Natural Hazards: Processes & Methods

Human impact on natural hazards

Margreth Keiler (GIUB)

Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Natural Hazards different types

21.12.2016

Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Hurricane Katrina: August 2005

Profits over People: The Human Cause of the Katrina
Disaster (C. Heldman 2011)
The political and engineering failures that caused the devastation
in New Orleans were multiple and decades in the making.
> First, the storm surge was amplified by years of oil and natural
gas companies degrading the integrity of the wetlands with
pipelines, causing the land to sink at an alarming rate.
> Secondly, in 1968, The Army Corps of Engineers built the 76mile Mississippi River Gulf Canal Outlet (MRGO), a canal
that brings ships straight from the Gulf of Mexico to the New
Orleans Industrial Canal.
> The third preventable human aspect of Katrina was a network
of levees suffering from poor design and disrepair from
bureaucratic bickering; an 80% cut to levee repair
funds under the Bush Administration and misspent money
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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Sendai earthquake March 11, 2011

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Environment as Hazard

Burton et al. (1978) in Smith (2013)

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Smith (2013)

Geomorphology and human activity

The human impact model
(Lczy, 2008)

Anthropogeomorphology
is the study of the human
role in creating landforms
and modifying the
geomorphological
processes such as
weathering, erosion,
transport, and deposition
(Goudie, 2006)

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Anthropogeomorphology
>
>

>
>
>

1864: G. P. Marsh: The Earth as Modified by Human Action

1960s: Introduction of the term Anthropogeomorphology
1970s and 80s: First comprehensive discussion and
publications by E. FELS (1976), C. RATHJENS (1979), D.
NIR (1983) and A. GOUDIE (1994)
Since 1995: Strong increase of the topic in the international
research community regarding global environmental change
2000: Introduction of geological unit of Anthropocene by
Paul Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer
2005: Foundation of the IAG Working Group Human Impact
on the Landscape (HILS)

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Types of global environmental change

Type

Characteristics

Examples

Systemic

Direct impact on globally

functioning systems

Industrial and land use emissions of

greenhouse gases
Industrial and consumer emissions of
ozone-depleting gases
Land cover changes in albedo

Cumulative Impact through worldwide

distribution of change
Impact through magnitude
of change

Groundwater pollution and depletion

Species depletion/genetic alteration
Deforestation
Industrial toxic pollutants
Soil depletion on prime agricultural
lands
Turner et al. 1990

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Human impact and landslides increase

in occurrence
>

>

>
>
>

Population growth
more individuals at risk, driving the
development of increasingly marginal terrain (landslide
prone)
Land-use change,
deforestation
render slopes
increasingly sensitive to landslide triggers and to increase the
mobility
Urbanisation
growth of urban slums marginally stable
slopes
Linear infrastructure development
construction,
undercutting, relocation of people
Effects of (anthropogenic) climate change
precipitation
pattern

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Petley et al 2007: Trends in landslide occurrence in Nepal.NAHAZ

Humans alter the Earths surface

>

Changes to Earth will continue, as Earths human

population approaches 10 billion by end of century

Megacities 2015

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

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Floods & Landslides,

China 2010 (1.400 Fatalities)

Caraballeda fan
1999, Venezuela

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Influence of urbanisation on the

hydrological conditions

Smith 2013

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Humans alter the Earths surface

>

Land cover change -> Change hydrological processes and

sediment delivery

2000

Deforestation -> Sediment to rivers

Sources: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov, http://www.fauna-flora.org

Humans alter the Earths surface

>

Land cover change -> Change hydrological processes and

sediment delivery

2012

Deforestation -> Sediment to rivers

Sources: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov, http://www.fauna-flora.org

Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Deforestation Influence on natural

hazard processes
Deforestation:
> Broad level

a major cause of global climatic changes

humidity level in the atmosphere

Change of evapotranspiration pattern

lowering of annual rainfall in an area, severity of drought

>
>

Smaller landscape
a direct bearing upon the climatic,
hydrological, edaphic and biological aspects of that area
is associated with higher levels of

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Runoff
soil erosion and landslides, re-mobilisation of material
sedimentation in river beds and
changes in fluvial geomorphology

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Factors contributing to landslides

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Removal of lateral support

Removal of underlying support
Loading of slope
Lateral pressure
Transient stresses
Increase of slope angle
Composition and texture of
material
Weathering effects
Changes of pore-water pressure
Changes of structure
Vegetation

Drivers for changes

Interacting factors

>

Hydroclimate
> Relief
> Land-cover/-use
>

Goetz 2012

Deforestation Landslides
Vancouver Island
>

Landslide
susceptibility
modeling

Goetz 2012

Deforestation Landslides
Vancouver Island
>

Landslide
susceptibility
modeling

high probability since its very steep

combination 40 slope

Goetz 2012

Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Deforestation in Switzerland

1927

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2000

Dischma, Davos,
SLF

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

new zealand

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Forest cover change - landslide

occurrence in the tropical Andes

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Guns & Vanacker, 2013, Environ Earth Sci

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Forest cover change - landslide

occurrence in the tropical Andes

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Guns & Vanacker, 2013, Environ Earth Sci

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Forest cover change - landslide

occurrence in the tropical Andes

>
>

Significant reduction in the density of trees in tropical forests does

not lead to a measurable increase in landslide occurrence.
Deforestation has a clear effect on slope stability.

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Guns & Vanacker, 2013, Environ Earth Sci

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Humans alter the Earths surface

>

Mining -> Change land surface

Source: Tarolli and Sofia, 2016

Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah,

USA, 04/2013

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2013/04/12/the-unusually-large-bingham-canyon-mine-landslide-an-impressiveexample-of-prediction-using-monitoring/
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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Change in landslide occurrence

case study Nepal

Index is based upon a dynamical normalized seasonality index of intensity of the wind field at the 850 hPa level,
provides an information of the strength of the atmospheric processes that are responsible for rainfall generation.

Increased number of landslides occurring in the landscape with time

> Deforestation
> Development of road network
Petley et al 2007
> Civil war in Nepal
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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Road construction and landslides

cuz of the landslides > no more export possible, roads are a reason why the land is less stabil

The 2009 and 2013 Google Earth perspective view of the line of the rural road in Central Nepal.
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if you fill the river > water table is changed > can change the stability of the slope

Selby 1993:381

Road construction and landslides

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Abbotsford landslide, New Zealand, 1978

Slope failure?
1) Natural conditions (material,
dipping, wet conditions)
2) Quarry removed support from
the slope
3) Leak water main supply
http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2009/08/05/30-years-agothe-abbotsford-landslide-new-zealand/

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Selby 1993:379

Constructions and their effects on hazard

processes

Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Anthropogenic forms and effects

Vaiont landslide, Italy, 1963

Smith 2013

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

ischgl > huge impact

Impact skiing area

- water / sediment supply

construction is impacting the hydrological

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C. Promper 2010

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Anthropogenic forms and effects

when the terrasses are not mantained anymore > everything degreades and is probe to landslydes

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Natural Hazards - Human Impact

Anthropogenic forms and effects

= highest velocity of the water

huge widening of the channel

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Arnaud-Fassetta et al. 2005, Geomorphology

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Humans alter the Earths surface

Dam construction -> Interrupt movement of sediment
WhiteSalmonRiver,Washington,USA
100yrs ofsedimentretention

2000

Source: https://vimeo.com/31305629

>

Suda et al. 2007

21. Dezember 2016

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Human impact on natural hazards

Ara stream (Spanish

Pyrenees, 1996).
(a) Concrete canal connects
the upper fan segment to
the Gallego River
(foreground). Note that the
canal apex was buried by
the flood debris, and
diverted most of the flood
waters into the campsite
zone.
(b) Retention dam (57 m in
height), which collapsed
during the1996 flood. The
filled dams increased the
sediment supply and
favored the development
of debris flows.
(James et al. 2013)

Human impact on natural hazards

Siegfriedkarte (~1870)

1914
dam was build to redirect the debirs flows

Today

tha challenge is to asses wheather these dams can hold a 100 or 300 event!

Human impact on natural hazards

>

Impact and changes

Systemic
Cumulative

>

Impact
Direct (constructions of structure or infrastructure)
Indirect (land cover/land-use change, urbanisation, mining
activity, changes in agricultural practice,
Spatial and temporal variability of impact
Intended and many unintended effects of impact
Impact of age or repair? The solution from yesterday are the
problems of today

Geomorphology and human activity

The human agency
model (Lczy & St,
2011)

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How to get your credits?

>

Pass the written exam (February)

What you need?

> High engagement also within the course ask questions!
> Prepare the specific topic before you attend the class, and research
for open questions after the class
Use the following materials:
> Slides (pdf)
> Mandatory literature (pdf)
> Supplementary literature (your own search)
Students know about the fundamentals of natural hazards
processes and will be able to classify different aspects. They can
describe essential methods for hazard assessments of different
processes and uncertainties, and highlight challenges for the
applications of hazard assessment