Natural hazards in a warming world: exploring the big questions

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Max Van Wyk de Vries, University of Cambridge
• Wednesday 31 January 2024, 16:00-17:00
• Wolfson Lecture Theatre.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Megan Holdt.

Glacierized mountainous areas make up some of the most hazardous landscapes of our planet, and are undergoing profound changes under 21st century climatic warming. The answers to two fundamental questions are required in these areas: (i) what is the baseline hazard and risk, and (ii) are the hazard and risk likely to increase or decrease in coming decades. While these questions remain largely unanswered on a global scale, this presentation delves into the subject through a series of case studies of complex hazards in glacierized and high-mountain areas.

In this talk, I will consider both the gaps in our current knowledge, and how novel techniques and datasets help bridge these. In particular, I will discuss the two-way interactions between landslides and glaciers, improving summit ice volume estimates at glacierized volcanoes, and new optical feature tracking approaches to map slope deformation the scale of mountain ranges. The evolving hazard profile intersects with a growing population and rapidly developing infrastructure networks. As a result, a cross-disciplinary approach is essential to comprehensively analyze and mitigate risk. This talk highlights the significance of addressing these challenges and explores avenues for future research, in particular introducing the new Cambridge Complex and Multihazard Research Group (CoMHaz).

This talk is part of the Bullard Laboratories Wednesday Seminars series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Bullard Laboratories Wednesday Seminars
• Department of Earth Sciences seminars
• Wolfson Lecture Theatre

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.