Landslide Research at the British Geological Survey:Capture,Storage and Interpretation on a National and Site-Specific Scale

Abstract: Landslide research at the British Geological Survey (BGS) is carried out through a number of activities, including surveying, database development and real-time monitoring of landslides. Landslide mapping across the UK has been carried out since BGS started geological mapping in 1835. Today, BGS geologists use a combination of remote sensing and ground-based investigations to survey landslides. The development of waterproof tablet computers (BGS·SIGMAmobile), with inbuilt GPS and GIS for field data capture provides an accurate and rapid mapping methodology for field surveys. Regional and national mapping of landslides is carried out in conjunction with site-specific monitoring, using terrestrial LiDAR and differential GPS technologies, which BGS has successfully developed for this application. In addition to surface monitoring, BGS is currently developing geophysical ground-imaging systems for landslide monitoring, which provide real-time information on subsurface changes prior to failure events. BGS’s mapping and monitoring activities directly feed into the BGS National Landslide Database, the most extensive source of information on landslides in Great Britain. It currently holds over 14?000 records of landslide events. By combining BGS’s corporate datasets with expert knowledge, BGS has developed a landslide hazard assessment tool, GeoSure, which provides information on the relative landslide hazard susceptibility at national scale.     

Detailed methods of hail forecast

Forecast methods of intensity and hail-process type as well as mesoregion of hailfall, developed on the basis of complex studies of formation conditions and the features of intensive convective process development are given in this paper. The materials of special experimental observations and measurements obtained on scientific research polygons of High-Mountain Geophysical Institute (VGI) are used. To choose more informative predictors, the models of moist and potential instability were used. For the development of forecast methods the complex approach, based on the quantitative account of the factors of large-scale circulation, its interaction with relief, energetic characteristics of different layers of the troposphere, surface lines of potential instability and so on, are used. All methods are operatively tested, showed good results and were used in practice.