Mapping and Pre- and Post-Failure Analyses of the April 2019 Kantutani Landslide in La Paz, Bolivia, Using Synthetic Aperture Radar Data

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors presented SAR change detection and multi-temporal SAR interferometry (MTInSAR) methods to map a slope failure event and assess the pre- and post-failure stability. Despite this research being related to a single case study (Kantutani landslide, La Paz, Bolivia), it represents a peculiar work considering the geotechnical features of landslide under study, dataset, and methods used.

The present manuscript covers an area of interest to the journal's readership; the goals are evident, but some parts of the manuscript need minor improvement.

The introduction appears comprehensive and well organized; however, some references may be superfluous and not really focused on the subject of the manuscript. The Study area is well presented while the Materials and Methods are readable, quite clear, and "step by step" described. Results are evident and the successes/failures are well highlighted. Discussion and conclusion deal with the implications of the work based on the results and should be improved by removing the redundant and unnecessary parts and adding some further considerations, respectively. References seem to be excessive.

In order to improve the manuscript, I recommend authors answer the attached questions/comments and minor points.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript titled "Mapping, pre- and post-failure analysis of April 2019 Kantutani landslide, La Paz, Bolivia using Synthetic Aperture Radar data" by Shan et al. is within the scope of the journal.

The study under review provides an insightful application of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data in analyzing the pre- and post-failure dynamics of the April 2019 Kantutani landslide in La Paz, Bolivia, contributing valuable methodology and findings to the field of geohazard assessment in urban settings. By employing SAR change detection and multi-temporal SAR interferometry (MTInSAR), the research not only underscores the efficacy of these technologies in landslide analysis but also highlights the critical need for proactive ground stability monitoring in landslide-prone regions, particularly in developing countries undergoing rapid urbanization.

The study's outcomes underscore the significant role of SAR data, particularly in scenarios where obtaining optical images is impractical due to adverse meteorological conditions.

One of the research's notable strengths is its detailed analysis and practical application of high-resolution SAR images and MTInSAR methods. The researchers' methodology allowed for the discrimination of specific ground deformations in the study area, contributing valuable insights into the dynamics and evolution of the landslide event. The findings, particularly the identification of significant deformation prior to the landslide, emphasize the necessity of such advanced monitoring techniques in geohazard assessment and urban planning, especially for landslide-prone regions like La Paz.

However, while the content and scientific contributions of the paper are solid, the presentation is significantly hampered by numerous linguistic and grammatical errors. These mistakes not only distract from the text but also, at times, obscure the meaning and reduce the overall clarity of the arguments being made. For a paper of this caliber, where precise communication is crucial for conveying intricate data and interpretations, such a level of editorial oversight is surprising. These linguistic issues range from simple grammatical errors to more complex structural sentence errors, which could potentially lead to misinterpretations by readers or peers from the scientific community. Also Maps need to be presented in better resolution for the sake of legibility. Also the units of the scale are written a s 'Km' which is wrong as per SI rules for writing the units. Everywhere use small 'k' instead of capital letter.

The Introduction can use more recent studies (from 2022-23)  in the literature on InSAR and its application in Geohazards

You can take help of these if it suits 

Zhou, C., Cao, Y., Hu, X., Yin, K., Wang, Y., & Catani, F. (2022). Enhanced dynamic landslide hazard mapping using MT-InSAR method in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. Landslides, 19(7), 1585-1597.

Wang, W., Motagh, M., Mirzaee, S., Li, T., Zhou, C., Tang, H., & Roessner, S. (2023). The 21 July 2020 Shaziba landslide in China: Results from multi-source satellite remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment, 295, 113669.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926985122002257

Moreover, certain sections of the paper could benefit from a more detailed explanation to provide a comprehensive understanding for readers who may not be as familiar with SAR data's technical aspects. For instance, while the paper discusses the utility of X-band COSMO-SkyMed SAR data over C-band Sentinel-1 data in landslide mapping, there could be a more in-depth comparison between these data types to inform readers of their specific advantages and limitations in such applications.

There are some grammatical errors.
Have it proofread properly.

For eg:

Line 214-215 "Two X-band COSMO-SkyMed SAR images of HH polarization are collected in Stripmap HIMAGE mode with a temporal interval of 16 days." Here Change "are" to "were" to maintain consistency in tense.

Line 719-721 : "For the post-failure analysis, maximum deformation velocity of -35.54 mm/year was recorded along the slope direction, addressing that the 720 slope has not been stabilized after its failure on April 2019"

Superlative adjectives are preceded by the word 'the'.

Also 'on April 2019' does not make any sense grammatically

In many places commas are required for more clarity.

Many words needs to be hyphenated rather being used seperately

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

GENERAL COMMENTS

This paper monitored slope failure event which occurred on April, 2019 and multi-temporal SAR interferometry (MTInSAR) methods to assess the pre- and post-failure ground stability regarding to this event. This study found that the amplitude information of high-resolution SAR images and the corresponding texture information can be very useful in landslide mapping, especially in the situations where optical images are not available due to the complex meteorological conditions. The use of the MTInSAR was useful in back-analyzing the occurred phenomena and it could be a good method to monitor the ground stability. However, the innovation of this manuscript needs to be strengthened. Comments on results in some sections could be enriched. The reviewer recommends a minor revision before it is considered for possible publication. The detailed comments are addressed as follows:

1. The background research should be strengthened, and recent references of the application of SAR remote sensing in ground stability monitoring have not been presented. There are several latest papers closely related to your current study that can very well analyze for consideration.

2. The English need to be significantly improved and the manuscript needs to be carefully checked. There are some syntax errors and editing errors.

3. I recommend the authors rewrite the abstract as follows: 1) The gap or the problem in the present state, 2) the methodology used to solve the problem, and 3) the key points and results of the present research.

4. The figures in this manuscript are too crude to meet the requirements of this international journal. The authors are required to refine these figures, such as Figure 3, Figure 4.

5. I suggest to improve the quality of Figure 5 and Figure 6.

6. Is there any comparable data field observation?

7. It is difficult to identify the data in Figure 8, therefore, I recommend redrawing the diagram of curves.

8. There are many too-long sentences in that the manuscript is confused. The authors are asked to shorten the too-long sentence to make them more concise. Such as Page 1, lines 92 to 95.

9. What do the author mean the “P-SBAS” in the Keywords? Do you mean integrating PSI and SBAS processing to perform the ground deformation analysis?

10. Acronyms (e.g. P-SBAS) are used but not defined.

11. Section 5: the conclusions are not effective and need to rewrite again with more effective information.

12. Please unify the size and format of the font in all the figures.

13. The reference format should be arranged according to the unified required format.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

The authors are encouraged to shorten the long sentences for clarity and improve the English grammar to make the manuscript clear.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

I am satisfied with the changes made by the authors.