TerraMosaic Daily Digest: Jan 9, 2026
Daily Summary
This compilation of 60 new papers on landslides and related hazards highlights the continued advancement in monitoring, modeling, and mitigating these risks. A significant portion of the research focuses on leveraging remote sensing technologies, particularly SAR and optical imagery, for landslide detection, vulnerability assessment, and deformation monitoring. Machine learning techniques are increasingly being integrated with traditional methods to improve the accuracy of landslide susceptibility mapping, flood prediction, and damage assessment. Several studies address the impact of climate change, specifically permafrost thaw, on slope stability, carbon sequestration, and fire regimes. There is also a strong emphasis on understanding the complex interactions between various triggering factors, such as earthquakes, extreme weather events, and human activities like mining and tunnel construction, and their influence on landslide occurrence and dynamics. Finally, several papers explore the effectiveness of different mitigation strategies, including anti-slide piles, stone column drains, and optimized subgrade designs for blowing snow prevention. The research spans diverse geographical regions, from the Tibetan Plateau to the North China Plain and the European Alps, reflecting the global relevance of landslide research.
Key Trends
- Remote Sensing Dominance: SAR and optical imagery, often combined with InSAR techniques, are heavily utilized for landslide detection, deformation monitoring, and vulnerability assessment.
- Machine Learning Integration: Machine learning models are increasingly being used to enhance landslide susceptibility mapping, flood prediction, and damage assessment.
- Climate Change Impacts: A significant number of studies focus on the effects of permafrost thaw on slope stability, carbon sequestration, and fire regimes.
- Multi-Hazard Analysis: Several papers address the complex interactions between different triggering factors, such as earthquakes, extreme weather events, and human activities.
Selected Papers
This digest features 60 selected papers from 1,515 papers analyzed across multiple journals. Each paper has been evaluated for its relevance to landslide research and includes links to the original publications.
1. Satellite-based identification of co-seismic landslides and slow-moving landslides after earthquakes
Core Problem: Detecting and monitoring both co-seismic landslides and slow-moving landslides using a single method is challenging due to their differing occurrence mechanisms.
Key Innovation: A combined change detection and A-DInSAR method is proposed to identify co-seismic landslides and slow-moving landslides simultaneously, using SAR data, optical imagery, and ground deformation analysis.
2. SEM-Newmark permanent displacement simulation of coseismic landslides based on kinematic seismic sources
Core Problem: Accurate prediction of coseismic landslides is essential for understanding geological disaster systems, strengthening infrastructure, and protecting human lives and property.
Key Innovation: A spectral element method-Newmark (SEM-Newmark) coupling framework is proposed that considers the source rupture mode of conjugate faults to predict coseismic landslides.
3. Generating landslide archive inventories for Türkiye using web scraping and natural language processing techniques
Core Problem: Traditional landslide inventories are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often limited in timeliness due to reporting delays.
Key Innovation: An automated approach is developed that integrates web scraping, natural language processing (NLP), and geocoding techniques using digital media news sources to create a landslide archive inventory.
4. Joint modeling of co-seismic landslide occurrence and size with spatial dependence
Core Problem: Most regional landslide modeling frameworks lack integration between occurrence and size predictions and often disregard spatial dependencies that are characteristic of co-seismic landslides.
Key Innovation: A unified, spatially dependent framework is developed to jointly estimate the probability of landslide occurrence and the probability that a landslide exceeds a given size threshold within each slope unit.
5. Water softening effect on the creep behavior of mineral components in red shale in Kaiyang phosphate mining area, China
Core Problem: Understanding the creep behavior of water-softening rocks is essential for controlling roadway creep deformation after excavation.
Key Innovation: The creep behavior of minerals in red shale before and after water soaking was investigated using the nanoindentation creep test, and the two-dashpot Kelvin model was found to best depict the nanoindentation creep data.
6. Analysis the feedback characteristics of sandstone during sliding process
Core Problem: The sliding system of a slope is a nonlinear mechanical system, in which slip surface wear and changes in system energy constitute a feedback process. Understanding this feedback is crucial for assessing slope stability.
Key Innovation: A sliding model of sandstone along the slip surface was established to analyze the sliding behavior of the specimens, and the Van der Pol equation was employed to analyze the system's dynamic characteristics.
7. Comparisons of machine learning models for landslide susceptibility mapping in the Jiuzhaigou earthquake-affected area, China
Core Problem: Accurate landslide susceptibility mapping is crucial for hazard assessment and risk management in earthquake-affected areas.
Key Innovation: The prediction performance of single and ensemble machine learning (ML) models in terms of landslide susceptibility mapping in areas affected by the 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake were compared, and the XGBoost model performed best.
8. Seismic response and failure mechanism of rock slope at tunnel entrance using frequency domain analysis
Core Problem: The seismic stability of rock slopes at tunnel entrances is complex due to interactions among geological structures and earthquakes, and the local damage mechanism and the correlation mechanism of accumulated damage and landslide triggering are not clear.
Key Innovation: A three-dimensional finite element modal analysis and Fourier spectrum analysis of shaking table tests were carried out to investigate the correlation between the inherent frequency and seismic characteristics of a layered slope at a tunnel entrance from the perspective of the frequency domain.
9. Palaeoseismicity recorded in soft-sediment deformation structures within a 166-m-long drill core from Diexi Palaeolake, eastern Tibetan Plateau
Core Problem: Understanding the history of earthquakes in seismically active regions is crucial for hazard assessment, but traditional methods are limited.
Key Innovation: A record of soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) preserved in a ∼166 m-long drill core from the Late Pleistocene Diexi Palaeolake was analyzed to identify past earthquakes.
10. Impact dynamics of debris flow with entrained material on frame structure
Core Problem: Debris flows pose a significant threat to infrastructure, and understanding the dynamic interactions between debris flows, entrained material sources, and structures is crucial for mitigation.
Key Innovation: A coupled SPH-DEM-FEM multiscale model integrating fluid dynamics (SPH), granular mechanics (DEM), and structural mechanics (FEM) is developed to simulate debris flow propagation, material source behavior, and frame structure responses.
11. Seismic performance and damage identification of anti-slide piles under varying initial damage conditions using wavelet packet energy spectrum
Core Problem: Anti-slide piles are commonly used to stabilize slopes in earthquake-prone areas, but the impact of initial damage on their seismic performance is not well understood.
Key Innovation: A three-dimensional dynamic finite element method combined with the local stiffness reduction approach was used to simulate different initial-damage scenarios, and wavelet packet energy spectrum (WPES) analysis was used to introduce damage indices for quantitative diagnostics.
12. Conventional and advanced geospatial techniques for landslide detection and modeling: a comprehensive overview
Core Problem: Landslides represent a significant natural hazard, and geospatial technologies have become essential for monitoring, detection, and risk assessment.
Key Innovation: A comprehensive examination of the evolution and application of geospatial technologies in landslide research is provided, covering spaceborne and airborne Earth Observation (EO) technologies, ground-based remote sensing, mobile Geographic Information System (GIS) applications, and data processing methodologies.
13. Integrating geophysical techniques and UAV mapping for the detection and temporal analysis of soil pipes and pipe collapses in agricultural loess landscapes
Core Problem: Piping erosion represents a persistent and often concealed threat to soil and water resources in agricultural loess landscapes, and accurate detection and temporal monitoring are essential for effective land management.
Key Innovation: An integrated approach combining geophysical surveys (GPR and ERT) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mapping was used to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of piping erosion.
14. Evaluation of stability and cooling engineering effectiveness of the Qinghai-Tibet transportation routes: A first comprehensive assessment using space geodetic observations
Core Problem: Assessing the stability and cooling effectiveness of transportation routes in the Qinghai-Tibet region, which are vulnerable to permafrost degradation and related slope failures.
Key Innovation: Comprehensive assessment using space geodetic observations to evaluate the long-term stability and effectiveness of cooling engineering measures.
15. Rock glacier velocity monitored by annual in-situ geodetic surveys: Long-term challenges, solutions and suggestions
Core Problem: Monitoring the velocity of rock glaciers, which are indicators of permafrost degradation and slope instability, presents long-term challenges.
Key Innovation: Utilizing annual in-situ geodetic surveys to monitor rock glacier velocity, addressing challenges and providing solutions for long-term monitoring.
16. Spatial heterogeneity of gully erosion and its dominants in multiple spatial scales in the Rolling Hilly Region of Northeastern China
Core Problem: Understanding the spatial variability of gully erosion and its controlling factors across different scales in a specific region.
Key Innovation: Analyzing gully erosion patterns at multiple spatial scales to identify dominant factors influencing erosion processes.
17. An extended vector inclination method for inferring detailed slip surfaces beneath landslides from SAR and optical satellite remote sensing image
Core Problem: Inferring detailed slip surfaces beneath landslides is challenging.
Key Innovation: An extended vector inclination method using SAR and optical satellite remote sensing image.
18. Mapping wide-area land subsidence from groundwater use in the North China plain by machine learning-based InSAR adjustment
Core Problem: Mapping land subsidence due to groundwater use over a wide area.
Key Innovation: Using machine learning-based InSAR adjustment to map land subsidence.
19. Sentinel-1 imagery for wide-scale quantitative landslide vulnerability assessment of buildings
Core Problem: Assessing landslide vulnerability of buildings on a wide scale.
Key Innovation: Using Sentinel-1 imagery for quantitative landslide vulnerability assessment.
20. Groundwater volume loss and land subsidence in the North China plain investigated using wide-area InSAR surveying and mechanical modeling
Core Problem: Land subsidence due to groundwater volume loss.
Key Innovation: InSAR surveying and mechanical modeling to investigate land subsidence.
21. Multi-source assessment of permafrost deformation along the Bei'an–Hei'he highway in Northeast China
Core Problem: Permafrost deformation impacting infrastructure.
Key Innovation: Multi-source remote sensing data to assess permafrost deformation.
22. A Spatially Masked Adaptive Gated Network for multimodal post-flood water extent mapping using SAR and incomplete multispectral data
Core Problem: Mapping flood water extent using remote sensing data.
Key Innovation: Adaptive gated network for flood mapping.
23. The fully-automatic Sentinel-1 Global Flood Monitoring service: Scientific challenges and future directions
Core Problem: Global flood monitoring.
Key Innovation: Automatic flood monitoring service using Sentinel-1 data.
24. Satellite-derived seasonal fluctuations in surface displacement and soil moisture: Implications for landslide activity
Core Problem: Understanding the relationship between satellite-derived surface displacement, soil moisture, and landslide activity.
Key Innovation: Using satellite data to analyze seasonal fluctuations in surface displacement and soil moisture to assess landslide activity.
25. Debris covered glacier mapping using newly annotated multisource remote sensing data and geo-foundational model
Core Problem: Mapping debris-covered glaciers using remote sensing data.
Key Innovation: Utilizing multisource remote sensing data and a geo-foundational model for mapping debris-covered glaciers.
26. Rapid domain adaptation for disaster impact assessment: Remote sensing of building damage after the 2021 Germany floods
Core Problem: Assessing building damage after a flood using remote sensing.
Key Innovation: Applying rapid domain adaptation techniques to remote sensing data for assessing building damage after the 2021 Germany floods.
27. Advances in mitigating InSAR non-closure phase bias: A refined processing approach
Core Problem: InSAR data can be biased.
Key Innovation: Refined InSAR processing approach.
28. Extreme weather events and earthquakes intensify the old landslides reactivation over the past decade revealed by InSAR
Core Problem: Old landslides are being reactivated.
Key Innovation: InSAR reveals the impact of extreme weather and earthquakes on landslide reactivation.
29. Landslide susceptibility zoning through physically-based limit equilibrium method modelling
Core Problem: Landslide susceptibility zoning.
Key Innovation: Physically-based limit equilibrium method modelling for landslide susceptibility.
30. Multi-disciplinary reconstruction of debris flow events and dynamics in the Northern Apennines, Italy: A multi-scale approach linking ground evidence with climatic triggers
Core Problem: Understanding debris flow events and dynamics.
Key Innovation: Multi-scale approach linking ground evidence with climatic triggers for debris flow reconstruction.
31. Prediction of aspect-dependent soil thickness and its influence on landslide susceptibility
Core Problem: Landslide susceptibility is influenced by soil thickness.
Key Innovation: Prediction of aspect-dependent soil thickness and its influence on landslide susceptibility.
32. Wave erosion induced bank collapse and its impact on landslides: insights from model tests
Core Problem: Bank collapse due to wave erosion can trigger landslides.
Key Innovation: Model tests provide insights into the impact of wave erosion induced bank collapse on landslides.
33. Effects of gully topographic vertical zone on the spatial heterogeneity of root-soil complex shear performance in the loess plateau
Core Problem: Understanding root-soil complex shear performance in gullies.
Key Innovation: Analysis of gully topographic vertical zone effects on root-soil complex shear performance.
34. Mechanistic analysis of root morphology on shear behavior in root-soil composites using discrete element method (DEM)
Core Problem: Understanding the influence of root morphology on soil shear behavior.
Key Innovation: Using discrete element method (DEM) to analyze root-soil interaction and shear behavior.
35. Climate snow-avalanche linkage revealed by geomorphological, historical and tree-ring records in the central Spanish Pyrenees
Core Problem: Investigating the relationship between climate and snow avalanches.
Key Innovation: Combining geomorphological, historical, and tree-ring records to reconstruct past avalanche activity and its link to climate.
36. What drives gullies in Spain's olive landscapes? A regional analysis of gully activity
Core Problem: Identifying the key factors driving gully erosion in olive landscapes.
Key Innovation: Regional analysis to determine the primary drivers of gully activity.
37. Dynamic response of density-graded ice-rich frozen soil under impact loading in frozen shafts: an experimental, theoretical, and numerical study
Core Problem: Understanding the dynamic response of ice-rich frozen soil under impact loading.
Key Innovation: Combining experimental, theoretical, and numerical methods to analyze the behavior of frozen soil in shafts.
38. SBAS-InSAR analysis for ground settlement in longest railway tunnel in South Korea
Core Problem: Monitoring ground settlement related to tunnel construction.
Key Innovation: Using SBAS-InSAR to analyze ground deformation in a railway tunnel.
39. Stress redistribution of loess due to tunnelling of shallow tunnels
Core Problem: Understanding stress redistribution in loess soil due to shallow tunnel construction.
Key Innovation: Analysis of stress changes in loess soil during tunnel construction.
40. Mechanical performance evaluation of buried pipelines with corrugated flexible joints under fault displacements
Core Problem: Assessing the mechanical behavior of buried pipelines with flexible joints under fault-induced ground movement.
Key Innovation: Evaluation of pipeline performance under fault displacement scenarios.
41. Confining pressure effects on mining-induced unloading failure characteristics along a rough fault: Experimental and numerical investigations
Core Problem: Understanding the influence of confining pressure on unloading failure along rough faults induced by mining activities.
Key Innovation: Combined experimental and numerical approach to analyze fault behavior under mining-related stress changes.
42. From prediction to regionalization: Enhancing flash flood susceptibility mapping using machine learning and GeoDetector
Core Problem: Improving the accuracy and reliability of flash flood susceptibility mapping.
Key Innovation: Using machine learning and GeoDetector to enhance flash flood susceptibility mapping.
43. A catchment-scale landslide hydro-mechanical coupling model considering spatial heterogeneity
Core Problem: Modeling landslides at the catchment scale while accounting for spatial heterogeneity.
Key Innovation: Development of a hydro-mechanical coupling model for landslide analysis considering spatial variability.
44. Flood mapping in SAR images via threshold segmentation with hydrological-hydrodynamic modeling
Core Problem: Accurate flood mapping using SAR images.
Key Innovation: Combining threshold segmentation of SAR images with hydrological-hydrodynamic modeling for improved flood mapping.
45. XAI-driven flood risk assessment: Integrating machine learning and hydrological model
Core Problem: Improving flood risk assessment by integrating machine learning and hydrological models.
Key Innovation: Using Explainable AI (XAI) to drive flood risk assessment by integrating machine learning and hydrological models.
46. From preferential infiltration pathways to their modes of occurrence: preferential flow-induced soil strength attenuation regulates shallow loess landslide behavior
Core Problem: Shallow loess landslides are influenced by preferential infiltration pathways that attenuate soil strength.
Key Innovation: Identifies how preferential flow-induced soil strength attenuation regulates shallow loess landslide behavior.
47. Mitigation of Liquefaction Risk in Layered Soils via Stone Column Drains: Numerical Study and Novel Uncoupled Approach
Core Problem: Liquefaction risk in layered soils needs effective mitigation strategies.
Key Innovation: Uses numerical study and a novel uncoupled approach to investigate the mitigation of liquefaction risk in layered soils via stone column drains.
48. A frost heave pressure model for water-saturated fractured rocks under freezing condition
Core Problem: Understanding frost heave pressure in fractured rocks, which can lead to instability.
Key Innovation: Development of a frost heave pressure model for water-saturated fractured rocks.
49. Reliability analysis of seepage in earth dam considering saturated-unsaturated flow: A case study
Core Problem: Assessing the reliability of earth dams considering seepage and saturated-unsaturated flow conditions.
Key Innovation: Application of reliability analysis to seepage in earth dams.
50. Permafrost Thaw Dynamics Drive the Regime Shifts of Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon Sequestration in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf
Core Problem: Understanding the impact of permafrost thaw on carbon sequestration in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf.
Key Innovation: Identifies permafrost thaw dynamics as a driver of regime shifts in iron-bound organic carbon sequestration.
51. Freeze‐Thaw Processes Induce Convective Fingering in Saline Soils
Core Problem: Investigating the impact of freeze-thaw cycles on soil structure and stability.
Key Innovation: Demonstrates that freeze-thaw processes can induce convective fingering in saline soils, affecting soil properties.
52. Constitution of a multicentennial multirisk database in a mountainous environment from composite sources: the example of the Vallouise-Pelvoux municipality (Ecrins, France)
Core Problem: Developing a comprehensive long-term multirisk database for a mountainous region.
Key Innovation: Combines historical records and archives to create a 1600-2020 record of past events for multirisk assessment in the French Alps.
53. Amplified Arctic–boreal fire regimes from permafrost thaw feedbacks
Core Problem: Understanding the impact of permafrost degradation on Arctic-boreal fire regimes.
Key Innovation: Identifies biophysical and biological feedbacks from permafrost degradation as key factors affecting fire regimes.
54. Natural hazard susceptibilities and inequities reduced by short-term groundwater use
Core Problem: Investigating the role of groundwater use in mitigating the impacts of natural disasters.
Key Innovation: Demonstrates that groundwater use can increase community resilience during and after natural hazard events.
55. NoahPy: a differentiable Noah land surface model for simulating permafrost thermo-hydrology
Core Problem: Accurately predicting permafrost thaw using land surface models.
Key Innovation: Developed a new computer model by rebuilding a traditional physics model to work with artificial intelligence, improving speed and reliability for tuning model parameters.
56. Study on the continuous deformation and evolution characteristics of granular slopes along the Duku highway
Core Problem: Understanding deformation patterns in granular slopes for safer highway construction.
Key Innovation: Analysis of granular slope deformation along the Duku highway.
57. A rainfall-based flash flood warning method integrating spatial stratification and multi-mode discrimination
Core Problem: Reducing false alarms in rainfall-based flash flood warning systems.
Key Innovation: Spatial stratification and multi-mode discrimination for improved flash flood warnings.
58. Optimizing subgrade design for blowing snow prevention: a CFD-based parametric study
Core Problem: Mitigating blowing snow impacts on highway traffic safety through optimized subgrade design.
Key Innovation: CFD simulations to analyze subgrade configurations for effective blowing snow control.
59. Multi-scale land surface deformation monitoring and driving factors analysis with intermittent SBAS in Bohai Bay, China
Core Problem: Monitoring land deformation.
Key Innovation: Multi-scale land surface deformation monitoring using intermittent SBAS.
60. Identification and provenance analysis of sediments' end-members in the typical black soil area of northeast China
Core Problem: Understanding sediment sources and depositional mechanisms in the Songnen Plain, a black soil region in China.
Key Innovation: Application of end-member modeling analysis coupled with geochemical proxies to investigate grain-size distribution and sediment sources, identifying slope mud-flow deposits as one of the end-members.