Multitemporal laser scanner-based observation of the Mt. Vesuvius crater: Characterization of overall geometry and recognition of landslide events

Results of observations of the Mt. Vesuvius caldera, carried out by means of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) in May 2005, October 2006 and June 2009, are reported here. In each survey the whole crater was acquired with 17/20 scans from 6 different viewpoints and the corresponding digital surface models were generated and registered into the UTM-WGS84 reference frame. In this way, a comparison between the multitemporal models leads to an evaluation of the occurred changes. The deformation maps, i.e. the contouring plots of the differences between the models along the direction of maximum variations, showed a progressive mass loss due to rock-falls from the NE vertical crater wall whose area was about 5000m2. The TLS data also showed the accumulation at the bottom. The volume loss which occurred from 2005 to 2009, was computed by subtraction of volumes defined with respect to reference planes parallel to the caldera walls and was estimated to be 20300m3. The volume uncertainties due to registration errors, subsampling noise effects, and effects due to choice of the reference plane, were also estimated. Some results were also interpreted on the basis of micro-seismic and meteorological data in order to plan a monitoring technique where seismic signals related to rock-fall and/or signals of intense rainfalls are used as alarms for fast TLS surveys able to characterize the corresponding changes of the caldera walls. The proposed methodology, in particular the simple but effective approach used in the estimation of volume uncertainties, can be applied to each rock slope instability phenomenon, regardless of the particular environment. © 2011 International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Inc. (ISPRS).