Global Distribution of Extreme Precipitation and High-Impact Landslides in 2010 Relative to Previous Years - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
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Global Distribution of Extreme Precipitation and High-Impact Landslides in 2010 Relative to Previous YearsIt is well known that extreme or prolonged rainfall is the dominant trigger of landslides worldwide. While research has evaluated the spatiotemporal distribution of extreme rainfall and landslides at local or regional scales using in situ data, few studies have mapped rainfall-triggered landslide distribution globally due to the dearth of landslide data and consistent precipitation information. This study uses a newly developed Global Landslide Catalog (GLC) and a 13-year satellite-based precipitation record from TRMM data. For the first time, these two unique products provide the foundation to quantitatively evaluate the co-occurrence of precipitation and landslides globally. Evaluation of the GLC indicates that 2010 had a large number of high-impact landslide events relative to previous years. This study considers how variations in extreme and prolonged satellite-based rainfall are related to the distribution of landslides over the same time scales for three active landslide areas: Central America, the Himalayan Arc, and central-eastern China. Several test statistics confirm that TRMM rainfall generally scales with the observed increase in landslide reports and fatal events for 2010 and previous years over each region. These findings suggest that the co-occurrence of satellite precipitation and landslide reports may serve as a valuable indicator for characterizing the spatiotemporal distribution of landslide-prone areas in order to establish a global rainfall-triggered landslide climatology. This study characterizes the variability of satellite precipitation data and reported landslide activity at the globally scale in order to improve landslide cataloging, forecasting and quantify potential triggering sources at daily, monthly and yearly time scales.
Document ID
20120008365
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Kirschbaum, Dalia (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Adler, Robert (Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Adler, David (Science Applications International Corp. Washington, DC, United States)
Peters-Lidard, Christa (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Huffman, George (Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Lanham, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2012
Subject Category
Geosciences (General)
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.5929.2012
Report Number: GSFC.JA.5929.2012
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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