Quantification of mass wasting volume associated with the giant landslide Maleh Kabood induced by the 2017 Kermanshah earthquake from InSAR

Radar sensors obtain regular and frequent radar images from which ground motion can be precisely detected using a variety of different techniques. The interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is utilized to retrieve the spatial characteristics of the largest coseismic landslide Maleh-Kabood, induced by the Ms 7.3 Azgleh earthquake in Kermanshah Province, Iran. The available seven interferometric pairs with good coherence selected from the Sentinel 1, 2 imagery data covering the NW-Zagros mountainous area are used in the study. The post-seismic topographic change relative to the pre-seismic over the landslide area is spatially mapped from the persistent scatterer network adjustment solution. The quantitative estimation of local elevation change, mass sliding volume and deposit thickness associated with the landslide is conducted. The spatial pattern of mass movement suggests that the giant landslide is characterized by a major sliding length of 3570 m along the NW–SE directions with an extension width of 1500-2300 m along the Maleh-Kabood and Ghoch-Bashi gully respectively, and a peak height change of 20 m in the vertical direction neat mountain ridge. The affected area of landslide mass movement reaches 6.0 km2 (577 Hectares) with the volume up to 500 million m3. Comparative studies indicated that the Maleh-Kabood landslide is the largest landslide in Iran over the past few centuries. The study also demonstrates the potential of InSAR technique as an alternative to allow the quantitative measurement of mass wasting volume associated with earthquake-induced giant landslides.