Latest news with #UninhabitedAerialVehicleSyntheticApertureRadar
USA Today
06-02-2025
- Science
- USA Today
LA coastal area prone to landslides quickly inches into ocean every week, NASA finds
LA coastal area prone to landslides quickly inches into ocean every week, NASA finds A Southern California coastal area long prone to landslides continues to inch toward the ocean at a rising speed posing danger to human life and infrastructure, a new NASA report shows. The Palos Verdes Peninsula, a Los Angeles County area that juts into the Pacific Ocean, shifted around 16 inches toward the ocean during last fall, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Portions of the peninsula are part of an "ancient complex" that have been susceptible to landslides for more than 60 decades. Between Sept. 18 and Oct. 17, NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) captured the area shifting toward the ocean up to 4 inches a week. The area is expanding, largely thanks to the significant heavy rainfall brought by Hurricane Hilary in August 2023 and additional rainfall in early 2024. The motion is also accelerating and impacting hundreds of buildings in local communities, according to the analysis conducted by JPL landslide scientist Alexander Handwerger. "In effect, we're seeing that the footprint of land experiencing significant impacts has expanded, and the speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk," Handwerger said in the NASA report. NASA radar shows shift peninsula shift toward water The lab shared an image created using the UAVSAR and illustrating the landslide direction gearing south into the Pacific Ocean within the four-week period. The UAVSAR radar was used to estimate the landslide's speed and direction across three dimensions. The team planted the instrument onto a jet flown four times out of NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Kern County, California. The image uses colors to indicate the landslide speed and direction, with dark red representing the highest velocity per week and light yellow representing the lowest. It also includes arrows showcasting the direction of horizontal motion as well as white solid lines representing the boundaries of the active landslide area defined by the California Geological Survey in 2007. NASA's Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis also used data by the European Space Agency's Copernicus Sentinel-1A/B satellites. The NASA lab has provided the data with California officials addressing landslides as well as the general public online at NASA's Disaster Mapping Portal. What is the Palos Verdes Peninsula? The Palos Verdes Peninsula is a coastal area in Los Angeles County known for popular surfing spots and stunning ocean views in Southern California. The area consists of four cities, including Palos Verdes Estates, Randho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Community south of Los Angeles sinking towards Pacific Ocean
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. – Radar data from NASA shows increasing rates of landslides along the Palos Verdes Peninsula, south of Los Angeles, threatening hundreds of structures. Data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory showed the terrain of the peninsula shifted at a rate of 4 inches per week following periods of heavy rainfall in 2024. The region, about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, has been home to historic landslides, but weather events after the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in the summer of 2023 impacted the region caused the movement to accelerate. The area was put under a state of emergency in 2024 after record rains then caused some ground to give way. Some homes have been split in two, while other residents have permanently left the region, fearing additional movement in the terrain. These 7 States Hold The Most Landslide-prone Counties In The Us Nasa says it was able to compose a dramatic visualization of the affected region by using its Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, which is mounted on a Gulfstream III jet. After a series of passes, specialists were able to compose a map depicting how fast the soil underneath the Palos Verdes Peninsula was moving and highlighted the direction of movement with added arrows. "In effect, we're seeing that the footprint of land experiencing significant impacts has expanded, and the speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk," Alexander Handwerger, a JPL landslide scientist who performed the analysis, said in a statement. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, landslides are considered to be a type of "mass wasting," where soil and rocks are at the mercy of gravity. Landslides are typically initiated by rainfall, snowmelt, erosion, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and human activity. In the West, Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho have the greatest vulnerabilities from landslides, which cause billions of dollars in damage each year. The Insurance Information Institute reminds homeowners that, similar to earthquakes, damage from landslides is excluded from standard insurance policies. 7 Facts About Earthquakes As part of the response to the unfolding situation, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services announced a $42 million buyout program for property owners in 2024. "While JPL's radar imagery strongly visualizes this dramatic acceleration and expansion of the landslide area during September and October 2024, the city would note that the landslide has decelerated since October due to the drier weather conditions and the city's installation of highly productive deep dewatering wells," the City of Rancho Palos Verdes stated. "The city is hopeful that this trend holds with its dewatering and winterization measures and continues to urge state and federal agencies to financially support these efforts."Original article source: Community south of Los Angeles sinking towards Pacific Ocean
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA finds parts of Palos Verdes Peninsula is creeping toward the ocean several inches a week
Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory found that portions of land on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, home to an affluent Southern California city that faced an emergency declaration last year, have crept toward the Pacific Ocean by as much as four inches a week, according to a news release. Parts of the Los Angeles County peninsula 'are part of an ancient complex of landslides and has been moving for at least the past six decades,' according to the news release. The active area expanded after heavy rain drenched Southern California in 2023 and early last year, the news release said. The findings were from data collected by NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, an imaging radar instrument that was attached to a jet. The flights took place between Sept. 18 — which was about two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes — and Oct. 17. It comes as Southern California Edison announced in January that it'd be restoring power to specific areas in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills, two cities that call the peninsula home. Last September, Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes in response to the accelerated land movement that disrupted many residents' utility services, including electricity and gas. The loss of utility services triggered evacuation warnings for some residents. Properties identified as Southern California Edison alerted properties had been alerted by Southele land movement' over the past 18 months was putting 'the utilities serving the area' at risk, and that service could b discontinued. 'The ground movement affecting your neighborhood has created unsafe and hazardous conditions, which have already impacted SCE's infrastructure, causing power poles to lean and power lines to fail,' the July 30th update read. 'The impact on SCE's equipment caused by these hazardous conditions increases the risk of system failure, fire ignition, or other public safety hazards.' In late August, a landslide collapsed a power line, leading to a small brush fire, USA TODAY reported. Southern California Edison said in an update that the fire showed that they could not mitigate the public safety risk from land movement in the area. By early September, the utility provider cut power to more than 200 homes and businesses, according to the emergency declaration. Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@ This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: NASA data shows how much land is moving in Palos Verdes Peninsula
