Course content

This course provides students with an introduction to natural hazards and their major drivers over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The considered hazards may include atmospheric and oceanic hazards, river flooding, snow and avalanches, rockfall and landslides, as well as biological hazards. The concepts of hazard and risk, and the terminology used in risk management, will be also studied. Examples of risk assessment and hazard mitigation measures will be discussed.

Learning outcome

A student who has completed this course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

By the end of the course, students will:

• be able to define and describe geophysical and biological natural hazards;
• understand and correctly use the risk terminology, and know how to quantify hazards;
• critically evaluate potential impacts of climate change on natural hazards;
• have knowledge about different types of observations and models that may be used to estimate natural hazards.

Skills

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• recognize the signs of impending natural hazard events;
• evaluate which landscape elements, environmental conditions and human activities affect the likelihood of natural hazard occurrences and why;
• assess the causes and effects of different natural hazards and identify potential mitigation measures;
• have some basic hands-on experience in interpreting data and applying basic models to assess specific dangers such as flooding or landslides.

General competence

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• recognize factors that are critical to risk assessment and management of natural hazards in Norway and worldwide.
• critically read, understand and summarize scientific articles;
• demonstrate independent, critical thinking and apply their knowledge to the assessment of natural hazards;
• communicate knowledge about the processes leading to the occurrence of natural hazards in a changing climate to both specialists and the general public

Learning methods and activities

Up to 32 hours of lectures, 8 hours of seminars and 1-2 excursions.

Please note that mandatory activities and lectures may start prior to the registration deadline.

It is expected that the exam and compulsory assignments must be completed in English. Exceptions must be clarified with the lecturer responsible for the course.

Teaching will only be given if a sufficient number of students register for the course and if the Department has sufficient teaching resources. See www.ntnu.edu/studies/courses for the most recent information on the courses not offered.

Compulsory assignments

• Two assignments
• Seminar presentations
• In-class quizzes and individual presentation

Recommended previous knowledge

GEOG1014 - Earth's Natural Environment or an equivalent course.

Basic mathematical skills.

Required previous knowledge

None.