Mapping the liquefaction induced soil moisture changes using remote sensing technique: an attempt to map the earthquake induced liquefaction around Bhuj, Gujarat, India

Abstract

The Bhuj earthquake (Mw=7.9) occurred in the western part of India on 26th January 2001 and resulted in the loss of 20,000 lives and caused extensive damage to property. Soil liquefaction related ground failures such as lateral spreading caused significant damage to bridges, dams and other civil engineering structures in entire Kachchh peninsula. The Bhuj area is a part of large sedimentary basin filled with Jurassic, Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. This work pertains to mapping the areas that showed sudden increase in soil moisture after the seismic event, using remote sensing technique. Multi-spectral, spatial and temporal data sets from Indian Remote Sensing Satellite are used to derive the Liquefaction Sensitivity Index (LSeI). The basic concept behind LSeI is that the near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of electromagnetic spectrum are highly absorbed by soil moisture. Thus, the LSeI is herein used to identify the areas with increase in soil moisture after the seismic event. The LSeI map of Bhuj is then correlated with field-based observation on Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR) and Cyclic Resistance Ratio (CRR), depth to water table, soil density and Liquefaction Severity Index (LSI). The derived LSeI values are in agreement with liquefaction susceptible criteria and observed LSI (R 2 =0.97). The results of the study indicate that the LSeI after calibration with LSI can be used as a quick tool to map the liquefied areas. On the basis of LSeI, LSI, CRR, CSR and saturation, the unconsolidated sediments of the Bhuj area are classified into three susceptibility classes.

Food, water, and fault lines: Remote sensing opportunities for earthquake-response management of agricultural water

“…In general, agricultural crops have demonstrated detectable trends to insufficient water supplies -both in flooded and drought conditions -using remote sensing and GIS technologies (Jeyaseelan, 2003). Soil moisture changes, specifically attributed to seismic liquefaction, have been mapped using a three-tier remote sensing approach (Ramakrishnan et al, 2006). Liquefaction patterns, or blistering and rupturing, have also been visually identified underlying cultivated lands using remote imagery (Almond et al, 2010).…”

Documenting Earthquake-Induced Liquefaction Using Satellite Remote Sensing Image Transformations

“…This image captured near-real-time effects of the earthquake. Reconnaissance teams identified some of these as liquefaction and cited that the accessibility to several regions of the affected area was poor, particularly due to earthquake-induced damage (Bilham, 2001;Mohanty et al, 2001;Narula and Choubey, 2001;Saraf et al, 2002;Singh et al, 2002;and Ramakrishnan et al, 2006). In this study, we use satellite images acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper to evaluate its use in mapping earthquakeinduced liquefaction-related surface effects.…”

Study of soft classification approaches for identification of earthquake-induced liquefied soil

“…Gupta et al (1994Gupta et al ( , 1995 successfully demonstrated the application of remote sensing techniques to delineate zones of seismically induced soil liquefaction in the Ganga plains. Ramakrishnan et al (2006) mapped the earthquake-induced soil liquefaction around Bhuj by calculating the absorption of energy in the near-infrared (NIR) and short wave infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum. Champati Ray et al (2001) and Rao et al (2001) demonstrated applications of principal component analysis and unsupervised image classification techniques, respectively, to change detection induced by the 2001 Bhuj earthquake.…”