Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Week 6 Geological Interpretations Big Sur California


The area in Big Sur along Highway 1 in California was the area I chose to visit because it was a favorite destination for my family thanks to the beautiful scenery and wonderful hiking trials. While there I chose to study landslides, which can cause an enormous impact on traveling and other safety concerns to the oceanside highway and its diverse location along the coast.  



The first tool I’d request to use is any available map on the area from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) department. Maps are useful tools to present information on landslides with varying degrees of contents. For example, the USGS broke down a three-stage approach to landslide mapping by using regional or reconnaissance mapping, community-level mapping, and finally site-specific large-scale maps. When we’re dealing with a specific like, like the area surrounding a landslide prone Highway 1, then the USGS recommends bypassing regional mapping and concentrate on fewer known areas of concern. One such product released by the CGS is referenced at https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=bc48ad40e3504134a1fc8f3909659041 which is a regional aggregation map for landslide impacted areas. The tool includes a reference photo of the landslide event and other descriptive fields about the site. Other example maps might include a landslide inventory map of previous landslides and areas of concern where we might start our investigation of recommended sites to start researching.

Secondly, I’d request to use several imaging tools which will help us our study of landslides in the area. Most notably are the aerial photography remote sensing and InSAR Imaging. Aerial photography remote sensing can help us identify vegetation cover, topography, drainage patterns, soil drainage characteristics, surficial geology, and several other key factors which might be indicators of a potential landslide area. The USGS recommends studying recent and past aerial photographs visual aids whenever possible to identify characteristics of our chosen site to help compare potential similarities of past and present landslides.

Finally, my last tool I’d request to use is real-time monitoring instrumentation. At this point, we’ve identified where a potential landslide might occur through mapping and image analysis, therefore we’d need to use instruments to monitor the potential area to warn other people of potentially deadly landslides. USGS recommended to use real-time instrumentation last due to the prohibitive cost impact of using instrumentation because it requires licensed professionals and a constant cost of use for all the equipment and professionals needed to monitor the area.

References
Appendix B. Introduction to Landslide Evaluation Tools— Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Monitoring of Landslides

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