Airborne remote sensing systems are increasingly used in engineering geology and geomorphology for studying and monitoring natural hazardous scenarios and events. In this study, we used two remote sensing monitoring techniques, i.e., light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to analyze the kinematic evolution of the Montescaglioso landslide (Basilicata, Southern Italy), a large rain-triggered landslide that occurred in December 2013. By comparing pre- and post-event LiDAR and UAV DEMs and UAV orthomosaics, we delineated landslide morphological features and measured horizontal displacements and elevation change differences within landslide body. Analysis of two subsequent post-events digital terrain models (DTMs) also allowed the evaluation of the evolutionary behavior of the slope instability, highlighting no signs of reactivation. The UAV-derived digital surface models (DSMs) were found consistent with the LiDAR-DTMs, but their use was in addition highlighted as highly effective to support geomorphic interpretations and complement LiDAR and field-based data acquisitions. This study shows the effectiveness of combining the two UAV-LiDAR methodologies to evaluate geomorphological features indicative of the failure mechanism and to interpret the evolutionary behavior of the instability process
The paper deals with the results of an archaeo-geophysical approach adopted for the study and
the reconstruction of the architectural plan of the medieval monastery of San Pietro a Cellaria in Calvello
(Basilicata, Southern Italy). The monastery is a remarkable witness to Benedectine architecture of the 12-13th
century in Basilicata, built by monks of the Congregation of S. Maria di Pulsano, who were active mainly in
southern Italy. The historical data and the diachronic architectural study, based on the analysis of building
techniques, provide evidence for a long and intense history, during which the monastery underwent several
architectural changes, including the demolition of buildings and the superposition of other constructional
elements. The only preserved medieval remains are a church with a nave; the adjacent structures are more
recent. This preliminary data prompted a research project to shed new light on the as yet unknown history of
the medieval monastery. Specifically, a remote sensing approach around the monastery including aerial survey
by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and geomagnetic survey in gradiometric
configuration (MAG), was adopted in order to verify the possible existence of buried masonry structures
and other possible features of archaeological interest, including channels and aqueducts. The GPR time
slices were constructed from closely spaced parallel profiles. The time slices, computed by averaging radar
reflections over vertical time windows several nanoseconds thick, are used to map subsoil features associated
with the structures, probably of anthropogenic origin. To facilitate the interpretation of the results, a threedimensional
image was constructed using closely spaced parallel profiles, which are linearly interpolated. The
MAG survey was carried in gradiometer configuration, in order to study magnetic properties of the shallow
subsoil. Ground-penetrating radar gives details about archaeological structures in a limited area where survey
was possible, while gradiometer survey confirms GPR results and improves archaeological knowledge in the
areas where GPR survey was impossible. This multi-sensor remote sensing program revealed a wide variety of
archaeological features of interest, which may be targeted accurately with excavations in the future.
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