2024-2025 / GEOG2050-1

Natural risks

Duration

24h Th, 1d FW

Number of credits

 Master in geography, global change, research focus3 crédits 
 Master in geography : general, teaching focus3 crédits 
 Master in geography, general, professional focus in urban and regional planning3 crédits 
 Master in urban planning and territorial development, professional focus in post-industrial and rurban territories3 crédits 

Lecturer

Hans-Balder Havenith, Geoffrey Houbrechts, Aurelia Hubert

Coordinator

Aurelia Hubert

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The courses is divided in two: 

  • Part I focuses  on landslide and volcanic risk  (10h Th) with Prof. A. Hubert-Ferrari
  • Part II focuses on seismic risk  (10h Th) with Prof. A. Demoulin
Part I:
* Risk- Hazard-Vulnerability: Risk study and dangerous evnts (definition and characteristics), history of dangerous events, magnitude-frequency relation, Introduction to Risk: Elements-at-risk, Vulnerability, Hazard

Part II:

  • A few basic definitions in mechanics
  • The seismic process: stick-slip mechanism, rupture propagation, seismic cycle, strong earthquakes and aseismic fault creep as end members of a continuum
  • Measuring earthquakes: seismic waves, magnitude and macroseismic intensity, focal mechanism
  • Effects of earthquakes: on-fault, direct (including site effects), indirect (landslides, liquefaction, city burning)
  • Seismic hazard assessment: basics of paleoseismology, hazard modelling, attenuation, PGA maps
  • The seismicity of Belgium and NW Europe
Part III:

  •  Volcanic Hazard: Generality (risk/hazard, active volcano, frequency, eruption duration, size, impact, cost), basic knowledge about volcanoes and eruptions (structure, relief, why volcanics eruption occur ?, origine of volcanism, lava, magma, volatile), direct volcanic risk around active volcano, indirect volcanic risk, prediction methods and goals of the evaluation of volcanic risk and hazard
  • Landslide Hazard with in chapter 1: mouvement de masse subaérien (definition, type of mass movements, geometry, distribution, mapping, dynamics of mass movement, factors controling mass movements, monotoring), chapter 2 : Landslide hazard (impact, risk analysis components, Landslide susceptibility analysis)

Part IV:

  • Overview of different types of flooding
  • Spatial variation of extreme rainfall amounts. Intensity duration frequency curves.
  • Flash floods in Wallonia and Western Europe. Parameters favouring runoff and techniques for protection against this type of flooding. 
  • Extreme hydrological phenomena. The link with climate change and anthropic pressures. 
  • Mapping of flooded areas. 
  • Field days related to flood risk

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

- Notion on the mechanics of landslide and volcanic eruptions and knowledge use for understanting scientific publications and for a summarized oral presentation 

- Understanding of landslide and volcanic risk/hazard through courses and personal work

- Understanding hazard, risk and vulnerability through the course and the different oral presentation of the students.

- Understanding of the seismic process and its various expressions on Earth, mastering the understanding of a given earthquake through personal work

 
- Bibliographic synthesis with written and oral personal work, SIG work

- Capability for geomorphological mapping of flood zones at the local scale.

- Capacity to analyse field data and geomorphological interpretation, to write a synthesis report based on field data and to make an oral presentation of the results.

- Understanding of the mechanisms and factors that can promote and aggravate floods.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Chapters I and II: Personal work on a recent earthquake and presentations combining different publications on this earthquake, providing the class with a comprehensive view on how to approach and study earthquakes, determine the hazard, risk, damage, and interventions.

A multiple-choice quiz will also be given to assess mastery of the basic material.

 

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège


Further information:

Chapter I: podcast and PTT

Chapter II: PowerPoint files provided on MyULiège

Chapter III:

Chapter IV: PowerPoint files provided on MyULiège

Written work / report

Other : Oral presentations and QCM


Further information:

Written work / report

Other : oral presentation


Additional information:

Each professor will separately evaluate their part. An average will be calculated from the three evaluations.

Chapters I to II:

  • Multiple-choice quiz
  • Oral presentation
Chapiter III: (see M. Havennith)

Chapitre IV :

  • A written report on the topic of flood zone mapping (20%) and an oral presentation (in groups of 2-3) on a topic related to flooding in different climatic contexts (20%) 

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Part I to II: Aurélia Hubert-Ferrari; aurelia.ferrari@uliege.be

Part III: Hans-Balder Havennith; HB.Havenith@uliege.be

Part IV : Geoffrey Houbrechts - G.Houbrechts@uliege.be 

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online

Derniere Partie Risque Sismique
DernierePartieRisqueSismique

PDF Cours Introduction Concepts
PDF Cours Introduction Concepts

PDF Cours Risque sismique et vidéos
PDF Cours Risque sismique et vidéos

Cours Risques Naturels Partim 1
3 partim