Coastal communities worldwide are undergoing changes that alter their geographies, which often come at a steep cost. The Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California is one such example. Located just above the busy metropolitan city of Los Angeles, and is famous for its stunning ocean views.
Recently, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory released disturbing photos related to the area experiencing a slow-moving landslide. This is largely attributed to record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and heavy precipitation in early 2024. This rapid rate of land movement might pose a serious threat to both human life and infrastructure.
Palos Verdes Peninsula has been long known for landslide occurrences. Using radar imagery, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently unveiled a slow-moving landslide in the community of Los Angeles County, with an average pace of about 4 inches a week from September 18 through October 17, 2024. A landslide scientist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory named Alexander Handwerger said the landslide had grown and sped up last summer and drew attention to a historically stable region.
"This can be credited to record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and heavy precipitation in early 2024," Handwerger explained to ABC News. Interestingly, the landslide has slowed slightly since recent imagery was collected.
The landslide is particularly alarming because it impacts hundreds of existing buildings. "The speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk," Handwerger stated. The Peninsula is part of an ancient complex of landslides that have been moving for at least the past six decades.
NASA's UAVSAR airborne radar instrument acquired data in fall 2024 that revealed the motion of landslides on the Peninsula. Darker red areas in the imagery indicated faster motion. Scientists compared airborne radar images taken at four different times to measure the landslide's motion in three dimensions, giving a detailed time series of the motion.
Landslides have affected the area for so long, and scientists are now concentrating their attention on it. NASA intends to use airborne radar in the Landslide Climate Change Experiment to investigate the relationship between landslides and extreme precipitation patterns. Additionally, satellite data is being used to track the landslide's movement, and state officials are receiving assessments of the data to aid in reaction operations.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes maintains a webpage that releases monitoring data for possible activity because landslides pose such a serious concern.
In October, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services revealed a $42 million buyout program for Rancho Palos Verdes homeowners affected by the landslides.
What are the major factors for such landslides?
Several factors contribute to the shift in coastal areas, such as in the case of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Geological features have much to do since this area forms part of an old complex landslide, which inherently makes it move. Extreme weather patterns in the form of heavy rainfall can cause landslides by allowing the soils to become saturated and adding weight to unstable slopes. The record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and heavy precipitation in early 2024 are examples.
Human activities such as construction and development can weaken slopes even further, though little infrastructure was built on the historically moving parts of the peninsula. Rising sea levels due to climate change contribute to coastal erosion, which increases the risk of landslides. It is important to understand these factors to prepare and protect communities in moving coastal areas so that they can better predict and respond to the threats these natural phenomena pose.
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