SDRadar translational landslides

Landslides are geological disasters widespread in the world, affecting approximately 4.8 million people and causing more than 18000 deaths between 1998 and 2017 [1]. Penipe is one of the cities in Ecuador most affected by landslides, mainly due to climatic conditions. For this reason, a SDRadar system was designed to detect risks by measuring the relative permittivity of soils of the Andepts subtype in areas prone to landslides in Penipe. The behavior of translational landslides was characterized through a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar, operating at 3 GHz, and using GNU Radio and Matlab for information processing. Soil samples were extracted from Penipe to vary their humidity and inclination in a controlled environment, parameterizing the risk levels according to the permittivity and land displacement. Subsequently, its performance was evaluated in areas with a history of landslides in Nabuzo-Penipe. The results demonstrated moderate humidity is important for soil compaction, regardless of the slope. However, high concentration or extreme lack of water considerably increases the risk of landslides in slopes greater than 45°. These results could be validated by comparing the records of the serious landslides occurred in June 2024 in Ecuador, proving this system would prevent future disasters.