A Borehole–Geophysical Data Fusion Method for Stratigraphic Modeling and Its Applications to Landslide Stability: A Case Study

Accurate characterization of subsurface stratigraphy is essential for reliable landslide stability assessment. However, stratigraphic models constructed solely from sparse borehole data are often constrained by incomplete spatial coverage and substantial interpretive uncertainty. To address this issue, this study developed an integrated probabilistic stratigraphic modeling framework that combines borehole data with electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. In the proposed framework, borehole logs provide direct lithological labels and spatial prior information, while the inverted ERT resistivity profile is introduced as a continuous geophysical constraint. Specifically, logarithmic resistivity and the borehole-derived expected stratigraphic configuration were combined into a support vector machine classifier to establish a nonlinear mapping between geophysical responses and stratigraphic categories. A bootstrapping strategy was also used to quantify the stratigraphic uncertainty. The proposed method was then applied to the Panzhuangzu Landslide in Henan Province, China. Based on the probabilistic stratigraphic models, multiple plausible stratigraphic realizations were generated, and their corresponding stability responses are evaluated through numerical analysis. Monte Carlo simulations were further performed to examine how stratigraphic uncertainty propagates into landslide stability predictions. The results show that incorporating ERT data improves the geological plausibility of the inferred stratigraphy. Compared with the borehole-only case, the results obtained from the integrated framework exhibited reduced uncertainty in both the inferred stratigraphic model and the corresponding landslide stability assessment. These findings indicate that the proposed borehole–geophysical data fusion method can provide a more reliable geological basis for landslide stability analysis.

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Publication Details

Journal
GeoHazards
Published
2026-07-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/geohazards7030079
Primary Topic
Landslides and related hazards
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

A Borehole–Geophysical Data Fusion Method for Stratigraphic Modeling and Its Applications to Landslide Stability: A Case Study

H L Liu, Tianzheng Li, Cheng Yang, Jing Zhang et al.
GeoHazards
Landslides and related hazards
article

A Borehole–Geophysical Data Fusion Method for Stratigraphic Modeling and Its Applications to Landslide Stability: A Case Study

H L Liu, Tianzheng Li, Cheng Yang, Jing Zhang, Liang Wang, Zhengwei Li, Jiajia Zhu
article en

Abstract

Accurate characterization of subsurface stratigraphy is essential for reliable landslide stability assessment. However, stratigraphic models constructed solely from sparse borehole data are often constrained by incomplete spatial coverage and substantial interpretive uncertainty. To address this issue, this study developed an integrated probabilistic stratigraphic modeling framework that combines borehole data with electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. In the proposed framework, borehole logs provide direct lithological labels and spatial prior information, while the inverted ERT resistivity profile is introduced as a continuous geophysical constraint. Specifically, logarithmic resistivity and the borehole-derived expected stratigraphic configuration were combined into a support vector machine classifier to establish a nonlinear mapping between geophysical responses and stratigraphic categories. A bootstrapping strategy was also used to quantify the stratigraphic uncertainty. The proposed method was then applied to the Panzhuangzu Landslide in Henan Province, China. Based on the probabilistic stratigraphic models, multiple plausible stratigraphic realizations were generated, and their corresponding stability responses are evaluated through numerical analysis. Monte Carlo simulations were further performed to examine how stratigraphic uncertainty propagates into landslide stability predictions. The results show that incorporating ERT data improves the geological plausibility of the inferred stratigraphy. Compared with the borehole-only case, the results obtained from the integrated framework exhibited reduced uncertainty in both the inferred stratigraphic model and the corresponding landslide stability assessment. These findings indicate that the proposed borehole–geophysical data fusion method can provide a more reliable geological basis for landslide stability analysis.

GeoHazardsVol. 7(3)
North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power (CN), China University of Geosciences (CN), Henan Provincial Institute of Land and Resources Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Landslides and related hazards
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