GEO 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Cryosphere, Nimby, Brownfield Land
4 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Environmental Geomorphology
Morph - how things change
Geomorphology - “the practical application of geomorphology to address problems in which
humans wish to transform or use and change surficial processes”
Including…
- The study of the earth’s landforms and geophysical processes
- Specific to a landforms origin, evolution, form and spatial geography
- A subfield of study_____
Risk - the probability of loss to an element resulting from impact of a threat
Hazard - the probability that a particular threat occurs within a given period of time
Vulnerability - the latent state of an element representing susceptibility to negative impact from a
threat
Risk =
Risk Analysis
- A method of interpreting and quantifying the risk of damage associated with
geomorphological hazards
- Modern risk analysis concerned with the well-being of human life and damage to
property
- Concerned with the magnitude, and frequency of hazards, as well as the vulnerability of
those at risk
Steps to Risk analysis
1) Risk assessment: identifying the nature of the hazard and the degree of public exposure
2) Risk perception: how the general public reacts to potential hazards
3) Risk communication: a shared view between various stakeholders of the assessment
and management of hazards
4) Risk management: tools, policies, and programs designed around the first steps to
control or mitigate the negative impact of hazards
Deadliest Natural Disasters
“There is no such thing as a natural disaster, only natural hazards” - UN
1) Drought
2) Windstorms
3) Floods
4) Earthquakes
5) Volcanic eruptions
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6) Extreme temperatures
7) Landslides
Geologic TIme
- Geologic time scale
- Standard summary of time since earth formed
- broken into:
- eons (longest) -> Eras -> Periods -> Epochs (shortest)
- Approximate age
- earth 4.6 billion years old
Anthropocene
- New geologic period
- “The recent period when humans have had an overwhelming effect on global
ecosystems and earth surface processes”
- Humans are stimulating erosion and natural processes
- Anthropogenic biomes: “a recent term for a biome modified by human activity”
- Land mass movement is increasing in quantity and distance from original source
- Ontario’s largest hauling commodity, ‘09 to ‘14; 32.1 million t/y gravel and crushed stone
Environmental Degradation
- Theory of Planetary Boundaries for Global Sustainability
- “Boundaries or thresholds within which humanity can operate safely”
1) Climate change
2) Ocean acidification
3) Stratospheric ozone
4) Biogeochemical nitrogen and phosphorus
5) Global freshwater use
6) Land system change
7) Biodiversity loss
Desertification
- “Desertification is one of the world’s most alarming processes of environmental
degradation”
- Compounds issues of poverty, political unrest, and famine
- Poorly understood process but defined as…
- “The expansion of deserts worldwide, related principally to poor agricultural practices,
improper soil moisture, erosion, and salinization, deforestation and the ongoing climatic
change; an unwanted semi-permanent invasion into neighbouring biomes”
Climate Change
- Increasing global atmospheric temperatures
- Factors increasing the risk of countries exposure to heavy rainfall include…
1) Hazard vulnerability: “the susceptibility of humans or human systems to adverse effects”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Geomorphology - the practical application of geomorphology to address problems in which humans wish to transform or use and change surficial processes . The study of the earth"s landforms and geophysical processes. Specific to a landforms origin, evolution, form and spatial geography. Risk - the probability of loss to an element resulting from impact of a threat. Hazard - the probability that a particular threat occurs within a given period of time. Vulnerability - the latent state of an element representing susceptibility to negative impact from a threat. A method of interpreting and quantifying the risk of damage associated with geomorphological hazards. Modern risk analysis concerned with the well-being of human life and damage to property. Concerned with the magnitude, and frequency of hazards, as well as the vulnerability of those at risk. There is no such thing as a natural disaster, only natural hazards - un: drought, windstorms, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, extreme temperatures, landslides.
