Landslides in Iceland studied using SAR interferometry

Landslides and debris flows have caused both fatalities and considerable economic loss in Iceland during the past centuries. In a recently started project we plan to study known landslides in eastern and central-north Iceland using satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) and survey many other slopes in search for other active landslides that may exist. Our initial results show that a landslide in Seyoisfjörour, eastern Iceland, did not move during the summers of 1995 and 1997, despite moving at rates of up to 33 cm/year during 2001-2002. At another location, Vopnafjörour, InSAR reveals movement of a previously unknown landslide. Extensive Envisat acquisitions from both ascending and descending orbits are planned during summers of 2004 and 2005 to better study the current landslide activity.