Geotechnical approaches to climate-resilient flood defenses: a scoping review of design, monitoring, and risk management

Abstract

Flood defences are subject to non-stationary hydraulic loads, wet–dry cycling and extreme events, which can amplify internal erosion, deterioration and deformation in earth embankments and their foundations, and seepage. This scoping review maps geotechnical approaches that strengthen climate resilience in terms of monitoring, design evaluation, and risk-informed lifecycle management. Using a PCC-framed question and a PRISMA-ScR-guided process, studies published between 2015 and 2025 were identified in Scopus, the Web of Science Core Collection, and the ASCE Library. These were then de-duplicated, screened in duplicate, and charted using a standardised template. Eighteen applied studies spanning setback levees, canal and river embankments, dams, and revetment-protected reaches were synthesised. The evidence was found to cluster around fibre-optic and temperature sensing, satellite InSAR deformation tracking, hydro-geophysical imaging (notably time-lapse resistivity), coupled monitoring–modelling of transient seepage, UAV thermal inspection with automated detection, and stability, and fragility/reliability methods for prioritisation. The studies included in the review reported several quantitative performance signals. These included seasonal 3D effects, which biased 2D ERT interpretations by up to ~ 30% under low-water conditions versus ~ 10% under high-water conditions. In addition, deep-learning UAV thermal segmentation achieved mAP 0.977 with a recall of 0.982 and ~ 0.015 s/image inference. The review also reported InSAR-derived subsidence trends of up to ~ 8 mm/yr near a dam/levee system. The actionable use of these methods depended on artefact control, calibration, interpretability, and thresholds that connect measurements to failure mechanisms and maintenance decisions. This review proposes a thematic structure linked to mechanisms that consolidate dispersed applications and highlights priorities for multi-sensor integration, validation, and lifecycle risk analytics under evolving hazards for deployment.