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GEOL354-12S2 (C) Semester Two 2012
Geodynamics and Geohazards

15 points, 0.1250 EFTS
09 Jul 2012 - 11 Nov 2012 		↓Other occurrences

Description

This inter-disciplinary course focuses on the dynamics of potentially hazardous geological events and the connections between geodynamics and societal risk.

Lectures on the dynamics of geological hazards, including earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, debris flows, floods and volcanic eruptions will be followed by lectures and case studies revealing how natural and human environments were impacted by these hazards, and how these hazards were successfully (or unsuccessfully) mitigated. Students taking this course will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of geological processes and impacts that will greatly benefit those wishing to do further geodynamics and/or geohazards research.

Learning Outcomes

Students successfully completing this course will:
• Understand the fundamentals that govern geohazard behaviour in both time and space
• Understand the links between hazards (e.g., seismically-triggered landslides, volcanically-triggered debris flows)
• Know how to develop risk assessments from hazard behaviour
• Understand the links between hazard behaviour and societal risk
• Be able to develop rational hazard mitigation strategies

Pre-requisites

45 points from GEOL240-245

Timetable

Lectures
Streams Day Time Where Notes
Stream 01 Tuesday 8:00am-9:00am A5 Lecture Theatre 6 Aug - 19 Aug
Tuesday 8:00am-9:00am E11 Lecture Theatre 9 Jul - 22 Jul,
17 Sep - 23 Sep,
8 Oct - 14 Oct
Wednesday 3:00pm-4:00pm A4 Lecture Theatre 9 Jul - 22 Jul,
17 Sep - 23 Sep,
8 Oct - 14 Oct

Labs
Streams Day Time Where Notes
Stream 01 Sunday 9:00am-5:00pm E16 Lecture Theatre (Field Trip) 10 Sep - 16 Sep
Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm E16 Lecture Theatre (Field Trip) 10 Sep - 16 Sep

There are no laboratory classes for this course.
There will be a one-day weekend field trip tentatively on Saturday 4 August. (TBA)

Course Coordinator

Mark Quigley

Lecturers

Tim Davies , Tom Wilson and Stefan Winkler

Guest Lecturer

Tim Stahl (Geological Sciences)

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Hazards field trip report 25% 1-day seismic and co-seismic hazards field trip (Greendale Fault) report
Hazard map assignment 04 Sep 2012 25% Hazard map assignment (handed out Thursday 16 August and due Tuesday 4 September, 4 pm)
Final examination 50% Final examination

Examination and Formal Tests

Exam Tuesday 06 Nov 2012 9:30am-11:30am  

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks for this course; students will be directed to specific journal articles or books as necessary.

Course links

Library portal

Show Additional Outline Information...

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

Goal of the Course
Students will understand how geological hazards operate at the process level, and how geohazard behaviour over spatial and temporal time-scales influences how hazards are assessed and mitigated.

Summary of the Course Content
The topics coved by this course are:
• Origins of interplate and intraplate stress fields
• How faults make earthquakes
• How rocks fragment and erode
• How rivers incise, transport sediment, and flood
• How landslides and other mass wasting processes are initiated and behave
• Hazards of volcanic eruptions: lava flows, pyroclastic density currents, lahars, ash fall and volcanic gas
• Feedbacks amongst geological hazards
• Risk assessment and mitigation of geological hazards.

Fees

Domestic fee $718.00
International fee $3,350.00


For further information see Geological Sciences.

All GEOL354 Occurrences

  • GEOL354-12S2 (C) Semester Two 2012
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