GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Announcements

First lecture exam is scheduled on Feb 15th 2010.

Quiz 1, 2, Lecture Exam 1 and Exam 2 Grades

No lectures on Monday, Mar 22, Wednesday, Mar 24, 2010.

Second lecture exam is scheduled on Friday, Mar 26th 2010.

You'll need to bring a calculator that can do trigonometry for the second lecture exam.

No lectures on Wednesday (April 21).

Dear All,
We will have a lecture on Friday (April 23rd). Professor Carrick Eggleston will give us a lecture on climate changes, global warming and ozone depletion. It will be a very important lecture and about a quarter of the questions in the final exam will come from this lecture. Please don't miss this lecture on Friday April 23rd. Thank you.
Best regards,
Po

Dear All
Tentative final exam date: May 3rd 10:00-10:50am. Please let me know if you have conflicts. I'll reschedule it if necessary. Thanks.
Best,
Po

Introduction

Human, and particularly industrial, societies are increasingly susceptible to the affects of catastrophic geologic phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, etc. These events have significant impacts in terms of lives lost, homes destroyed and regional economies disrupted. Recent events clearly illustrate the profound impacts such events have on society. Because of the inter-connected nature of our modern world, these events ripple throughout a nation as well as the world.

Although not as spectacular, other geologic processes and materials have profound im-pacts on society as well. For example, expansive soils cause billions of dollars of damage in the United States each year. Asbestos (a geologic material) abatement annually costs a similar amount. An understanding of these geologic materials and processes can drastically reduce their effect on society in general and individuals in particular. This course will examine the nature of geologic hazards. In particular, we will investigate the methods used to identify potential hazards and determine their temporal and spatial scales. Surveys of historical events will demonstrate the societal affects of geologic hazards. They will also indicate ways humans can plan for such events in the future.