Characterizing the evolution of the Daguangbao landslide nearly 15 years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake by InSAR observations

The Daguangbao landslide (DGBL), the largest landslide triggered by the 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, has received much attention, but its long-term post-earthquake evolution and driving force of activity are still poorly understood. As the evolutionary behavior of the DGBL is complicated by the influence of mainshock, aftershocks and rainfall, it is of great significance to study the dynamics of the landslide. In this study, a systematic and comprehensive framework for assessing the long-term stability and risk of co-seismic landslides was proposed. Based on ALOS-1 and Sentinel-1 data, time-series InSAR technology was used to reveal the nearly 15-year post-seismic evolution characteristics of the DGBL at different stages, followed by the prediction of the stabilization time, the estimation of the landslide thickness and risk assessment. The first stage was identified as three years after the earthquake (2008–2011). During this stage, ALOS-1 results show that the deformation of DGBL was intense (300 mm/year) with uneven spatial distribution, and an aftershock (Ms 5.3), along with increased rainfall, triggered its acceleration in 2009. The second stage was the period from 2014 to 2022. For this stage, we used the mass conservation approach to invert the thickness of the DGBL, revealing that a new sliding surface and thickness center had formed following the co-seismic failure in 2008. Sentinel-1 time series results indicated that the DGBL remains active even 15 years after the Wenchuan earthquake, but the deformation of DGBL has significantly slowed down (50 mm/year). The stabilization time for different segments of DGBL was predicted to range from 2027 to 2040 according to an exponential model. Beyond the overall trend of recovery, seasonal movements (including localized acceleration in 2021) closely related to rainfall remained evident, but the impact of aftershocks on the DGBL was severely weakened over time. UAV and field survey results suggested that the risk of localized debris flows at DGBL still exists. Our study improves our understanding of the long-term evolutionary pattern of DGBL and provides an important reference for post-earthquake landslide risk assessment and disaster prevention.