Levee's structural failure
may occur suddenly or progressively but in any case, prior to the failure,
the initial geometric shape of the levee will be modified by producing
slumping areas at the toe of the levee or sliding areas at the top of it.
Levee degradation will modify its morphometry from the initial design
standards, producing narrower crowns and/or lower levee side slopes.
These external evidences of degradation in the levee geometry can be
used to infer the degree of integrity and stability of a levee and a
mean to assess the stability tipping points conducive to failure.
The geometry and stability of a levee is defined by profile and
cross-section surveys or break-line topography. This information has
been traditionally collected through transect-based topographic surveys
in a precise and accurate but time and cost consuming way
(Blake, 2010). Topographic surface-based data collection, such as airborne
and terrestrial laser scanners (LiDAR) provide high resolution
topography that have promoted the development of new research
approaches in hydrology and geomorphology in the last years
(French, 2003; Heritage & Hetherington, 2007; Lane & Chandler,