Spatiotemporal behavior of a large-scale landslide at Mt. Onnebetsu-dake, Japan, detected by three L-band SAR satellites

We applied differential InSAR analysis to the Shiretoko Peninsula, northeastern Hokkaido, Japan. All the interferograms of long temporal baseline (~ 3 years) processed from SAR data of three L-band satellites (JERS-1, ALOS, ALOS-2) commonly indicate remarkable phase changes due to the landslide movement at the southeastern flank of Mt. Onnebetsu-dake, a Quaternary stratovolcano. The area of interferometric phase change matches to known landslide morphologies. Judging from the timing of the SAR image acquisitions, this landslide has been moving at least from 1993 to the present. Successive interferograms of 1-year temporal baseline indicate the temporal fluctuation of the landslide velocity. Especially for the descending interferograms, the positive line-of-sight (LOS) length change, which indicates large subsidence relative to the horizontal movement, is observed in the upslope section of the landslide during 1993–1998, while the negative LOS change is observed in the middle and the downslope section after 2007 indicating less subsidence. The landslide activity culminates from 2014 to 2017: the eastward and the vertical displacement rates reach ~ 6 and ~ 2 cm/yr, respectively. Utilizing high spatial resolution of ALOS and ALOS-2 data, we investigated velocity distribution inside the landslide. During 2007–2010, the eastward component of surface displacement increases toward the east, implying that the landslide extends toward the east. During 2014–2017, the vertical displacement profile exhibits spatially periodic uplift and subsidence consistent with surface gradient, which indicates the ongoing deformation driven by gravitational force. Heavy rainfall associated with three typhoons in August 2016 might have brought about an increase in the landslide velocity, possibly due to elevated pore-fluid pressure within and/or at the base of the landslide material. Also, annual rainfall would be an important factor that prescribes the landslide velocity averaged over 3 years. [graphic not available: see fulltext]