Undergraduate Course: Natural Hazards and Risk (EASC10117)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | A comprehensive introduction to Natural Hazards and Risk at Honours level. The first part of the course is concerned with fundamentals of measurement and observation, the relevant principles of probability and statistics, the quantification of uncertainty and handling of extreme events. The second part concentrates on applications in forecasting hazards, using earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, climate, extreme weather and flooding as exemplars. The final part includes assessment of vulnerability and risk, and societal issues such as planning, resilience-building, and mitigation in a social context. |
| Course description |
This is a quantitative 'applications' course- building on the generic skills planned to be taught in the new Junior Honours programmes. The students will be introduced to a range of natural hazards and risks, including the underpinning science, the necessary statistical analysis, and issues of forecasting and decision-making under uncertainty in a societal context. The course is fundamentally multi-disciplinary, and will be taught by staff with strong research interests in these topics. It will open up significant new opportunities for our graduates in Environmental Risk Assessment, Management and Mitigation.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students with an equivalent level of Mathematics |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the science and statistics underpinning natural hazard estimation.
- Estimate hazard and risk quantitatively, including all sources of uncertainty.
- Demonstrate practical skills in data analysis, integration and interpretation in hazard and risk applications.
- Understand societal issues affecting vulnerability, risk and resilience, and disaster risk reduction.
- Build a capacity for a professional career in risk quantification and management
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Reading List
1. Bryant, EA, 1993. Natural Hazards. Cambridge
2. Keller, EA & RH Blodgett, 2006. Natural Hazards, Pearson Prentice Hall
3. Not, J., 2006. Extreme Events, Cambridge
4. Woo, G., 2011. Calculating Catastrophe |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. Thorough knowledge of relevant physics, statistics and probability for application to a variety of complex systems
2. Confidence in presenting case studies and reports to a variety of potential audiences
3. Experience in risk quantification and assessment
4. Awareness of social issues relating to a scientific field
5. Skill in delivering a critical assessment of a societally-relevant scientific problem |
| Keywords | Natural Hazards,Risks |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Ian Main
Tel: (0131 6)50 4911
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Matthew Hathaway
Tel: (0131 6)50 8510
Email: |
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