Landslide hazard assessment in the Three Gorges of Yangtze River with TRMM data

Soil moisture plays a very vital role in slope failure events because it reduces the soil strength and increases the soil stress. Traditional in situ surveying cannot provide enough large-scale and so long time soil moisture and precipitation information; in addition it will takes much time and money. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) instrument can provides precipitation data from 1997 to present. This paper discuss a active/passive microwave remote sensing approach to estimate soil moisture using PR and TMI data onboard the TRMM satellite. Then we develop a link between the soil moisture developed from PR and TMI data, precipitation data and major landslide events in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Case studies in Three Gorges indicated that most reservoir area of the Three Gorges had slope movement when soil moisture showed high values.