Geophysical monitoring of landslides can provide insights into spatial and temporal variations of subsurface properties associated with slope failure. Recent improvements in equipment, data analysis, and field operations have led to a significant increase in the use of such techniques in monitoring. Geophysical methods complement intrusive approaches, which sample only a very small proportion of the subsurface, and walk-over or remotely sensed data, which principally provide information only at the ground surface. In particular, recent studies show that advances in geophysical instrumentation, data processing, modeling, and interpretation in the context of landslide monitoring are significantly improving the characterization of hillslope hydrology and soil and rock hydrology and strength and their dynamics over time. This review appraises the state of the art of geophysical monitoring, as applied to moisture-induced landslides. Here we focus on technical and practical uses of time-lapse methods in geophysics applied to monitoring moisture-induced landslide. The case studies identified in this review show that several geophysical techniques are currently used in the monitoring of subsurface landslide processes. These geophysical contributions to monitoring and predicting the evolution of landslide processes are currently underrealized. Hence, the further integration of multiple-parametric and geotechnically coupled geophysical monitoring systems has considerable potential. The complementary nature of certain methods to map the distribution of subsurface moisture and elastic moduli will greatly increase the predictive and monitoring capacity of early warning systems in moisture-induced landslide settings.

A common factor in landslide activation (or reactivation) is subsurface moisture and associated pore pressure variations linked to rainfall. Monitoring of these subsurface hydrogeological processes is necessary to improve our understanding of water-induced landslide activation. Geophysical approaches, electrical methods in particular, are increasingly being applied to landslide monitoring because they provide non-invasive spatial information in heterogeneous subsurface environments that can be difficult to characterise using surface observations or intrusive sampling alone. Electrical techniques are sensitive to changing subsurface moisture conditions, and have proven to be a useful tool for investigating the hydrogeology of natural and engineered slopes. The objectives of this investigation were to further develop electrical resistance monitoring for slope stability assessment, and to validate the approach at an intermittently-active UK landslide system to advance the understanding of complex landslide activation mechanisms. A long-term transfer resistance dataset was collected from a grid of electrodes to allow spatial monitoring of the landslide. These data were interpreted using a synthesis of rainfall, temperature, GPS and piezometric records. The resistance data were corrected for seasonal temperature variations and electrode movements were monitored, as these processes were shown to mask moisture related changes. Results reveal that resistance monitoring is sensitive to soil moisture accumulation, including changes in piezometric levels, and can be used to study the principal activation mechanism of slow-moving shallow earthflows. Spatial monitoring using resistance maps was shown to be particularly valuable as it revealed the evolution of subsurface moisture distribution, in the lead up to landslide activation. Key benefits of this approach are that it provides a simple, rapid and non-invasive means of spatially monitoring subsurface moisture dynamics linked to landslide activation at high-temporal resolution. Crucially, it provides a means of monitoring subsurface hydraulic changes in the build-up to slope failure, thereby contributing to early warning of landslide events. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Wetlands provide crucial habitats, are critical in the global carbon cycle, and act as key biogeochemical and hydrological buffers. The effectiveness of these services is mainly controlled by hydrological processes, which can be highly variable both spatially and temporally due to structural complexity and seasonality. Spatial analysis of 2-D geoelectrical monitoring data integrated into the interpretation of conventional hydrological data has been implemented to provide a detailed understanding of hydrological processes in a riparian wetland. A two-layered hydrological system was observed in the peat. In the lower part of the peat, upwelling of deeper groundwater from underlying deposits was considered the driver for a 30% increase in peat resistivity during Winter/Spring. In Spring/Summer there was a 60% decrease in resistivity in the near-surface peats due to plant transpiration and/or microbial activity. Water exchange between the layers only appeared to be initiated following large drops in the encircling surface water stage. For the first time, we demonstrated that automated interpretation of geoelectrical data can be used to quantify ground movement in the vertical direction. Here, we applied this method to quantify shrink-swell of expandable soils, affecting hydrological parameters, such as, porosity and permeability. This study shows that an integrated interpretation of hydrological and geophysical data can significantly improve the understanding of wetland hydrological processes. Potentially, this approach can provide the basis for the evaluation of ecosystem services and may aid in the optimization of wetland management strategies.

A methodology for developing resistivity-moisture content relationships of materials associated with a clayey landslide is presented. Key elements of the methodology include sample selection and preparation, laboratory measurement of resistivity with changing moisture content, and the derivation of models describing the relationship between resistivity and moisture content. Laboratory resistivity measurements show that the techniques utilised (samples and square array) have considerable potential as a means of electropetrophysical calibration of engineering soils and weak rock. Experimental electrical resistivity results show a hierarchy of values dependent on sample lithology, with silty clay exhibiting the lowest resistivities, followed by siltstones and sands, which return the highest resistivities. In addition, finer grained samples show a greater degree of anisotropy between measurement orientations than coarser grained samples.However, suitability of results in light of issues such as sample cracking and electrical conduction must be identified and accounted for if the results are to be accurately up-scaled to inverted model resistivity results. The existence of directional anisotropy makes model calibration curve selection more difficult due to variability in the range of measured laboratory resistances. The use of larger measurement array size means that experimental data will be more representative of bulk lithological properties. In addition, use of electrodes with a relatively high surface area (wide diameter) help maintain low contact resistances and repeat measurement error, relative to narrow electrodes.Variation exists between the fit of experimental data and petrophysical models. Model fit is best for clay-dominated samples but fits less well for sand-dominated samples. Waxman-Smits equation is appropriately applied in this investigation as all samples have considerable clay mineral content, as is shown in non-negligible CEC results. The incorporation of pressure plate suction measurements on samples, allows suction dissipation to be quantified and evaluated alongside moisture content and electrical resistivity.