Roads, railways, bridges and pipelines need continuos attention along exposed sections
Landslide monitoring as a service
We don’t just install sensors. NHAZCA designs, runs and interprets the whole landslide monitoring system — from slope monitoring to exposed infrastructure — combining satellite InSAR, camera-based PhotoMonitoring™ and ground data into one decision-ready reading of your slope.
Chosen by infrastructure operators, public bodies and engineering firms across Europe
The context
Landslides threaten communities, transport corridors, energy and water infrastructure and heritage sites across mountainous and coastal regions worldwide — a hazard tracked by geological surveys such as the USGS Landslide Hazards Program. Because a slope’s behaviour evolves with geology, water and human activity, monitoring is not a one-off survey but a continuous activity that keeps the picture current, informs decisions and feeds the landslide early warning systems run by authorities. Left unmonitored, these risks surface as emergency closures, unplanned remediation and liability — not as data you can act on in time.
Settlements, operations and heritage can sit close to slopes prone to instability.
Roads, railways, bridges and pipelines need continuos attention along exposed sections
Movement can accelerate, slow or reactivate. Reapeated, consistent observation is essential
The NHAZCA approach
Landslide monitoring is the continuous observation of a landslide and its parameters — displacement, deformation, slope condition — to keep the knowledge picture current, flag criticalities early and support risk management. NHAZCA delivers it as an engineered service. A hardware supplier sells you instruments and a data feed; we integrate satellite, image-based and geotechnical monitoring data and deliver the interpreted answer — what the slope is doing, what it means and what to watch.
Satellite, terrestrial and aerial images to observe slope change over time.
On-site and remote measurement to cover scales from a single slope to wide areas.
Time series and deformation trends read by geologists and engineers for operational decisions.
Technologies
Satellite radar interferometry measuring ground deformation with millimetre sensitivity: wide-area satellite monitoring and historical displacement analysis from archive imagery.
SGAM (Smart Geotechnical Asset Management) is the NHAZCA service that combines A-DInSAR and PhotoMonitoring™ for integrated, wide-area analysis — supporting early identification of criticalities across slopes and infrastructure.
NHAZCA proprietary technology. PhotoMonitoring™ measures slope displacement from images — and can use cameras already installed on site, with no dedicated geotechnical hardware. That makes near-continuous monitoring possible at a fraction of the cost of radar systems.
Platform
IRIS is the NHAZCA platform for PhotoMonitoring™ applied to landslide and rockfall detection: it processes imagery, returns displacement maps and time series, and makes results available through the browser.
When you need it
A landslide monitoring system becomes necessary when a slope interferes with infrastructure, settlements, construction sites, hydraulic works or linear assets, and heterogeneous measurements must be turned into operational information for risk management, design, maintenance or warning procedures. The technology is chosen by need, and approaches are often combined.
| Need | Technology or approach |
|---|---|
| Wide area, deformation history, territory-scale overview | Satellite monitoring with InSAR / A-DInSAR |
| A single slope or face, including with cameras already on site | PhotoMonitoring™ |
| Distributed assets to manage in an integrated, wide-area way | SGAM (Smart Geotechnical Asset Management) |
| Web access to displacement maps and time series | IRIS platform |
| Point, continuous on-site measurements | Geotechnical instrumentation (inclinometers, extensometers, GNSS) |
During a preliminary assessment we identify the combination of technologies best suited to the phenomenon and the landslide monitoring objectives.
The outputs
The value is not the raw data but the interpreted information: clear outputs, comparable over time and usable by engineers and decision-makers. This interpreted output — not raw sensor data — is what you’re paying for.
How displacement evolves over time at the monitored points and areas.
Spatial distribution of displacement and slope change.
Reconstruction of past behaviour from satellite and photographic archives.
Periodic technical readings highlighting areas to watcth. Input to assessment and to warning procedures run by the responsible authorities.
Applications
Slope monitoring and observation of cuttings and hillsides prone to instability.
Roads, railways and structures along sections vulnerable to landslide and rockfall.
Transport and energy corridors crossing landslide-prone terrain.
Pit walls, benches and quarry slopes where wide-area observation matters.
Reservoir slopes and banks connected to water and energy management.
Settlements and heritage sites close to active or dormant landslides.
Real-world examples are collected in the NHAZCA case studies.
Early warning
A landslide early warning system combines monitoring, thresholds and response procedures, operated by the responsible civil-protection and infrastructure authorities. NHAZCA provides the continuous, interpreted displacement data these systems depend on — the trustworthy input behind the thresholds authorities set. We don’t predict landslides; we make sure the decisions rest on current, reliable data.
For the scientific background on landslide early warning systems, see the open-access literature referenced below.
Case study
NHAZCA monitored the Ruinon landslide (Valfurva, Italy) with remote-sensing technologies. The map shows the ground deformation velocity field derived from satellite InSAR analysis over the Ruinon area — an example of how satellite landslide monitoring resolves the spatial distribution of displacement across an entire slope — measured from satellite radar archives, with no sensors installed on the slope itself.
More slope & landslide case studies: Civitacampomarano slope instability · Bonorva slope · ANAS Sicily road · mountain infrastructure
A few authoritative public sources on landslide hazards, monitoring and early warning.
The U.S. Geological Survey programme on landslide hazards, research and monitoring.
BGS research, the National Landslide Database and guidance on landslide hazard.
Open-access journal including the special issue on landslide early warning systems.
The radar mission whose archive underpins satellite InSAR ground-motion analysis.
FAQ
It is the combination of technologies and methods used to observe a landslide and its parameters over time — typically displacement and slope change — and to turn those measurements into interpreted information for risk management. NHAZCA delivers it as a service that integrates satellite, image-based and ground data.
The difference is interpretation: hardware vendors deliver sensor output; we deliver the engineering reading of what it means. Many landslide monitoring offerings centre on physical instruments installed on site. NHAZCA adds camera-based PhotoMonitoring™ and satellite InSAR, which can use existing cameras and archive imagery and cover wide areas — and we deliver interpretation, not just raw sensor output. Approaches are complementary and chosen per site.
InSAR is a radar technique that measures ground deformation with millimetre sensitivity: from satellite (A-DInSAR) it covers wide areas and enables historical analysis, but at an update frequency tied to satellite passes; from the ground (TInSAR) it monitors a single slope continuously, at the higher costs typical of radar systems. PhotoMonitoring™ is an image-based optical technique: with fixed cameras it enables continuous, near-real-time (live) monitoring, independent of satellite passes and generally at lower cost, and it can even use cameras already installed on site. The two families are complementary and often combined: the choice depends on update frequency, coverage and budget.
Monitoring does not deliver deterministic predictions. It provides current information on how a slope is evolving, which supports early identification of criticalities and the early-warning and decision procedures operated by the responsible authorities.
Natural slopes, exposed infrastructure and transport corridors, mining and quarry slopes, dams and reservoirs, and urban or heritage areas close to active or dormant landslides — including rockfall monitoring along exposed infrastructure.
Why NHAZCA
How displacement evolves over time at the monitored points and areas.
A spin-off of Sapienza University of Rome: monitoring rooted in applied research and geological and engineering know-how.
PhotoMonitoring™ and the IRIS platform are developed in-house by NHAZCA, not third-party tools resold.
One accountable partner, not three vendors. We combine satellite InSAR, camera-based PhotoMonitoring™ and ground data — and own the interpretation, so you get one answer instead of three data feeds to reconcile.
Experience on real landslides and slopes, from Ruinon to road infrastructure, with results available in the case studies.
Tell us about the site: we’ll help define the landslide monitoring approach that fits your objectives, combining the right technologies for the hazard.