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Paper short abstract

Landslides are a pervasive hazard in Nepal and challenging to predict. Working with community partners, we utilise a novel acoustic emissions sensor to ‘listen’ to subsurface movement and bring these data into conversation with local observations to make sense of when and how landslides occur.

Paper long abstract

Landslides are a pervasive hazard in rural Nepal resulting in loss of life and livelihood. Viewed from both a metaphysical and a physical environmental perspective, local and Indigenous understandings of the causes and triggering mechanisms of landslide processes in the Nepal Himalaya are rich and insightful. Questions, however, remain regarding the possibility for more reliable prediction with the aim of reducing the risk of future landslides. From a scientific perspective, landslide prediction is challenging. This largely reflects a tendency to focus on surface conditions and processes, including the monitoring of rainfall and responses of the land surface such as the development of ground cracks. While an important part of the puzzle, these alone are often unreliable indicators of movement, as they overlook the stresses and strains acting underground (e.g., rock strength and water pressures) that are immensely challenging to monitor but which are important in defining where and when landslides might occur. Working with community and government partners, we utilise novel acoustic emissions (AE) sensors to ‘listen’ to subsurface movement associated with ongoing landsliding in ten locations across central Nepal. We bring the AE data into conversation with data on weather and soil moisture and, most importantly, local observations and contextually attuned understandings of processes acting above and below ground, to collaboratively make sense of how landslides occur. Through this we aim to provide more tangible, relatable indicators of movement, translating data into actionable knowledge that is locally owned and used.