Satellite Remote Sensing for Regional Assessment of Landslide Hazard in Kyrgyzstan

Large landslides are one of the main natural hazards in Kyrgyzstan. Because of the high number of landslides and their relative inaccessibility in mountainous terrain the potential of satellite remote sensing in combination with GIS-based analysis has been investigated in the frame of a collaboration with the Ministry of Emergency and Environment (MEE) in Kyrgyzstan. Emphasis is put on the development of multi-temporal remote sensing techniques to support landslide inventories and characterisation of main terrestrial factors preconditioning landslides on a regional scale. The database consists of Landsat-TM, stereoscopic MOMS-2P and radar (ERS-1/2) satellite imagery. MOMS-2P and ERS-1/2 data allowed the generation of high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEM). The derived relief parameters have been analysed in a GIS in combination with other information obtained from remote sensing data, thematic maps and field observation for a spatially differentiated characterisation of terrain properties as a basis for further assessment of landslide hazard. Future work will focus on investigating the potential of most recent and upcoming satellite missions (SRTM, ENVISAT and ASTER) for landslide analysis, since this research has been approved for pilot projects in the corresponding announcements of opportunity.