then elevation differences were obtained foridentical points in both surfaces. The differenced elevations mainly contain two types of data; one type consists of unchanged elevationdifferences and the other type includes changed elevation differences. The second type may be considered as outliers with respect to theformer. Next, segmentation was performed using the determined outliers. Finally, segmented data were used to estimate the rotationallandslide parameters. Using the model, all rotational landslides were detected and their parameters estimated, which were consistentwith simulation parameters. In conclusion, the developed model is capable of detecting and determining rotational landslides from 3Ddata.