Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database

This preliminary Canadian landslide database is a publicly available compilation of existing landslide inventories and original mapping. Version 14.0 of the database contains 31,005 entries of both landslide events (discrete recorded period of movement) and landslide features (slope with morphology consistent with past or ongoing movement). Landslide locations are provided as point features and include attributes for landslide type, material type (surficial, rock, ice, anthropogenic), point location type (headscarp, source, transport, deposit), qualitative location confidence (low, moderate, high), and an attribute for tracking the database version when an entry was last updated. Where available, additional attributes such as volume estimate, date of occurrence, trigger, contributing factors, interpreted historical interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR)-based displacement, and reference to previous work are also provided. Most landslides in the database have been identified using Google Earth and publicly available lidar. Online mapping applications such as HazMapper by Scheip and Wegman (2021) and Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX) by Lübker et al. (2024) have also been used to identify landslides based on the changes in multi-spectral indices derived from satellite acquired datasets. As most of the landslides have been identified using remote sensing techniques (optical, multi-spectral, lidar, InSAR), landslide type attribution is considered preliminary, and no characterization of the current level of landslide activity or hazard are provided. The database spatial sampling biases includes detailed representation of areas with existing inventory and where lidar is available which allows for the identification of landslide features in forested terrain. Based on these limitations, the preliminary Canadian landslide database is appropriate for research projects and for use as part of the initial desktop review but must not solely be relied on for formal landslide hazard assessments. Version 14.0 includes the addition of 3,005 landslide features over version 13.0. Highlights of this version include the ongoing interpretation of InSAR-based deformation maps (NASA, 2025; NRCan 2025) to identify 726 slopes (up from 449 in version 13) with landslide morphology which were likely active with very slow displacement rates between 2016 and 2024. The recent availability of InSAR-based deformation information provides improved interpretation of slope processes that can be used to update landslide inventories and hazard characterizations. Nonetheless, InSAR techniques have limitations (e.g., Wu and Madson, 2024) and hazard characterization needs to consider the impact of radar wavelength, stack depth, processing algorithm, topography, vegetation, snow cover, satellite line-of-sight relative to slope movement, and rate of surface displacement. This means that large (> 100,000 m3), very slow (< 160 mm/year – Porter 2023), unvegetated, east-west moving landslide are preferentially captured in the InSAR data. As a result, the number of presently moving slopes in Canada with the potential to cause damage is significantly greater than captured in the database. The database entries with attributes recording interpreted historical InSAR-based deformation pattern are also derived from records that stopped in 2024 (NASA, 2025; NRCan 2025) or earlier (Choe et al. 2021). Their current state of activity/hazard needs to be confirmed based on site-specific investigations (field instrumentation and/or remote sensing). Another highlight includes the addition of a new attribute field to record the formation of a landslide dammed lake. Version 14 includes 789 present or breached landslide dammed lakes. Gullying, subsidence, and submarine landslides are compiled in a separate file as they are not typical subaerial landslide processes, but they can still represent a hazard to infrastructure. Point location and attribute data are provided as .csv file which can be imported in GIS software and as .kmz file for visualization using Google Earth. Summary statistics are provided in a separate spreadsheet. Summary statistics from previous versions are provided in the different spreadsheet tabs. Release notes from this and previous versions are compiled in an accompanying pdf document. References Choe, B.-H., Blais-Stevens, A., Samsonov, S., and Dudley, J., 2021. Sentinel-1 and RADARSAT Constellation Mission InSAR Assessment of Slope Movements in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Remote Sensing, 13, Paper 3999, 17 p.Lübker T., Nitze I., Laboor S., Irrgang A., Lantuit H., and Grosse G., 2024: Presenting land surface changes through the web-based Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX) to permafrost communities – a permafrost service. Proceedings of the International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2024), pp. 16-20 June 2024, Whitehorse (Canada).NASA. (2025). OPERA Surface Displacement from Sentinel-1 validated product (Version 1) [Data set]. NASA Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/SNWG/OPL3DISPS1-V1. Date Accessed: 2026-05-27.Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) 2025. Pilot national scale maps of active deformation processes in Canada. Government of Canada; Natural Resources Canada; Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO). https://app.geo.ca/en-ca/map-browser/record/1da588c1-0dc6-45e4-9e63-9acf2fdc353a. Date Accessed: 2026-05-27.Porter, M., 2023. Predicting annual displacement probability of slow-moving landslides through Markov chain and Monte Carlo simulation. Proceedings of the 3rd JTC1 Workshop on Impact of Global Changes on Landslide Hazard and Risk, 4 p.Scheip, C. M., and Wegmann, K. W., 2021. HazMapper: a global open-source natural hazard mapping application in Google Earth Engine. Natural Hazards Earth System Sciences, 21, 1495–1511.Wu, Y.-Y., and Madson, A., 2024. Error sources of interferometric synthetic aperture radar satellites. Remote Sensing, 16, Paper 354.本初步加拿大滑坡数据库是公开可用的现有滑坡编目与原始测绘成果的汇编。该数据库14.0版本包含31005条记录，涵盖滑坡事件（即离散记录的运动时段）与滑坡特征（即形态与过去或当前运动一致的斜坡）两类条目。滑坡位置以点要素形式提供，包含滑坡类型、物质类型（表土层、岩石、冰、人为成因）、点位置类型（后壁、源区、运移区、堆积区）、定性位置置信度（低、中、高），以及用于追踪条目最后更新时的数据库版本属性。若有可用数据，还会提供体积估算、发生日期、触发因素、影响因子、基于解释的历史合成孔径雷达干涉测量（Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, InSAR）位移数据，以及既往研究参考文献等额外属性。 多数数据库收录的滑坡通过Google Earth与公开可用的激光雷达（Light Detection and Ranging, LiDAR）技术识别。此外，Scheip与Wegman（2021）开发的HazMapper，以及Lübker等人（2024）开发的北极景观探索器（Arctic Landscape EXplorer, ALEX）等在线测绘应用，也可基于卫星获取数据集导出的多光谱指数变化识别滑坡。由于多数滑坡通过遥感技术（光学、多光谱、激光雷达、InSAR）识别，滑坡类型属性暂定为初步结果，且未提供当前滑坡活动水平或灾害等级的表征。数据库的空间采样偏差包括：现有编目区域的详细展示，以及可识别森林地带滑坡特征的激光雷达覆盖区域。基于上述局限性，本初步加拿大滑坡数据库适用于研究项目及初步桌面审查工作，但不得单独用于正式的滑坡灾害评估。 相较于13.0版本，14.0版本新增了3005条滑坡特征。本版本的亮点包括：持续基于InSAR形变图（美国国家航空航天局（National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA）, 2025; 加拿大自然资源部（Natural Resources Canada, NRCan）2025）解读，识别出726处具有滑坡形态的斜坡（13.0版本为449处），这些斜坡在2016至2024年间大概率处于活动状态，位移速率极慢。新近可获取的InSAR形变信息，为斜坡过程的解读提供了改进依据，可用于更新滑坡编目与灾害表征。不过，InSAR技术存在局限性（如Wu与Madson, 2024），灾害表征需考虑雷达波长、堆叠深度、处理算法、地形、植被、积雪、卫星视线与斜坡运动的相对关系，以及地表位移速率等因素的影响。这意味着体积大于100000立方米、位移速率极慢（<160毫米/年——Porter 2023）、无植被覆盖、沿东西向运动的滑坡会优先被InSAR数据捕捉。因此，加拿大境内当前具有潜在破坏能力的活动斜坡数量，远多于本数据库收录的数量。带有解释性历史InSAR形变模式属性的数据库条目，数据来源于2024年（NASA, 2025; NRCan 2025）或更早（Choe等人2021）的记录，其当前活动状态/灾害等级需通过现场勘察（现场仪器监测和/或遥感）进行确认。本版本的另一项亮点为新增了用于记录滑坡壅湖形成的属性字段。14.0版本包含789处现存或已溃决的滑坡壅湖。 冲沟、沉降与海底滑坡被单独汇编至另一个文件，因其不属于典型的陆上滑坡过程，但仍可能对基础设施构成灾害风险。 点位置与属性数据以.csv文件格式提供，可导入地理信息系统（Geographic Information System, GIS）软件，同时提供.kmz文件用于Google Earth可视化。汇总统计数据包含在单独的电子表格中，既往版本的汇总统计数据分布于不同的电子表格工作表中。本版本及既往版本的发布说明汇编于配套的PDF文档中。 参考文献 Choe, B.-H., Blais-Stevens, A., Samsonov, S., and Dudley, J., 2021. 加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省南部内陆地区斜坡运动的Sentinel-1与RADARSAT星座任务InSAR评估. 遥感, 13, 论文3999, 17页. Lübker T., Nitze I., Laboor S., Irrgang A., Lantuit H., and Grosse G., 2024: 通过基于网页的北极景观探索器（ALEX）向多年冻土社区展示地表变化——一项多年冻土服务. 国际多年冻土会议（ICOP 2024）论文集, 2024年6月16-20日, 加拿大怀特霍斯. NASA. (2025). 基于Sentinel-1的OPERA地表位移验证产品（版本1）[数据集]. 美国国家航空航天局阿拉斯加卫星设施分布式主动档案中心. https://doi.org/10.5067/SNWG/OPL3DISPS1-V1. 访问日期: 2026-05-27. 加拿大自然资源部（NRCan）2025. 加拿大国家级主动形变过程试点地图. 加拿大政府; 加拿大自然资源部; 加拿大测绘与地球观测中心（CCMEO）. https://app.geo.ca/en-ca/map-browser/record/1da588c1-0dc6-45e4-9e63-9acf2fdc353a. 访问日期: 2026-05-27. Porter, M., 2023. 基于马尔可夫链与蒙特卡洛模拟预测慢速滑坡的年位移概率. 第三届JTC1全球变化对滑坡灾害与风险影响研讨会论文集, 4页. Scheip, C. M., and Wegman, K. W., 2021. HazMapper：Google Earth引擎中的全球开源自然灾害测绘应用. 自然灾害与地球系统科学, 21, 1495–1511. Wu, Y.-Y., and Madson, A., 2024. 合成孔径雷达干涉测量卫星的误差源. 遥感, 16, 论文354.