Monitoring the surface deformation of geological hazards using low-cost GNSS

A proliferation of low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers with single-centimetre precision has occurred as a critical component of autonomous vehicle development and preparedness for mass-market. Adaptation of this hardware and deployment as geodetic networks provides Geoscientists with a tool to monitor surface deformation at low-cost and with high temporal resolution in support of specific science cases. The Internet-of-Things provides cheap, low-powered micro-hardware which can be programmed to record and manage GNSS data in the field. In addition, the continual reduction in data transfer costs through GSM networks now makes it possible to remotely monitor ongoing surface deformation via an online dashboard with low-latency and at low cost. An overview of the monitoring system will be presented followed by a range of case studies, including the monitoring of coseismic and postseismic deformation in the near-field of earthquakes in Central Italy, Etna and New Zealand, with implications for the resilient design of critical infrastructure and our understanding of earthquake processes. Additional cases include live monitoring of coastal erosion on the Yorkshire Coast and the monitoring of infrastructure in subsurface cyclical gas storage scenarios. Finally future plans for technological advancement of the monitoring system and the integration with other geospatial datasets derived from other methods such as InSAR, LiDAR and UAVs will be discussed.