Remote sensing for geotechnical earthquake reconnaissance

Abstract This paper describes recent efforts that incorporate remote sensing techniques and platforms into geotechnical earthquake reconnaissance to document damage patterns, collect three-dimensional geometries of failures, and measure ground movements. The most-commonly used remote sensing techniques in geotechnical engineering (satellite imagery and LIDAR), as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are introduced and recent case histories of the use of these techniques in reconnaissance efforts are provided. These examples demonstrate the potential for remote sensing to improve our understanding of geotechnical effects both at a regional scale and at a local level. The use of remote sensing to measure ground movements is particularly noteworthy and has the potential to provide data sets that will improve our ability to quantitatively predict the consequences of liquefaction and landslides. However, to realize this potential, investments must be made in collecting appropriate pre-earthquake data.