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Landslides, watched before the slope lets go.

Most landslides move before they fail, and most are triggered by rain. GNSS stations, piezometers, rain gauges and ground vibration sensors on unstable slopes report to one record the geological agency and the road authority act on, so roads close and people move before the slope lets go.

Industry

Public safety

Measurements

5

Sources cited

5

1. Public safety · Landslides and debris flows

   Slopes move before they fail

   Most landslides creep before they run, and most are pushed over the edge by rain. Watching how fast a slope moves, how wet it is and how much rain is falling gives the agency time to close the road below or move people out before the slope lets go.

2. What is measured

   Movement, water, rain and vibration

   GNSS stations on the moving mass and on stable ground measure displacement. Piezometers in boreholes read pore water pressure, gauges measure rain on and above the slope, and geophones along steep channels detect the ground vibration of a debris flow. Satellite radar maps deformation across the region.

   Instruments

   GNSS stations · Piezometers · Rain gauges · Geophones · Satellite radar

3. The base node

   A node on stable ground

   The slope’s node sits on stable ground. It computes displacement rates from GNSS, compares rain and pore pressure with the geologist’s thresholds, detects debris-flow vibration and raises alarms at once, signing every value so the agency can trust it later.

4. Radio and links

   LoRaWAN on the slope, satellite out

   Piezometers and rain gauges spread across the slope reach a gateway on stable ground over LoRaWAN. Slopes above roads and towns use cellular for GNSS data, and remote slopes send movement and alarms by satellite. Every path keeps a buffer, so no reading is lost when a link drops.

   Links

   LoRaWAN · Satellite · Public cellular

5. How it works

   From an accelerating slope to a closed road

   After a night of rain, GNSS shows the slope accelerating and piezometers show pressure rising. The node signs both and raises the alarm to the agency, which advises the road authority. The road is closed before the slope fails, and the record keeps the evidence.

6. From order to operation · Order

   Scope the slope and the response

   The scope reads the slope’s geology, past movements, what lies below, existing instruments and the agency’s warning and closure procedures. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the instrument plan, the radio design, the integration with the agency and a price per slope and per service.

   Plan a deployment

7. From order to operation · Survey

   Read the slope with the geologist

   Crews walk the slope with the geologist: the moving mass, its boundaries, stable reference ground, drilling sites for piezometers and debris-flow channels. They check sky view for GNSS, gateway coverage and satellite, and plan safe access routes. Every candidate site is photographed and located for the design.

8. From order to operation · Permits

   Land, drilling and warnings

   Landholders consent to instruments and drilling; works near rivers need the water authority. Warning and closure roles are agreed in writing, so the responsible agency decides. Every consent is kept with the slope’s record. Drilling follows the site’s safety plan and the landholder’s conditions, agreed in advance.

9. From order to operation · Build

   Build to outlast the slope

   GNSS stations, piezometers, rain gauges, geophones, endpoints, the gateway and node are built, tested together and enrolled with their identities. Thresholds come from the geologist, and every part is labelled with its borehole or monument. Configurations are tested on the bench with the thresholds before anything leaves for the slope.

   Open the Station Builder

10. From order to operation · Install

    Drill, set and survey

    Crews drill and grout piezometers, set GNSS monuments on the moving mass and on stable ground, install rain gauges and geophones along channels, and raise the gateway on stable ground. Every point is surveyed and photographed for the record. Cables are protected from rockfall.

11. From order to operation · Commission

    Baseline, then alarm

    Each device proves its identity. GNSS stations settle to a baseline, piezometers are read against manual dips, rain gauges checked with a measured volume, and geophones with a test impact. Alarms are tested to the agency and the road authority.

12. From order to operation · Operate

    Close and move on evidence

    The agency sees displacement rates, pore pressure and rain together, with debris-flow events as they happen. When thresholds are crossed it warns, closes roads or evacuates under its own procedures, and every decision is kept with the readings that drove it.

13. From order to operation · Maintain

    Check after every storm

    Points are checked after storms and on a yearly visit: panels cleaned, batteries tested, piezometers dipped and monuments resurveyed. Instruments lost to movement are replaced first. Every change is recorded, so displacement series stay continuous. Visits are planned for safe weather and access.

    Book field services

14. Data products

    For geologists, agencies and planners

    Geologists and agencies receive displacement rates; agencies and road authorities receive rain and pore pressure triggers; civil protection receives debris-flow detections; planners and geological surveys receive regional deformation maps. Each product carries its coordinates and calibration. Each product is kept with the slope’s record.

    See the data products

15. Evidence

    Thresholds you can defend

    Every reading, alarm, warning and closure is signed and kept. Monitoring follows geological survey practice, rain follows WMO methods, warnings follow the multi-hazard early warning checklist and travel in the Common Alerting Protocol, so thresholds can be reviewed and defended after every event.

    Drawn against

    USGS Landslide Hazards Program · WMO-No. 8 · WMO early warning checklist · Common Alerting Protocol

16. What you get

    Structural and ground-movement monitoring

    GNSS, InSAR, tilt, strain and fibre sensing on bridges, dams, slopes, tailings and pipelines, with alert thresholds set by the owner. Delivered as managed service and data licence, for infrastructure, mining and pipeline operators, transport agencies. Scale: Asset portfolios. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.

    Talk to sales

17. Next step

    Plan landslides and debris flows with us

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for landslides and debris flows. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio

01The place and its hazards

Where it runs, and what can go wrong.

Operating contextGeological surveys, road and rail authorities and municipalities monitor slopes above roads, towns and rivers. Movement is followed with GNSS, inclinometers and surveys; rainfall and pore pressure warn of triggers; and debris flows in steep channels are detected by ground vibration. Warnings and closures follow the responsible agency’s procedures.

Hazards

• Slope failure onto roads, homes and rivers
• Debris flows in steep channels after intense rain
• River damming and outburst floods
• Instruments lost with the slope they measure
• Remote slopes with no network or power

02What must be measured

What, where, how often, and under which rules.

Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.

03The observation stack

From one base unit to a network.

The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.

1. 01

   Base unit

   A slope point: a piezometer or rain gauge on a LoRaWAN endpoint, or a GNSS station and geophones on an edge node.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   A slope: points on the moving mass and stable ground, a gateway on safe ground and cellular or satellite to the agency.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Fleet

   Every monitored slope of a region run as one fleet, with one record.

   Managed offers →
4. 04

   Network

   Geological surveys, road and rail authorities and civil protection exchange movement and warnings through open standards.

   The open protocol →

• 01GNSS geodetic station
• 02Compact weather station
• 03Seismometer / strong-motion accelerometer
• 04LPWAN endpoint
• 05LoRaWAN gateway
• 06Edge node (Wedge)
• 07Cellular modem/router
• 08LEO flat-panel terminal
• 09Solar array

Radio and links

LoRaWAN

Piezometers and rain gauges spread across a slope reach a gateway on stable ground at very low power.

Radio and links

Satellite

Remote slopes beyond cellular send movement and alarms by satellite.

Radio and links

Public cellular

Slopes above roads and towns usually have cellular, the cheaper path for GNSS data.

Edge computeThe slope’s node computes displacement rates from GNSS, compares rain and pore pressure with trigger thresholds, detects debris-flow vibration and raises alarms at once; the agency decides on warnings and closures.

PowerEverything runs on solar with batteries sized for winter; the gateway and node sit on stable ground away from the moving mass.

04How it works

From the instrument to the product.

One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.

05From order to operation

Every step, from the first call to a running site.

The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.

1. 01 Order

   Scope the slope and the response

   The scope reads the slope’s geology, past movements, what lies below, existing instruments and the agency’s warning and closure procedures. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the instrument plan, the radio design, the integration with the agency and a price per slope and per service. 1

2. 02 Survey

   Read the slope with the geologist

   Crews walk the slope with the geologist: the moving mass, its boundaries, stable reference ground, drilling sites for piezometers and debris-flow channels. They check sky view for GNSS, gateway coverage and satellite, and plan safe access routes. Every candidate site is photographed and located for the design.

3. 03 Permits

   Land, drilling and warnings

   Landholders consent to instruments and drilling; works near rivers need the water authority. Warning and closure roles are agreed in writing, so the responsible agency decides. Every consent is kept with the slope’s record. Drilling follows the site’s safety plan and the landholder’s conditions, agreed in advance.

4. 04 Build

   Build to outlast the slope

   GNSS stations, piezometers, rain gauges, geophones, endpoints, the gateway and node are built, tested together and enrolled with their identities. Thresholds come from the geologist, and every part is labelled with its borehole or monument. Configurations are tested on the bench with the thresholds before anything leaves for the slope.

5. 05 Install

   Drill, set and survey

   Crews drill and grout piezometers, set GNSS monuments on the moving mass and on stable ground, install rain gauges and geophones along channels, and raise the gateway on stable ground. Every point is surveyed and photographed for the record. Cables are protected from rockfall. 2

6. 06 Commission

   Baseline, then alarm

   Each device proves its identity. GNSS stations settle to a baseline, piezometers are read against manual dips, rain gauges checked with a measured volume, and geophones with a test impact. Alarms are tested to the agency and the road authority.

7. 07 Operate

   Close and move on evidence

   The agency sees displacement rates, pore pressure and rain together, with debris-flow events as they happen. When thresholds are crossed it warns, closes roads or evacuates under its own procedures, and every decision is kept with the readings that drove it. 45

8. 08 Maintain

   Check after every storm

   Points are checked after storms and on a yearly visit: panels cleaned, batteries tested, piezometers dipped and monuments resurveyed. Instruments lost to movement are replaced first. Every change is recorded, so displacement series stay continuous. Visits are planned for safe weather and access.

06Data products and integration

What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.

Data products

• Displacement ratesGeologists and agencies
• Rain and pore pressure triggersAgencies and road authorities
• Debris-flow detectionsCivil protection and road authorities
• Regional deformation mapsPlanners and geological surveys

Integration

• Agency warning systemsAlarms reach the agency’s system, which issues warnings in the Common Alerting Protocol.
• Road and rail controlClosure triggers reach control rooms in their own formats.
• Geological databasesSeries are exchanged through OGC SensorThings with their coordinates.

Exchanged through Common Alerting Protocol, OGC SensorThings API, RINEX.

07Questions buyers ask

Before you scope it.

Can landslides be predicted?

Movement and triggers can be watched; agencies set thresholds from the slope’s behaviour and decide on warnings.

What if the instruments move with the slope?

That is the point of GNSS on the mass; the node and gateway sit on stable ground.

Does it work far from any network?

Yes, by satellite and solar power.

Who closes the road?

The road authority, on the agency’s advice and its own procedures.

08Resources

The sources behind this page.

Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.

1. 1Landslide Hazards ProgramUnited States Geological Survey
2. 2Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8)World Meteorological Organization
3. 3Copernicus Emergency Management ServiceEuropean Commission
4. 4Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems: A ChecklistWorld Meteorological Organization · 2018
5. 5Common Alerting Protocol Version 1.2OASIS

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

10Public safety: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.