New monitors will help detect landslides in Sitka

New technology distributed around Sitka is expected to help detect and study conditions that lead to landslides.

The Sitka Sentinel reported Thursday that the new landslide detection system in Sitka will monitor soil moisture levels and help residents and scientists understand landslide patterns.

University of Oregon postdoctoral researcher Annette Patton introduced the system at a Sitka Chamber of Commerce event Wednesday.

Patton says she helped install the system funded through a $2.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

She says the project was initiated after heavy rainfall in 2015 triggered a landslide that struck a Sitka subdivision and killed three men.

Patton says the monitoring stations at three locations will transmit data every five minutes and over time will help explain activity produced by different storm types.

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Information from: Daily Sitka (Alaska) Sentinel, http://www.sitkasentinel.com/

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