This project is one of the seven Kentucky NSF EPSCoR Climbs Projects. This network consists of 24 stations in southeastern Kentucky, primarily in the upper Kentucky River watershed. These stations are installed in slopes that are susceptible to landslides and consist of soil sensor that measure the moisture content and matric potential at two depths in the soil, and a full weather station. These stations were installed in 2025 and will be operational for 5 years, with data telemetered every 15 minutes for real-time access. The data provided by these stations will be used to produce weather-based landslide models and forecasting during and after weather events.

This two-year project is funded through the USGS Cooperative Landslide Hazard Mapping and Assessment Program. The purpose of this study is to reduce the risk of loss due to landsliding in the Cincinnati and northern Kentucky region by producing a landslide inventory using change detection on repeat regional lidar surveys, and to utilize the new inventory to produce landslide susceptibility maps. This will be the first time a comprehensive inventory will be created for this urban, landslide-prone region. The maps will be published on the Kentucky Geologic Map Information Service and delivered to stakeholders including the City of Cincinnati, county Emergency Managers, the USGS, FEMA, and other entities involved in engineering, transportation, and hazard mitigation planning.

Image caption: Figure 1. A landslide susceptibility map of the United States (USGS, 2024); B. Landslide susceptibility map of the Cincinnati, Ohio and northern Kentucky region, with proposed area delineated. C. City boundaries in Cincinnati, Ohio and northern Kentucky region, with 1:24,000 quadrangle boundaries and proposed study area. Study area is approximately 1100 square km.

Slow-moving, chronically destructive landslides are projected to grow in number globally in response to precipitation increases from climate change, and land disturbances from wildfire, mining and construction. In the Cincinnati and northern Kentucky metropolitan area, landslides develop in colluvium that covers the steep slopes along the Ohio River and its tributaries. This study presents a technique to utilize older datasets in combination with modern surveys to monitor slow-moving landslides over many years. In this study we quantified elevation changes in a slow-moving colluvial landslide over 14 years using a combination of countywide lidar, uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) structure-from-motion (SfM) surveys and a UAV lidar survey. Because the technology and quality differ between surveys, the threshold of detectable change varied for each survey combination, ranging from 5 to 20 cm (~2 to 8 inches). Record rainfall in 2011 produced the largest changes to the landslide. Since then, the landslide toe has continued to deform, and the landslide has doubled its width by extending into a previously undisturbed slope.

Image caption: Johnson, S.E., Haneberg, W. C, Crawford, M., Bryson, S., 2023, Measuring ground surface elevation changes in a slow-moving colluvial landslide using combinations of regional airborne lidar, UAV lidar, and UAV photogrammetric surveys. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology. https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2022-078.

This study highlights patterns of surface deformation derived from multi-temporal UAV-lidar and structure from motion (SfM) surveys of a translational and a rotational landslide. This approach quantifies volume changes, translational strain, and rotational components of landslides, revealing unique kinematic signatures for each landslide type. This detailed characterization of strain localization provides direct evidence of the mechanisms governing landslide behavior, and advances the interpretation of slope instability, hazard assessment and risk management.

Picture caption: Johnson, S.E., Zhu, Y., Dortch, J., Haneberg, W. C, 2025, Quantifying Landslide Strain Localization Phenomena using Tensor Analysis of Multi-Temporal LiDAR Data. Submitted to Landslides.