Geotechnical News • March 2017
45
GEOHAZARDS
entrainment, and early notions of
hazard and risk. Their collective work
helped subsequent scientists and engi-
neers understand the critical nature
of glacial history on the behavior of
ground,
A modern understanding
The 2,000’s and beyond brought
subsequent generations of scientists and
engineers to a growing field of study,
influenced by the demanding work of
their predecessors and the undeniable
improvements in analytical ability and
availability of data. It would be hard to
underestimate the extent to which mod-
ern geohazards studies rely on techno-
logical advances in the last two decades.
Previously limited by a dearth of data
(ameliorated somewhat by a history of
terrain mapping and accumulating case
studies), suddenly the field of geohaz-
ards had an increased ability to measure
meaningful changes in the earth at an
appropriate scale and with appropriate
accuracy. The accelerated pace of tech-
nology in the last two decades dramati-
cally changed the scientific landscape
and therefore our understanding and our
capacity to understand the physical one.
Satellite imagery, LiDAR, heads up
3-D analysis of imagery, complex slope
models, time-series analysis are now all
routine methods for hazards analysis.
Photogrammetry, use of drones, debris
flood models and magnitude-frequency
analysis are only slightly less common.
Geographic Information Systems have
gone from the promise of something
great, to the fundamental platform of
analysis and are quickly moving to open-
source background analytics and holders
of data.
For the first time in the history of
man, large, spatially contiguous, geo-
referenced tracts of land are accessible
at multiple scales over multiple years,
at sub-centimeter accuracy. This data
is used, for example, to measure the
internal deformation of the earth’s
crust, to record and observe the three
dimensional changes in volcanoes, to
monitor and predict offshore storms as
they approach landfall, and to monitor
ice loss in the remote poles.
At the same time, the need has never
been greater. At this time of writing,
the human population approaches
7.5 billion people. About 10% of
people are estimated to live within 10
m of sea level (McGranahan, Balk,
& Anderson, 2007). We continue
to occupy and develop increasingly
steep terrain, to change rivers and to
encroach upon shorelines. In doing
so, we are increasing the interactions
between hazards and humans, and we
are changing the nature of the earth
processes by ourselves becoming a
key driver of earth processes and land-
forms (Guthrie R. H., 2016).
Consider 2014 Oso landslide, the 2015
M 7.8 Nepal earthquake or the tens of
thousands of landslides generated dur-
ing the 2016 Kaikoura 7.8 earthquake
in New Zealand. Each of these was
only one of the multitude of geohaz-
ards impacting human society in the
last few years.
As we move firmly into the 21st Cen-
tury, when we consider both the social
demand and our abilities as geosci-
entists and geotechnical engineers to
meet that demand, it appears clear that
the profession of geohazards has come
into its own.
References
EM-DAT. (2016, December 13). EM-
DAT Disaster Trends. Retrieved
from EM-DAT: The International
Disaster Database:
emdat.be/disaster_trends/index.
html
Environment and Landuse Commit-
tee Secretariat. (1976). Terrain
Classification System. Victoria:
BC Ministry of Environment,
Resource Analysis Branch.
Fookes, P., & Vaughan, P. R. (1986). A
Handbook of Engineering Geomo-
phology. New York: Chapman and
Hall.
Guthrie, R. H. (2013). Geological/
Geophysical Disasters. In P.
T. Bobrowsky, Encylopedia of
Natural Hazards (pp. 387-400).
Springer.
Guthrie, R. H. (2016). The cata-
strophic nature of humans. Nature
Geoscience , 421-422.
Heim, A. (1882). Der Bergsturz von
Elm. Zeitschrift der Deutschen
Geologischen Gesselschaft ,
74-115 plus Figures.
Howes, D. E., & Kenk, E. (1997). Ter-
rain Classification System for Brit-
ish Columbia, Version 2. Victoria,
BC: Ministry of Environemnt and
Minsitry of Crown Lands.
Howes, D., & Kenk, E. (1988). Terrain
Classification System for British
Columbia (revised edition). Victo-
ria: BC Ministry of Environment.
McConnell, R. G., & Brock, R. W.
(1904). Report on the great land-
slide at Frank, Alberta. Ottawa:
Department of Interior.
McGranahan, G., Balk, D., & Ander-
son, B. (2007). The rising tide:
assessing the risks of climate
change and human settlement in
low elevation coastal zones. Envi-
ronment and Urbanization , 17-37.
Penning, H. (1880). Engineering Geol-
ogy. London: Bailliere, Tindall &
Cox.
Penning, H. (1879). Engineering Geol-
ogy. Part 1. The Engineer , 47,
20-21.
Redlich, K., Terzaghi, K., & Kemp, R.
(1929). Ingenieurgeologie. Vienna:
Springer.
Seed, H. B. (1968). Landslides during
earthuakes due to soil liquefaction.
Journal of the Soil Mechanics and
Foundations Division, ASCE ,
1055-1122.
VanDine, D., Nasmith, H. W., & Rip-
ley, C. F. (1992). The emergence
of engineering geology in British
Columbia - „An engineering geol-
ogist knows a dam site better!“.
BCEMPR Open File 1992-19 .
Winter, M., & Bromhead, E. (2016).
QJEGH: there and back in 50
volumes. QJEGH , 273-278.
