A new database of landslide simulator experiments: LISA

LISA (“Landslide Investigation and Simulation Archive”) is a database containing the observations collected across over 50 downscaled physical simulations of landslides. These experiments were performed over 7 years using a landslide simulator in Politecnico di Milano. Downscaled landslide simulations offer the opportunity to study the relationships among the landslide triggering factors in controlled conditions. The experiments considered different settings in terms of slope angle, rainfall intensity and soil characteristics. Furthermore, several tools were implied to monitor the evolution of water infiltration and failure development throughout the duration of the tests, including a Time Domain Reflectometer, tensiometers, Arduino soil moisture probes and optical fibres. To ensure water balance, superficial runoff was also collected, while Electrical Resistivity Tomography was used to monitor infiltration. Superficial deformations were assessed using photogrammetric techniques with optical cameras. Triggering factors linked to climate change were also explored, such as snow melting and wildfires, in terms of slopes constituted by burnt soil. Having so much information organized in terms of a database can be relevant for many aims. By way of example, these experimental data can be used to test and validate slope stability models and to define rainfall thresholds.