Fiber optic nerve sensing system for landslide monitoring: Technology and application

Significance Landslide disasters are widely distributed in China. Effective monitoring, early warning, and risk management measures are key to disaster prevention and mitigation. Progress Compared with conventional techniques, distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) technology has made significant progress in landslide monitoring in recent decades, owing to its strengths in distributed, long-distance, large-range, and multiparameter monitoring. This paper first introduces several representative fiber optic sensing technologies, then proposes the concept of a fiber optic neural sensing system for landslides, and last elaborates the working principles of various fiber optic sensors and their deployment methods. Two typical landslide monitoring cases using ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating (UWFBG) monitoring technology are introduced, and the current technical bottlenecks are discussed. Conclusions and Prospects The case studies show that the fiber optic neural sensing system can achieve remote, real-time, high-precision underground multiparameter data acquisition, accurately detect potential slip surfaces and other key interfaces. Additionally, multiphysical changes at these interfaces provide important data support for understanding the underground evolution of landslides, which offers new insights into landslide prediction and early warning.