IPCC Expert Meeting on Geoengineering

Annex 4: Poster Abstracts
Climate change adaptation through the development of a sensor-based early
warning system for landslides
Sandra Catane 1 *, Mark Albert Zarco 2 , Joel Joseph Marciano 3 , Jr., Marc Caesar Talampas 3
1
National Institute of Geological Science, University of the Philippines Diliman
2
Institute of Civil Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman
3
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman
Many poor communities in the Philippines are threatened by landslides mainly due to extreme rainfall. The frequency and
scale of landslides have increased during the last decades. Given the high economic cost of relocation of communities and
the use of conventional engineering mitigation methods, a low cost, sensor-based early warning system for landslides is
being developed in the Philippines in order to warn communities of impending landslides. The system is composed of a
sensor column array consisting of a triaxial accelerometers and soil moisture that is buried vertically underground. A
modified version of the Casagrande type piezometer is also integrated into the sensor column to measure excess pore
pressure. Measurements taken in each segment are accessed via the Controller Area Network (CAN) communications
protocol. The sensor columns are capable of transmitting data via Short Message Service (SMS) and sending it to a base
station. The sensors were initially tested on a small-scale slope model in which failure was induced through water seepage.
Changes in the tilt and saturation measured by the sensors are consistent with visual observations. On November 2010, the
system is being tested and was deployed in an active landslide area in Brgy. Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet, Northern
Philippines. If the prototype system is found accurate and effective, it will be deployed in other landslide-prone areas in the
Philippines.
<strong>IPCC</strong> <strong>Expert</strong> <strong>Meeting</strong> on Geoengineering - 47