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NATURAL DISASTERS
ERTH2415 – WINTER 2014
COURSE OBJECTIVES
For each natural disaster presented, the main objectives are:
 To understand its causes
 To describe its characteristics
 To examine its impact on people and infrastructure
 To be aware of mitigation strategies.
A secondary objective is to learn how to extract information from maps,
geological cross-sections, and graphs.
LECTURES
Professor:
Claire Samson (claire.samson@carleton.ca;
2170 Herzberg, x. 4396)
Lectures:
Section A: Thursday 2:35 PM – 5:25 PM, Steacie 103
Section V: Broadcast on Rogers Digital Cable Channel
243 and online (http://www2.carleton.ca/cuol/access-yourcourses/) Thursday from 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM.
Also available on CUOL’s Video on Demand (VOD)
subscription service. (https://vod.cuol.ca/)
Additionally, free viewing of the recorded lectures are
available in the CUOL Student Centre, Loeb D299.
Office hours:
Thursday 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
At these times, I am available in person in room 2170
Herzberg and on SKYPE (my SKYPE ID is
CU_ERTH2415). Feel free to come to see me or to
connect with me via text, audio or webcam.
Individual appointments also available at other times with
prior arrangements made via email.
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Textbook (required):
Abbott, P.L. and Samson, C. 2012 (2nd Edition). Natural Disasters – Canadian
Edition. McGraw Hill Ryerson, ISBN-10: 0070385491; ISBN-13: 9780070385498.
Lectures notes follow the book closely, but the book includes further examples.
Reading the book will help you to: (1) reinforce the learning done during the
lectures; (2) deepen your knowledge by applying it to additional examples.
SCHEDULE (Subject to change)
Date
Lecture Topic
1
Introduction
2
Canada’s policy on natural disasters
3
Impacts with space objects
16 Jan
4
Great Canadian impact tour
5
Plate tectonics
23 Jan
6
Plate tectonics and earthquakes
7
What happens during an earthquake?
30 Jan
8
Earthquakes, people and infrastructure
9
Tsunami
6 Feb
10
Mass movements I
11
Mass movements II
13 Feb
12
Snow avalanches
Winter break (17-21 Feb): No classes
13
Geomagnetic hazards
27 Feb
Review before exam #1
1 Mar
Exam #1 (12:00 PM – 2:00 PM)
14
Plate tectonics and volcanoes
6 Mar
15
Eruptive style and landforms I
16
Eruptive style and landforms II
13 Mar
17
Extreme weather I
18
Extreme weather II
20 Mar
19
Floods
20
The floods of the Red River, Manitoba
27 Mar
21
The 1996 Saguenay flood
22
Hurricanes
3 Apr
Review before exam #2
Examination period: Exam #2
9 Jan
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EVALUATION
Quizzes and exams are true/false and multiple choice questions.
On-line quizzes are “open-book”. I encourage you to do them in teams but each
student must enter answers individually.
The exams are “closed-book”. They cover material presented during the lectures
and covered in the lecture notes.
On-line quizzes
Quiz #1
Quiz #2
Quiz #3
Quiz #4
Quiz #5
Quiz #6
Exams
Exam #1
(Saturday
1 March 2014
12:00PM2:00PM)
Exam #2
(Exam period)
Evaluation
Opens Fri 17 Jan;
Closes Tue 21 Jan
Opens Fri 24 Jan;
Closes Tue 28 Jan
Opens Fri 7 Feb;
Closes Tue 11 Feb
Opens Fri 14 Feb;
Closes Tue 25 Feb
Opens Fri 14 Mar;
Closes Tue 18 Mar
Opens Fri 21 Mar;
Closes Tue 25 Mar
Lectures 1 to 12 inclusive
2.5 %
2.5 %
2.5 %
2.5 %
2.5 %
2.5 %
45 %
Lectures 13 to 22 inclusive
40 %
TOTAL
100 %
CULearn
You can log into CULearn by going to: https://www.carleton.ca/culearn/
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Download the lecture notes from CULearn prior to lectures.
Check the announcements and your email regularly.
Post all content-related questions to the discussion boards.
You will be able to track your marks on CULearn.
In case of problems with CULearn, go to: http://www5.carleton.ca/culearnsupport/
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REQUESTS FOR ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during
the term because of disability, religious obligations or pregnancy.
Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course
must register with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC)
for a formal evaluation of disability-related needs. Documented disabilities
include but are not limited to mobility/physical impairments, specific Learning
Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/psychological disabilities, sensory disabilities,
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and chronic medical conditions.
Registered PMC students are required to contact the PMC (613-520-6608) to
have a Letter of Accommodation sent to Claire Samson by their Coordinator. In
addition, PMC students are expected to confirm their need for accommodation
for on-line quizzes with Claire Samson on Thursday 16 January 2014 at the
latest.
For religious obligations and pregnancy: please email Claire Samson with any
requests for academic accommodation on Thursday 16 January 2014 at the
latest, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to
exist.
You can visit the Equity Services website to view the policies and to obtain more
detailed information on academic accommodation at:
http://carleton.ca/equity/accommodation
The student guide to academic accommodation can be found at:
http://www2.carleton.ca/equity/ccms/wp-content/ccms-files/
Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf
MISSED EXAMS


For exam #1: Students who are unable to write exam #1 because of illness or
other circumstances beyond their control must inform Claire Samson on
Wednesday 5 March 2014 at the latest. Their case must be substantiated with
an official medical note or other documents. These students will write a
deferred exam.
For exam #2: see the Undergraduate Calendar, section 2.5

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APPROPRIATE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
Cell phones must be turned OFF at all times.
Laptops are to be used only to annotate the lecture notes.
BOOK IN THE LIBRARY RESERVE
2 hour maximum reading period
 Abbott, P.L. and Samson, C. 2012 (2nd Edition). Natural Disasters –
Canadian Edition.
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