Natural disasters are occasional intense events that disturb Earth's surface, but their impact can be felt long after. Hazard events such as earthquakes, volcanos, drought, and storms can trigger a catastrophic reshaping of the landscape through the erosion, transport, and deposition of different kinds of materials.
Geomorphology and Natural Hazards: Understanding Landscape Change for Disaster Mitigation is a graduate level textbook that explores the natural hazards resulting from landscape change and shows how an Earth science perspective can inform hazard mitigation and disaster impact reduction.
Volume highlights include:
Definitions of hazards, risks, and disasters Impact of different natural hazards on Earth surface processes Geomorphologic insights for hazard assessment and risk mitigation Models for predicting natural hazards How human activities have altered 'natural' hazards Complementarity of geomorphology and engineering to manage threats
Preface xi Acknowledgements xv 1 Natural Disasters and Sustainable Development in Dynamic Landscapes 1 1.1 Breaking News 1 1.2 Dealing with Future Disasters: Potentials and Problems 5 1.3 The Sustainable Society 10 1.4 Benefits from Natural Disasters 12 1.5 Summary 16 References 16 2 Defining Natural Hazards, Risks, and Disasters 19 2.1 Hazard Is Tied To Assets 19 2.1.1 Frequency and Magnitude 20 2.1.2 Hazard Cascades 24 2.2 Defining and Measuring Disaster 25 2.3 Trends in Natural Disasters 26 2.4 Hazard is Part of Risk 27 2.4.1 Vulnerability 28 2.4.2 Elements at Risk 32 2.4.3 Risk Aversion 35 2.4.4 Risk is a Multidisciplinary Expectation of Loss 36 2.5 Risk Management and the Risk Cycle 37 2.6 Uncertainties and Reality Check 39 2.7 A Future of More Extreme Events? 41 2.8 Read More About Natural Hazards and Disasters 43 References 46 3 Natural Hazards and Disasters Through the Geomorphic Lens 49 3.1 Drivers of Earth Surface Processes 50 3.1.1 Gravity, Solids, and Fluids 50 3.1.2 Motion Mainly Driven by Gravity 52 3.1.3 Motion Mainly Driven by Water 54 3.1.4 Motion Mainly Driven by Ice 56 3.1.5 Motion Driven Mainly by Air 56 3.2 Natural Hazards and Geomorphic Concepts 57 3.2.1 Landscapes are Open, Nonlinear Systems 57 3.2.2 Landscapes Adjust to Maximize Sediment Transport 59 3.2.3 Tectonically Active Landscapes Approach a Dynamic Equilibrium 62 3.2.4 Landforms Develop Toward Asymptotes 65 3.2.5 Landforms Record Recent Most Effective Events 68 3.2.6 Disturbances Travel Through Landscapes 69 3.2.7 Scaling Relationships Inform Natural Hazards 71 References 73 4 Geomorphology Informs Natural Hazard Assessment 77 4.1 Geomorphology Can Reduce Impacts from Natural Disasters 77 4.2 Aims of Applied Geomorphology 80 4.3 The Geomorphic Footprints of Natural Disasters 81 4.4 Examples of Hazard Cascades 86 4.4.1 Megathrust Earthquakes, Cascadia Subduction Zone 86 4.4.2 Postseismic River Aggradation, Southwest New Zealand 90 4.4.3 Explosive Eruptions and their Geomorphic Aftermath, Southern Volcanic Zone, Chile 93 4.4.4 Hotter Droughts Promote Less Stable Landscapes, Western United States 93 References 94 5 Tools for Predicting Natural Hazards 97 5.1 The Art of Prediction 97 5.2 Types of Models for Prediction 100 5.3 Empirical Models 102 5.3.1 Linking Landforms and Processes 102 5.3.2 Regression Models 107 5.3.3 Classification Models 109 5.4 Probabilistic Models 111 5.4.1 Probability Expresses Uncertainty 111 5.4.2 Probability Is More than Frequency 115 5.4.3 Extreme-value Statistics 119 5.4.4 Stochastic Processes 121 5.4.5 Hazard Cascades, Event Trees, and Network Models 122 5.5 Prediction and Model Selection 124 5.6 Deterministic Models 126 5.6.1 Static Stability Models 126 5.6.2 Dynamic Models 127 References 137 6 Earthquake Hazards 145 6.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Earthquakes 145 6.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Earthquakes 148 6.2.1 The Seismic Hazard Cascade 148 6.2.2 Postseismic and Interseismic Impacts 152 6.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Earthquakes 154 6.3.1 Offset Landforms 155 6.3.2 Fault Trenching 158 6.3.3 Coseismic Deposits 161 6.3.4 Buildings and Trees 166 References 167 7 Volcanic Hazards 173 7.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Volcanic Eruptions 173 7.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Volcanic Eruptions 177 7.2.1 The Volcanic Hazard Cascade 177 7.2.2 Geomorphic Impacts During Eruption 177 7.2.3 Impacts on the Atmosphere 180 7.2.4 Geomorphic Impacts Following an Eruption 181 7.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Volcanic Impacts 188 7.3.1 Effusive Eruptions 188 7.3.2 Explosive Eruptions 191 7.4 Climate-Driven Changes in Crustal Loads 195 References 197 8 Landslides and Slope Instability 203 8.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Landslides 203 8.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Landslides 210 8.2.1 Landslides in the Hazard Cascade 210 8.2.2 Landslides on Glaciers 212 8.2.3 Submarine Landslides 213 8.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Landslides 213 8.3.1 Landslide Inventories 213 8.3.2 Reconstructing Slope Failures 215 8.4 Other Forms of Slope Instability: Soil Erosion and Land Subsidence 218 8.5 Climate Change and Landslides 220 References 225 9 Tsunami Hazards 233 9.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Tsunamis 233 9.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Tsunamis 236 9.2.1 Tsunamis in the Hazard Cascade 236 9.2.2 The Role of Coastal Geomorphology 237 9.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Tsunamis 241 9.4 Future Tsunami Hazards 252 References 253 10 Storm Hazards 257 10.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Storms 257 10.1.1 Tropical Storms 257 10.1.2 Extratropical Storms 259 10.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Storms 261 10.2.1 The Coastal Storm-Hazards Cascade 261 10.2.2 The Inland Storm-Hazard Cascade 266 10.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Storms 269 10.3.1 Coastal Settings 270 10.3.2 Inland Settings 273 10.4 Naturally Oscillating Climate and Increasing Storminess 275 References 280 11 Flood Hazards 285 11.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Floods 286 11.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Floods 289 11.2.1 Floods in the Hazard Cascade 289 11.2.2 Natural Dam-break Floods 291 11.2.3 Channel Avulsion 297 11.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Floods 298 11.4 Lessons from Prehistoric Megafloods 306 11.5 Measures of Catchment Denudation 308 11.6 The Future of Flood Hazards 311 References 315 12 Drought Hazards 323 12.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Droughts 323 12.1.1 Defining Drought 324 12.1.2 Measuring Drought 325 12.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Droughts 326 12.2.1 Droughts in the Hazard Cascade 326 12.2.2 Soil Erosion, Dust Storms, and Dune Building 327 12.2.3 Surface Runoff and Rivers 332 12.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Drought Impacts 334 12.4 Towards More Megadroughts? 339 References 342 13 Wildfire Hazards 345 13.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Wildfires 345 13.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Wildfires 348 13.2.1 Wildfires in the Hazard Cascade 348 13.2.2 Direct Fire Impacts 348 13.2.3 Indirect and Postfire Impacts 350 13.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Wildfires 354 13.4 Towards More Megafires? 359 References 361 14 Snow and Ice Hazards 365 14.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Snow and Ice Hazards 365 14.2 Geomorphic Impact of Snow and Ice Hazards 367 14.2.1 Snow and Ice in the Hazard Cascade 367 14.2.2 Snow and Ice Avalanches 367 14.2.3 Jökulhlaups 374 14.2.4 Degrading Permafrost 375 14.2.5 Other Ice Hazards 379 14.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Snow and Ice Processes 380 14.4 Atmospheric Warming and Cryospheric Hazards 384 References 389 15 Sea-Level Change and Coastal Hazards 395 15.1 Frequency and Magnitude of Sea-Level Change 399 15.2 Geomorphic Impacts of Sea-Level Change 404 15.2.1 Sea Levels in the Hazard Cascade 404 15.2.2 Sedimentary Coasts 404 15.2.3 Rocky Coasts 407 15.3 Geomorphic Tools for Reconstructing Past Sea Levels 408 15.4 A Future of Rising Sea Levels 411 References 414 16 How Natural are Natural Hazards? 419 16.1 Enter the Anthropocene 419 16.2 Agriculture, Geomorphology, and Natural Hazards 424 16.3 Engineered Rivers 430 16.4 Engineered Coasts 435 16.5 Anthropogenic Sediments 438 16.6 The Urban Turn 443 16.7 Infrastructure’s Impacts on Landscapes 445 16.8 Humans and Atmospheric Warming 446 16.9 How Natural Are Natural Hazards and Disasters? 448 References 450 17 Feedbacks with the Biosphere 457 17.1 The Carbon Footprint of Natural Disasters 457 17.1.1 Erosion and Intermittent Burial 460 17.1.2 Organic Carbon in River Catchments 466 17.1.3 Climatic Disturbances 469 17.2 Protective Functions 473 17.2.1 Forest Ecosystems 473 17.2.2 Coastal Ecosystems 478 References 485 18 The Scope of Geomorphology in Dealing with Natural Risks and Disasters 495 18.1 Motivation 496 18.2 The Geomorphologist’s Role 498 18.3 The Disaster Risk Management Process 499 18.3.1 Identify Stakeholders 500 18.3.2 Know and Share Responsibilities 501 18.3.3 Understand that Risk Changes 503 18.3.4 Analyse Risk 504 18.3.5 Communicate and Deal with Risk Aversion 505 18.3.6 Evaluate Risks 507 18.3.7 Share Decision Making 509 18.4 The Future – Beyond Risk? 511 18.4.1 Limitations of the Risk Approach 511 18.4.2 Local and Regional Disaster Impact Reduction 511 18.4.3 Relocation of Assets 513 18.4.4 A Way Forward? 514 References 516 19 Geomorphology as a Tool for Predicting and Reducing Impacts from Natural Disasters 519 19.1 Natural Disasters Have Immediate and Protracted Geomorphic Consequences 519 19.2 Natural Disasters Motivate Predictive Geomorphology 520 19.3 Natural Disasters Disturb Sediment Fluxes 521 19.4 Geomorphology of Anthropocenic Disasters 521 References 523 Glossary 525 Index 531
Tim Davies is Professor in the School of Earth and Environment at University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Educated in Civil Engineering in UK in the 1970s, he taught in Agricultural Engineering and subsequently Natural Resources Engineering at Lincoln University, New Zealand before transferring to University of Canterbury in the present millennium to teach into Engineering Geology and Disaster Risk and Resilience. He has published a total of over 140 papers on a range of pure and applied geomorphology topics including river mechanics and management, debris-flow hazards and management, landslides, earthquakes and fault mechanics, rock mechanics and alluvial fans; natural hazard and disaster risk and resilience. Oliver Korup is Professor in the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Geography and the Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Germany. Following an academic training in Germany and New Zealand, his research and teaching is now at the interface between geomorphology, natural hazards, and data science. He has worked on catastrophic erosion and disturbances in mountain belts, particularly on landslides, natural dams, river-channel changes, and glacial lake outburst floods. John J. Clague is Emeritus Professor at Simon Fraser University. He was educated at Occidental College, the University of California Berkeley, and the University of British Columbia. He worked as a Research Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada from 1975 until 1998, and in Department of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University from 1998 until 2016. Clague is a Quaternary geologist with research specializations in glacial geology, geomorphology, natural hazards, and climate change, and has authored over 200 papers on these topics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
