Instructor Materials: Overview of the Planning for Failure: Landslide Analysis for a Safer Society module

Module Goals

Students will:

1. Process, analyze, and interpret geodetic data to identify and classify mass wasting sites and connect their development to environmental factors.

2. Quantitatively model landslide susceptibility by evaluating the relationship between mass wasting event sites and local geospatial factors.

3. Synthesize susceptibility models with environmental, social, and political considerations to develop a comprehensive landslide risk assessment.

Show More info on how Module Goals connect to science literacy principles

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Supports Earth Science Big Ideas

ESBI-1: Earth scientists use repeatable observations and testable ideas to understand and explain our planet
ESBI-3: Earth is a complex system of interacting rock, water, air, and life
ESBI-4: Earth is continuously changing
ESBI-5: Earth is the water planet
ESBI-8: Natural hazards pose risks to humans
ESBI-9: Humans significantly alter the Earth

Climate Literacy Principles
CLP-7: Climate change will have consequences for the Earth System and human lives (link opens in new window)

Summative Assessment

Unit 4: Analyze and Prescribe a Risk Assessment and Hazard Mitigation Plan, along with exam questions, is the summative assessment for this module. Learn more about assessing student learning in this module.

Outline

The module covers material sequentially, but the units can also often be taught as stand-alone lessons, with the exception of Units 2 and 3. For instructors who do not wish to use the module in its entirety, suggested pairings are included in the "Context for Use" section on each unit's page. It is essential to plan ahead on the software use in this module. The module makes use of both CloudCompare and ArcGIS Desktop.

Unit 1Mass Wasting Identification and Quantification

How can geoscientists identify and quantify landslide events using remote sensing data? The analysis of mass wasting events from remotely sensed data is a complicated task, burdened by the range of geomorphic signatures associated with different types of events and the resolution of digital imagery and remotely sensed data. In this unit, students will use high-resolution elevation data (LiDAR sourced) and satellite digital imagery to identify and quantify landslide size and volume. To increase their recognition of geomorphic features associated with landslides, students will experiment with image processing tools (e.g. - slope, curvature, etc.).

Estimated time: Classroom (1 hour) and Laboratory (3 hours). Additional time may be needed based upon students' experience with GIS and other software.

Unit 2Examining the Distribution of Mass Wasting Events

What factors contribute to the distribution patterns of mass wasting events? In this unit, students will use a frequency-ratio method, one of the most common quantitative methods used in the statistical analysis of landslides, to explore the relationship between geospatial factors/parameters and the distribution of landslide events. Towards this goal, students will categorize geospatial factors (e.g. elevation, slope, aspect, bedrock geology, mean annual precipitation, etc.) and calculate landslide susceptibility index (LSI) values for each category. The LSI is based on the frequency of landslides and areal extent of each category and can be used to quantitatively estimate the relationship between the spatial distribution of landslides and each geospatial factor explored.

Estimated time: Classroom (1-1.5 hours) and Laboratory (3 hours). Additional time may be needed depending on students' experience with GIS software and tools.

Unit 3Develop and Test Models of Landslide Susceptibility

How do geoscientists confidently create landslide susceptibility maps based in empirical data? This exercise is an advanced and quantitative approach to Unit 5 of the GETSI Introductory Surface Processes Hazards module. In this unit, students will model and statistically validate landslide susceptibility maps using a combination of some, or all, of the LSI values calculated in Unit 2. From their model validations, students will be expected to propose and defend a final landslide susceptibility map to be adopted for use in risk assessment.

Estimated time: Classroom (1-1.5 hours), Laboratory (3 hours), and External (3-4 hours). Additional time may be needed depending on students' experience with GIS software and tools. This unit may be shortened by having students only run one or two iterations of the susceptibility model.

Unit 4Analyze and Prescribe a Risk Assessment and Hazard Mitigation Plan

How can community stakeholders use the landslide susceptibility model to inform planning and infrastructure decisions? Students will create a landslide risk analysis report and assessment plan for a specific region, considering a suite of environmental, social, and political factors. This unit is a culmination of student experiences from prior units, and requires interdisciplinary considerations and holistic approaches in the design process of this report. Specifically, this unit will require reflection on landslide detection protocols (Unit 1), factor categories that correlate to the distributive pattern of landslides in a region (Unit 2), and the development of a susceptibility map (Unit 3) in conjunction with considerations of Earth processes, infrastructure, and sociopolitical factors (policy, budgets, cultural preservation) associated with hazard mitigation. This unit, along with some exam questions, is the Summative Assessment for the module.

Estimated time: Classroom (45 min - 1 hour) and External (suggested 2 weeks). The summative assignment for this unit is the summative assignment for the overall module.

Making the Module Work

To adapt all or part of the module for your classroom you will also want to read through

• Instructor Stories which detail how the module was adapted for use at three different institutions, as well as our guide to
• Using GETSI Modules for Your Course which outlines how to effectively use GETSI modules