Overcoming Natural Disasters

Landslides are one of the most dramatic of all natural hazards, killing on average about 14,000 people each year. Triggered by heavy rainfall, earthquakes and/or the folly of human activity, landslides occur on every continent. This talk describes a programme of research that seeks to understand where landslides are most likely to happen, and when and why they occur. The data indicate that the most seriously affected continent is Asia; the talk will explore why this is the case. Finally, using videos of landslides, it will consider what can be done to reduce losses in landslide events.

“When will they happen? How fast will they go? How far will they travel?” Answering these questions are key to be able to assess the risks landslides pose to life and infrastructure. We conduct experiments on model landslides using “transparent” soil with lasers and slow motion cameras to see inside the flowing mass. We’re also using photo-elastic grains (light-polarising polymer that shine brightly), to directly measure forces during motion. We will see how grains can flow around, move or be stopped by obstacles – and show how grain size segregation is key to understanding these hazards.

Humans are causing significant changes to the planet and its climate, and words like 'catastrophic' and 'apocalyptic' are often used to refer to the effect of these changes. But is climate change really 'bad for the Earth'? Are we doing 'lasting damage' to the planet, or does the planet really not care?