Site suitability analysis for landslide monitoring base station using GIS-based multicriteria evaluation technique

Landslide monitoring of power transmission towers in the rural areas is a challenging process especially if the slope is at a mountainous terrain and suspected to be insecure and risky. Identification of suitable locations for the landslide monitoring base station is one of the critical issues of network planning. Site suitability analysis has become unavoidable for delineating the appropriate site for planning initiatives, especially in the undulating terrain of the hills. It is important to determine the right location and to decide the optimal network equipment for remote monitoring applications. The study illustrates the use of geographic information system (GIS) and multicriteria evaluation (MCE) technique for selection of suitable sites for landslide monitoring base stations along the transmission tower line in Cameron Highland. Four criteria have been selected for site suitability analysis of the antenna base station (BS) which is tower distance, elevation, communication service coverage and slope. The generated thematic maps of these criteria were standardized using pairwise comparison matrix known as analytical hierarchy process (AHP). A weight for each criterion was generated by comparing them with each other according to their importance. With the help of these weights and criteria, the final site suitability map was prepared.