Local Intrinsic Dimensionality of Ground Motion Data for Early Detection of Catastrophic Slope Failure

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Authors: Yuansan Liu, James Bailey, Antoinette Tordesillas
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Local Intrinsic Dimensionality (LID) has shown strong potential for anomaly detection in high-dimensional data, including landslide failure detection in granular media, where early and accurate identification of failure zones is crucial for effective geohazard mitigation. However, this task is still challenging due to the spatial correlations and temporal dynamics that are inherently present in surface displacement data. To address this gap, we propose a novel unsupervised framework called spatiotemporal LID (st-LID) that generalizes the LID for robust failure detection in landslide monitoring networks. Our approach introduces three key innovations: (1) Kinematic enhancement, incorporating velocity into the LID computation to capture instantaneous deformation rates and short-term temporal dynamics; (2) Bayesian spatial fusion, which aggregates LID values across spatial neighborhoods via Bayesian estimation, to embed spatial correlations and account for localized noise; and (3) Temporal modeling (t-LID), a new variant that characterizes long-term dynamics of displacement data, providing a robust temporal representation of displacement behavior. By unifying these components, st-LID identifies complex, multi-stage failure zones often overlooked by existing methods. Extensive experiments show that st-LID consistently outperforms state-of-the-art unsupervised baselines in detection precision and lead-time, providing a robust foundation for landslide early warning systems and targeted risk intervention to enhance community resilience and preparedness strategies.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Landslides and related hazards Seismology and Earthquake Studies earthquake and tectonic studies

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
7 January 2026
Document type
Preprint