Field Of Natural Hazards Research Articles

Research in the Field of Natural Hazards Based on Bibliometric Analysis

Research in the Field of Natural Hazards Based on Bibliometric Analysis

National and regional-scale landslide indicators and indexes: Applications in Italy

Abstract Indicators and indexes are quantifiable parameters used in scientific disciplines to summarize and communicate complex data in a simple and explanatory manner. In the field of natural hazards, indicators and indexes have been used to characterize natural processes, and the associated risk conditions in terms of impact, vulnerability, exposure, and resilience. In this paper, we formalize indicators at the municipal level to differentiate the Italian territory based on the spatial distribution of landslides. The indicators were combined with other information to define indexes able to better characterize the stability conditions of the municipalities and quantify the possible impact of slope movements on the road network. Indexes were defined only for the Umbria Region (Central Italy), which was chosen as an example. The proposed indicators and indexes show, in a simple way, the severity of the instability on the territory and can be used to support decision-makers to assess, evaluate, and manage landslide mitigation activities and civil protection actions.

Future research and innovation priorities in the field of natural hazards, disaster risk reduction, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation: a shared vision from the ESPREssO project

The H2020 ESPREssO project (Enhancing Synergies for Disaster Prevention in the European Union), aimed at identifying the existing gaps and key priorities for Research and Innovation (R&I) in the domains of Natural Hazards (NH), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). Key research priorities have been framed within the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR) and the related EU Action Plan, exploring the opportunities emerging from the linkages with the Sendai priorities and the key overarching issues from the literature review and networking activities carried out by ESPREssO project. The many ongoing initiatives at European and Global levels on NH, DRR, DRM and CCA and have been taken into account, with the aim of providing a harmonised framework able to capture the complexity of these fields, in terms of research and innovation and deliver a synthesized view of the emerging priorities.The paper identifies five broad areas of R&I in the field of DRR and CCA where EU investment is needed, highlighting for each of them relevant key topics of investigation. These areas (Improved Risk and Impact Assessment; Better Data for Resilient Future; Risk Governance and Partnership; Overcoming the Implementation Gap in DRR and CCA; Human Behaviour and Disaster Risk) have been suggested by the ESPREssO “Vision Paper” [1] as an answer to the relevant gaps and needs as expressed by the network of stakeholders and international experts engaged during the project. The Vision Paper is available at http://www.espressoproject.eu/images/deliverables/ESPREssO_D5.5.pdf.

Scientific and technological power and international cooperation in the field of natural hazards: a bibliometric analysis

Research on natural hazards has become a focus due to the serious threat to human life and property. Based on the Science Citation Index Expanded and the Social Sciences Citation Index in the Web of Science spanning 2000–2017, we analyze the characteristics, cooperating countries and research trends of existing articles in the field of natural hazards using a bibliometric method. And the findings provide meaningful data and references for the allocation of science and technology inputs in the fields of natural hazards research. The results show the following: The USA has made the largest contribution to the natural hazards literature and has been in the leading position during the period of research; three of the ten most influential institutions are American institutions, and six out of ten of the most-cited articles are American articles; furthermore, the USA is the country that has the highest degree of cooperation with other countries; Chinese publications rank in second place, and China is the country with the highest average annual growth rate (22.63%), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is one of the most productive research institutions (2098) but with a low international influence. We also analyze the changes in the research on natural hazards in two time periods as well as the similarities and differences between disaster occurrences and research hotspots. We found that “earthquakes,” “landslides,” and “climate change” are frequently used keywords in natural disaster science. The frequency of the keywords “climate change,” “vulnerability,” and “adaptability” has significantly increased. In addition, the frequency of the keywords used in various countries is significantly affected by the geographical location and there is a discrepancy between the research hotspots and the actual disaster occurrences. It is recommended that countries need to adjust their research directions in natural hazards research, strengthen international cooperation and exchange, and promote the establishment and improvement of a global disaster prevention and reduction system.

SPH Modeling of Water-Related Natural Hazards

This paper collects some recent smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) applications in the field of natural hazards connected to rapidly varied flows of both water and dense granular mixtures including sediment erosion and bed load transport. The paper gathers together and outlines the basic aspects of some relevant works dealing with flooding on complex topography, sediment scouring, fast landslide dynamics, and induced surge wave. Additionally, the preliminary results of a new study regarding the post-failure dynamics of rainfall-induced shallow landslide are presented. The paper also shows the latest advances in the use of high performance computing (HPC) techniques to accelerate computational fluid dynamic (CFD) codes through the efficient use of current computational resources. This aspect is extremely important when simulating complex three-dimensional problems that require a high computational cost and are generally involved in the modeling of water-related natural hazards of practical interest. The paper provides an overview of some widespread SPH free open source software (FOSS) codes applied to multiphase problems of theoretical and practical interest in the field of hydraulic engineering. The paper aims to provide insight into the SPH modeling of some relevant physical aspects involved in water-related natural hazards (e.g., sediment erosion and non-Newtonian rheology). The future perspectives of SPH in this application field are finally pointed out.

Robert W. Kates (1929–2018): Grappled with problems of the human environment

Robert W. Kates died April 21, 2018, at age 89, a geographer who studied the relationship between society and environment and whose commitment to collaborative science kept his colleagues busy with big questions, big projects, and the challenge of fixing problems imbricated in the human use and transformation of the Earth. Robert W. Kates, independent scholar, at his home in Maine. Image courtesy of Dennis Chinoy (photographer). Schooled in Brooklyn, but doubting an academic life, Bob eschewed college and moved with wife Eleanor (Hackman) Kates in 1949 to Gary, Indiana, where he worked in the steel mills for over a decade and where Bob and Eleanor started a family. Thinking of becoming a teacher, Bob took time out from union organizing to take night classes at the Gary Campus of the University of Indiana in 1958. Martha Church, a doctorate student in geography at the University of Chicago—later to become president of Hood College—taught one of those classes, recognized Bob’s scientific talents, and introduced him to Gilbert White, chair of the University of Chicago’s Department of Geography. This encounter started a lifelong collaboration and friendship, and the longest-running of Bob’s life’s many projects: to understand the human response to natural extremes. As with other big questions, Bob pursued this as a group endeavor, with Gilbert, fellow doctorate student Ian Burton, and a host of others still occupied in the effort today. The challenge for the field of natural hazards, codified in their 1978 book The Environment … [↵][1]1Email: william.travis{at}colorado.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

The French experience of environmental data sharing

The context of the late 1990s When I arrived at the Ministry for the Environment in late 1998, my mission was to disseminate information and maps on natural and technological hazards on the web. The legal framework was designed by a 1989 law that gave every French citizen the right to be informed about the risks that concern himself. Nearly ten years later, its implementation was still barely begun. In the field of natural hazards, but also in others, some politicians were convinced of the im...

Organizing social resilience in the context of natural hazards: a research note

Organizational scholars increasingly use the term “resilience” to analyze options of dealing with uncertain context conditions. What do these scholars have to offer to researchers in the field of natural hazards? This research note makes three suggestions. First, the research note frames social resilience—in contrast to a rigid response to radical change—as a process of broadening information-based activities, loosening formal controls, and using slack resources of organizational members. Second, the research note argues to leave the meaning of social resilience undefined at the outset of a research project with the aim of building theory about resilience. It is expected that a useful definition emerges in empirical research. Third, organizational studies highlight specific social structures and processes of social resilience, for instance, small groups of individuals in organizational and interorganizational contexts. Organizing becomes a crucial factor for dealing with natural hazards.

Possibilities and Limitations of Interdisciplinary, User-oriented Research: Experiences from the German Research Network Natural Disasters

The German Research Network for Natural Disasters (DFNK) linked 15 partners with scientific expertise in the field of natural hazards. Main objectives were the development and provision of the scientific fundamentals for an advanced risk management of important natural disasters in Germany, i.e., floods, earthquakes, storms and wildland fires. This included risk analyses, the development of information systems for supporting disaster management, and recommendations for risk reduction measures. This paper gives an overview of DFNK and summarises its experiences concerning multidisciplinarity and user-orientation. It illustrates the concept of risk chains, causally linking the different processes from hazard to risk. The step from hazard to risk requires interdisciplinary research teams. The experiences show that integrative concepts allow results not achievable with mono-disciplinary approaches. Integrative approaches pave the way to harmonised safety considerations taking into account the different hazards in a region within a common framework. User-orientation, policy advice and development of operational tools are key issues of disaster research. The experiences of DFNK illustrate the limitations of a research network in bridging the gap between research and application within rather short-term projects. Successful cooperation with users could be established by those activities where, at the beginning of the project, a user was identified who had a strong interest in solving an urgent problem.

Damage Potential and Losses Resulting from Snow Avalanches in Settlements of the Canton of Grisons, Switzerland

In the field of natural hazards, risk is usually expressed as a function of probability of occurrence and damage potential. A key factor in the development of avalanche risk is a change in damage potential. In this paper, the development of damage potential and losses is analysed for settlements in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland for the period between 1950 and 2000. The spatial development patterns of the residential population and the insured value of buildings on a municipal level are described. These patterns are overlain by an accentuated occurrence of avalanches that caused damage to buildings. Extensive results from areas threatened by avalanches in the municipality of Davos are presented. Although the natural avalanche activity remained constant during the last decades, the total amount of damage decreased due to mitigation measures. The example of the municipality of Davos shows that mitigation measures are able to compensate an increase of tangible assets which leads to a reduced avalanche risk compared to earlier decades.

Role of the Natural Hazards and Disaster Field in the Aftermath of September 11

On September 11, 2001, four passenger airplanes were hijacked from three airports on the east coast. Two of these planes collided into the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center ~WTC! in New York City, ultimately causing the collapse of both towers and several surrounding buildings. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon office building outside Washington, D.C. A fourth plane, whose intended mission is unknown, crashed in a rural area of Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives were lost in these various incidents, including passengers, building occupants, and emergency response personnel. This is a disaster unlike any other in U.S. history, and the intended and unintended consequences of this catastrophic event are only beginning to be understood. In the aftermath of the event, many turned to experts in the natural hazards and disaster field for answers. We contend that there is much to be learned from the existing body of natural hazards and disaster research, and given the unique nature of this event, many new questions to be explored. First, we discuss knowledge that can be applied from the field of natural hazards, and then we examine avenues for new exploration, both from a social science and an engineering perspective. For over 50 years, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have worked to better understand the causes and consequences of natural and technological risks. While there has been less work in the field related to terrorist disasters, primarily due to our lack of experience with such events, much of the knowledge gained from a half century of disaster research is relevant in studying the events of September 11. In the social and behavioral sciences, we have learned to observe and document individual and group preparation for and response to ‘‘environmental jolts.’’ This documentation has led to a greater understanding of preand postdisaster risk and vulnerability, as well as human and organizational response. For example, we know that following a disaster, people tend to set aside individual identities and focus on the impacted community. The collective priority takes precedence over individual goals. Social and behavioral scientists possess the methodological know-how and have the research experience to enter the field and document human behavior following disastrous events. The events of September 11 provided a similar opportunity. In fact, the National Science Foundation and the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado sent over 20 social and behavioral scientists into the field to gather perishable data in the days and weeks following the attacks. Moreover, social and behavioral sci-

The use of Global Positioning System techniques for the continuous monitoring of landslides: application to the Super-Sauze earthflow (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France)

Recent researches have demonstrated the applicability of using Global Positioning System (GPS) techniques to precisely determine the 3-D coordinates of moving points in the field of natural hazards. Indeed, the detailed analysis of the motion of a landslide, in particular for a near real-time warning system, requires the combination of accurate positioning in three dimensions (infracentimetric) and fine temporal resolution (hourly or less). The monitoring of landslides with the GPS is usually performed using repeated campaigns, as a complement to conventional geodetic methods. Continuous monitoring of landslides with GPS is usually not performed operationally, mostly because of the cost of such a system compared to conventional deformation monitoring techniques. In addition, if GPS measurements can reach a millimetre-level accuracy for long observation sessions (typically 24 h), their accuracy decreases with the duration of the observation sessions, because of errors introduced by variations of the satellite constellation and multipath effects at the sites. This study aims at determining the experimental accuracy of GPS measurements for the continuous monitoring of landslides with GPS. In particular, we want to calibrate the variation of the measurement accuracy as a function of the duration of the observation sessions. The study was carried out on the Super-Sauze earthflow (Southern Alps, France) which evolves in a channelized flow with surface displacements reaching a few tens of centimetres to a few metres per year. The GPS data were acquired during two campaigns in May and October 1999 (two reference stations were installed outside the flow and four “moving” stations distributed on the flow). The maximal 3-D cumulative displacement reaches 2.1 m during 3 weeks in May 1999. The accuracy for a 1-h session reaches 2.7, 2.2 and 5.0 mm for the north–south, east–west and vertical components, respectively. The detectability threshold for a significant motion and a given temporal resolution stands between 3.5 mm/24 h and 8.5 mm/h in planimetry, between 6 mm/24 h and 19.5 mm/h in altimetry. Thus, the motion of the flow is clearly detected by the GPS measurements and the results have been compared with those obtained with conventional geodetic methods (theodolite and electronic distance-meters) or with a wire extensometer device. In addition, combination of periodical topometric measurements, continuous extensometric and GPS measurements allows us to identify seasonal and episodic transient variations in the surficial velocity of the flow. The analysis of the relationships between rainfall (and snowfall), groundwater level, and displacements permits us to understand the behaviour of the flow and to determine pore water pressures (PWP) thresholds initiating an acceleration of the movement. GPS therefore appears applicable to the continuous monitoring of geophysical objects or of man-made structures with small and slow displacements (∼5 mm/day). This technique does not require direct line of sight between the “moving” sites and the reference stations. Measurements can be carried out in all weather and at night. GPS processing can be performed in near real time without loss of accuracy. The use of GPS is, however, limited by the environmental characteristics of the geophysical object (mountains, vegetation), which can constitute masks limiting the visibility of the sky and create multipaths effects.

Natural Hazards Monitoring:Forest Fires, Droughts And Floods - The Example Of European Pilot Projects

This paper reviews the subject of naturalhazards and the use of existing remote sensing systemsin the different phases of disaster management forsome specific natural hazards: forest fires, droughtsand floods. It centers on the applicability of remotesensing for increasing preparedness, providing earlywarnings, monitoring the hazards in real time, andassessing the damage so that relief can be provided. Comparison of the information provided by existingsystems and that needed for operational use of remotesensing in disaster management is also addressed. Thecapability of some of the future sensors to complywith the needs in the field of natural hazards isdiscussed. In this context current pilot projectscarried on at the European Commission Joint ResearchCentre are presented.

Understanding Public Response to Increased Risk from Natural Hazards: Application of the Hazards Risk Communication Framework

For the past four, decades researchers in the field of natural hazards have studied extensively how people “hear” warning messages of potential natural disasters and then, eventually, how they “respond” by way of adopting preparation and mitigation measures. Until the 1980s, a single framework did not exist for understanding risk communication as an integrated process. Much of the early research on risk communication was piecemeal and descriptive, and consisted of exploring the details of communicating risk within the events of a particular disaster. The proliferation of research on risk communication over several decades, though, has resulted in the evolution of a general model of hazards risk commnication. This model presupposes that the process of risk communication is one whereby individuals: (1) hear a warning message; (2) understand its content; (3) internalize or believe the salience of its message; (4) confirm one's interpretation with others; and (5) act or respond to its message. to save one's life and property. This paper applies the risk communication framework and its principles to a case study where probabilities were increased in 1990 of future earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area. Following the scientific community's announcement, a low-key warning was issued to approximately two million residents through a large-scale information campaign. This study demonstrates that the risk communication model is an invaluable fool for helping us to understand the behavior of individuals who must learn of and act upon warning information that could save their lives and property. Further, researchers are urged to find ways to adapt this risk communication model to other types of natural and human-made hazards.

Environmental geology: A hazard in its own right?

Environmental geology and its more restricted counterpart, urban geology, are defined. Their development since the early 1970s is assessed with respect to needed research in the fields of natural hazards and disasters. Some pitfalls of the environmental geology approach to hazards are pointed out, and it is suggested that the subject would benefit from certain alterations in its aims and scope: principally towards a closer identification with the similar field of natural hazards.