GEO340/GEP635. Natural Hazards and Disasters, Spring 2016
(3 hrs – 3 cr lecture + 2 hrs – 1 cr lab, total 4 cr.)
Room 322, Gillet Hall. Thursdays. TIME: 6 – 10:20 p.m.
Dr. Yuri Gorokhovich, 718-960-1982; yuri.gorokhovich@lehman.cuny.edu, Gillet 301A/B.
Office Hours: Mon – 12 – 5 p.m.; Thu – 12 – 5 p.m.
Course learning objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
•
•
Understand geologic background of natural hazards and its interaction with society;
Learn basic technique of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applicable to analysis
of maps and geologic data in the context of Natural Hazards;
Apply geologic methods to solve practical problems in simulated environment (using
Hazard City labs);
•
Book: Natural Hazards: Earth’s Processes as Hazards, Disasters and Catastrophes. By Keller A.E. and
DeVecchio, Prentice Hall, last edition.
GIS material
Hazard City exercises
Exams or NO CLASSES
Date
Lectures – Thursdays
6 – 8:40 p.m.
February
Lecture 1.
Ch 1: Introduction to
Natural Hazards
Lecture 2.
Ch 3: Earthquakes
Lecture 3.
Digital Data Types in GIS
and their use in hazard
analysis
Lecture 4.
Lab 4. Hazard City: Tsunami Lab
Ch 4: Tsunamis
Lab 5. Modeling affected population
Lecture 5.
GIS Analysis of Vector
distribution using population data
RQ3, Ch 4
Data: Geoprocessing and
(risk and vulnerability maps)
modeling
Lecture 6.
Lab 6. Hazard City: Volcanoes
Ch 5: Volcanoes
Midterm Exam (in class, includes practical and theoretical (Ch 1, 3, 4, 5) parts)
Lecture 7.
Lab 7. Hazard City, Flood
RQ3, Ch 5
Ch 6: Flooding
Insurance Rate Maps
4
11
18
25
March 3
10
17
24
“Check your
Labs – Thursdays
Understanding” 8:50 – 10:20 p.m.
Review
Questions (RQ)/
Exams/
Lab1. Intro to Natural Hazards and
-----------Disasters Concepts and ArcGIS
software.
Lab 2. Getting and mapping
RQ1, Ch 1
earthquake data for Haiti.
Lab 3. Mapping technique with
ArcGIS
RQ2, Ch 3
1
31
Date
April 7
14
21
May 5
12
Lecture 8.
Raster Analysis with GIS.
Zonal statistics.
Vulnerability modeling
Lectures – Thursdays
6 – 8:40 p.m.
RQ4, Ch 6
Lab 8. Estimating affected population
near Vesuvius using global
population data and zonal statistics
Review
Labs – Thursdays
Questions (RQ)/ 8:50 – 10:20 p.m.
Exams/
Lab 9. Modeling landslide
vulnerability in GIS
Lecture 9.
Ch 7: Mass Wasting
(Landslides)
Lecture 10.
Lab 10. Hazard City: Shoreline
RQ6, Ch 7
Ch 11: Coastal hazards
Property
Lab 11. Cyclones and flooding of
Lecture 11.
Ch 10: Hurricanes and
coastal areas. Estimates of affected
RQ7, Ch11
Cyclones
croplands using GIS
Presentation(s)of projects
by GEP635 students or
Presentations
Guest Speaker
Tuesday, May 19 6:15pm - 8:15pm
Final Exam (in class, includes practical and theoretical parts)
Lab assignments: Topical lab assignment will be given out to the class once every week. All
assignments are required and are due the following week by the beginning of the class. Late
assignments ARE NOT acceptable. Submission is ONLY through the BlackBoard and only
ONCE. E-mails will be discarded. Note: you cannot submit twice (or replace your file) on
BlackBoard, so make sure that you have everything in place before submission.
Review Questions: Every class students will be given two questions from ‘“Check your
Understanding” questions that you can find within each chapter from previous week chapter.
Closed book, 15 min to answer.
Exams: Exams will be a mix of theoretical concepts from the book and practical work from labs.
The format of exam will be a combination of problem solving and multiple choice/short answer
questions.
Presentation (15-20 min, only for GEP635 students): the format is PowerPoint. You need to
show a case study from your own perspective by choosing a natural hazard or disaster. The
perspective should include: your own views on preparedness, response, mitigation; be supported
by data, maps and available article reviews. You should have at least two examples of your own
maps/work with GIS data. This can include data downloading from conventional sources (I can
help with this) and making analysis and maps.
Grading:
Class Work
Labs (11)
Review
Questions (7)
Midterm (1)
Undergraduate Students (GEO340) Graduate Students (GEP635)
% Final Grade
25
15
25
15
20
20
2
Final (1)
Attendance (12)
Presentation (1)
TOTAL:
20
10
100
20
10
20
100
Final grade is a weighted average of all above (i.e. includes average of labs, exam, etc.). In
addition I can add or subtract 5-10 pts to/from the final grade depending on your performance
(class participation will add points, poor attendance, being late or not attentive will reduce points).
Attendance Policy & Make-Up Work
Attendance will be taken every class. After 10 min NO ATTENDANCE will be taken.
Exams and labs cannot be made up. If you miss one class for reasons other than a documented
medical emergency, death in family, or participation in military duties, you will receive a grade of
zero (0).
In order to be considered excused from any lecture or lab, you must inform me in writing or by
email before class and submit me your medical/legal documentation. Please note that you are
allowed only one week to make up a homework/lab from an excused absence. If the work is not
made up within that time frame, you will receive a grade of zero. Make-up exam should be done
within regular time frame at a time convenient to both, student and instructor, considering
availability of the lab.
Exam Administration
Scheduled exams will be given promptly at the beginning of class. Students are expected to be on
time for announced tests. On exam days:
1. No one will be allowed to enter the classroom later than ten minutes after class begins.
2. All test papers must be handed in at the end of the scheduled testing time.
3. No cell phones, pagers, or programmable calculators on exams – if your phone/pager
rings, vibrates, etc. during an exam, your paper will be taken up immediately, and your
grade will suffer accordingly.
4. Food and drink is strictly prohibited during exam time.
5. Absolutely no iPods, headphones, or earbuds will be allowed on exam day.
Blackboard (Bb)
This course will utilize online support from the Lehman College Blackboard (Bb). I will be
sending group e-mail with announcements, etc. only to Bb e-mails. If you are not comfortable
with Bb please stop by IT office and ask them for introduction/training.
FYI: There is no extra credit (with the exception of any bonus questions on exams or labs). All
cell phones, beepers, messaging systems, etc. should be set to silent during class and lab. It is not
appropriate to leave the classroom or lab to answer your phone or pager except in an emergency.
No food allowed in the classroom.
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