Articles | Volume 13, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1133-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1133-2025
Research article
 | 
05 Nov 2025
Research article |  | 05 Nov 2025

Soil slope monitoring with Distributed Acoustic Sensing under wetting and drying cycles

Jiahui Kang, Fabian Walter, Tobias Halter, Patrick Paitz, and Andreas Fichtner

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Cited articles

Ajo-Franklin, J. B., Dou, S., Lindsey, N. J., Monga, I., Tracy, C., Robertson, M., Rodriguez Tribaldos, V., Ulrich, C., Freifeld, B., Daley, T., and Li, X.: Distributed Acoustic Sensing Using Dark Fiber for Near-Surface Characterization and Broadband Seismic Event Detection, Scientific Reports, 9, 1328, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36675-8, 2019. a, b
Anbazhagan, P. and Sitharam, T. G.: Spatial Variability of the Depth of Weathered and Engineering Bedrock using Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave Method, Pure and Applied Geophysics, 166, 409–428, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-009-0450-0, 2009. a
Bakku, S. K.: Fracture characterization from seismic measurements in a borehole, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:130579345 (last access: 28 October 2025), 2015. a
Biot, M. A.: General Theory of Three‐Dimensional Consolidation, Journal of Applied Physics, 12, 155–164, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1712886, 1941. a
Bisanti, B., Molnar, P., and Burlando, P.: Predicting rainfall triggered soil slips: a case study in the Emmental Region (Switzerland), Water Resour. Res, 36, 1897–1910, 2005. a
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Short summary
Soil strength is influenced by wetness conditions, affecting slope stability, agricultural productivity, etc. Monitoring soil moisture is essential for risk management. We used Distributed Acoustic Sensing to monitor the deformation of a grass-covered slope over two summer months. We observed both long-term drying and daily "breathing" cycles: nighttime swelling and daytime shrinkage. By integrating strain and soil moisture data, we provide new field-scale insights into soil strength evolution.
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