Impact of data structure types and spatial resolution on landslide volumetric change measurements

Terrain is a dynamic component of the landscape, subject to rapid changes, particularly in scenarios such as landslides. This study investigates how the spatial resolution and data structure of digital terrain models (DTMs) influence the estimation of landslide volume changes. We selected a landslide formed by the undercutting action of the Belá River in Slovakia as our research site. Our findings indicate that raster data structures, across various spatial resolutions, generally yield more consistent volume estimates compared to 3D mesh data structures. Nonetheless, at higher spatial resolutions (0.1 m and 0.25 m), the 3D mesh data structure demonstrates superior capability in capturing detailed terrain features, resulting in more precise volume estimations of the landslide.