Remote Sensing for Sustainability and Durability of Transportation Infrastructures (Second Edition)
A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Engineering Remote Sensing".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 March 2026 | Viewed by 76
Special Issue Editors
Interests: remote sensing and GIS applications in geohazard assessment and environmental impact study; SAR and PSInSAR applications in monitoring ground subsidence and landslide deformation rate; underground transportation geotechnics; rock mass characterization; numerical modeling, such as finite element and finite difference methods for ground thermal regimes; stress–strain distribution in the rock or soil mass
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: liquefaction susceptibility evaluation at local and regional scales using in situ measurements and remote sensing observations; estimating liquefaction-induced damage such as lateral spread displacement; active learning to identify data gaps in empirical models; documenting earthquake-induced damages, especially liquefaction, using aerial/satellite images that are sensitive to surficial moisture; transportation geotechnics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: SAR and PSInSAR applications in ground movement monitoring; machine learning applications in civil engineering studies; GIS applications in geohazard mitigation; 3D modeling
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are launching the second edition of this Special Issue in Remote Sensing, entitled “Remote Sensing for Sustainability and Durability of Transportation Infrastructures”.
Transport infrastructures are increasingly susceptible to deterioration due to aging and climate-related hazards. In addition, the increased urbanization, population density, and traffic congestion in urban metropolitan areas worldwide lead to greater demand for sustainable transportation corridors on both the surface and underground. Improving sustainability and durability is more important than ever for tunnels, bridges, highways, roads, railways, airfields, and transit. Geohazards (e.g., landslides, debris flows, and rockfalls) relating to surface transportation infrastructure are significant concerns in mountainous terrains. With climate change, geohazard assessments along transportation corridors are more concerning than ever. On the other hand, underground transportation systems offer many positive aspects, such as reducing traffic congestion and travel times, reducing urban sprawl and traffic noise, preserving the landscape and biodiversity, and increasing the resilience of communities from geohazards. However, tunneling-induced ground subsidence is a crucial concern for designing and constructing underground transportation systems.
Many researchers have utilized remote sensing techniques, including optical, microwave, and LiDAR methods, for geohazard assessments and tunneling-induced ground deformation monitoring over the decades. The retrospective nature of satellite-based remote sensing can provide a time series of ground deformation due to either geohazards or underground excavations. In recent years, intensive research activities include using remote sensing and other techniques, e.g., 3D geological modeling, GIS, and machine learning, which offer a synoptic view and acquire information at different perspectives and time intervals. Assessing geohazards and mapping ground deformations using remote sensing provides a better understanding of the mechanisms of these events.
This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality articles on all aspects of remote sensing applications in relation to improving the sustainability and durability of both surface and underground transportation infrastructures, such as tunnels, bridges, highways, roads, railways, airfields, and transit. RS techniques include, but are not limited to, SAR, InSAR, LiDAR, photogrammetry, and SfM. Sensor platforms include, but are not limited, to satellite-based, airborne, UAV, and terrestrial-based platforms.
Among the range of possible topics for this Special issue, here are a few examples:
- Characterization of tunneling-induced ground displacements using remote sensing techniques;
- Ground displacement pattern recognition though combining remote sensing and machine learning;
- Landslide assessments along transportation corridors;
- Rockfall assessments along roadcuts using LiDAR or photogrammetry;
- Measurement of ground displacement from optical satellite images, i.e., pixel-tracking or differential DEMs from stereo optical images;
- Bridge monitoring using remote sensing techniques;
- InSAR for airfield ground subsidence monitoring;
- Integration of remote sensing and geodetic measurements;
- Time series ground displacement monitoring, i.e., pre, during, and after events;
- Rock mass and fault zone characterization from photogrammetry or point clouds for transportation alignment selection;
- Transportation infrastructure monitoring by integrating InSAR and GPR.
Dr. Wendy Zhou
Prof. Dr. Thomas Oommen
Dr. Linan Liu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- tunneling-induced ground subsidence
- landslide monitoring along transportation corridors
- rockfalls along roadcuts
- rock mass and fault zone characterization for transportation alignment selection
- airfield ground subsidence
- bridge monitoring
- ground deformation time series
- parametric analysis of ground subsidence or deformation
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