Module GEOG40930: SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DIMENSIONS OF HAZARD

Department: Geography

GEOG40930: SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DIMENSIONS OF HAZARD

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• This is a science-based module aimed at students wishing to develop postgraduate level knowledge about the spatial and temporal distributions and aspects of a variety of hazards. The aim of the module is to provide students with theoretical and practical training in how to understand and quantify the spatial and temporal dimensions of hazard.

Content

• Magnitude and frequency of natural hazards
• Spatial patterns of natural hazards
• Temporal scales and sequencing of natural hazards
• Use of remote sensing and large data sets in hazard analysis
• Catastrophe modelling

Learning Outcomes

• Understanding of the relevant spatial and temporal scales over which a variety of hazards act
• Appreciation of how physical processes generate sudden-onset and slow-onset hazards
• Appreciation of how the physical processes that generate hazards define their spatial and temporal characteristics
• Appreciation of which tools are most appropriate to characterize sudden-onset and slow onset hazards
• Understanding of catatrophe models - why we need them and how they work

• Frequency-magnitude analysis of natural
• Pattern analysis
• Analysis of remotely-sensed data
• Manipulation of quantitative data
• Catastrophe modelling

• Critical evaluation of published data and interpretations
• Technical skills in the laboratory and effective use of different software packages. Depending on the specific practical content, these will include spreadsheet, GIS and statistics software.
• Development of research skills – formulating research objectives, logistical planning and measuring outcomes against these objectives

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The first part of the module is concerned with understanding the spatial and temporal dimensions of hazards and hazardous events. Lectures and practicals will be used to discuss the various factors that set the scale of hazards, including their distribution in space, their duration in terms of primary and secondary effects, the relationships between event magnitude, frequency, and location, and the importance of spatial heterogeneity and connectivity. This will be followed by an overview of effective techniques, approaches, and data sets. Throughout this first block, the emphasis will be on generic issues, challenges, and approaches to addressing research questions, rather than on the specific advantages or disadvantages of a particular method or data set. This part of the module will be assessed via the practical reports (two formative, two summative).
• The second part of the module is centered around a self-guided project using one or more of the data sets and techniques discussed in part 1, supported by workshops for exchange of ideas, generic quantitative techniques, and individual assistance. Project topics will be chosen by the student and will depend on the availability of appropriate data sets. Students will give a short (c. 5 minute) presentation on their chosen project topic in the final session of term 2, as a chance for the students to provide an update on progress and to identify any questions or areas of concern. Written formative feedback on progress and suggestions for improvements will be provided after the presentation, and may be used to help prepare the final project report. Summative assessment of the project is provided via a written report.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Comments and feedback are provided on practical reports 1 and 2, and a set of practical solutions is provided to all students with generic information on each question. Practical solutions are also provided for the summative practical reports 3 and 4. Verbal and written feedback is provided on the project presentation at the end of term 2. NB: formative work is a compulsory part of this module.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University