Surface Process Hazards: Living with Landslides

Sarah Hall (College of the Atlantic)
Becca Walker (Mt. San Antonio College)
Editor: Beth Pratt-Sitaula (EarthScope Consortium)

This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process. (view details)

This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process. This rigorous, structured process includes:

team-based development to ensure materials are appropriate across multiple educational settings.
multiple iterative reviews and feedback cycles through the course of material development with input to the authoring team from both project editors and an external assessment team.
real in-class or field camp/course testing of materials in multiple courses with external review of student assessment data.
multiple reviews to ensure the materials meet the GETSI materials rubric which codifies best practices in curricular development, student assessment and pedagogic techniques.
created or reviewed by content experts for accuracy of the science content.

Initial Publication Date: October 2, 2017

Summary

Worldwide mass wasting causes hundreds if not thousands of deaths per year and billions of dollars in damages. Many of these losses would be preventable if societies prioritized landslide mitigation. In this 2-3 week module, students use a variety of geodetic and other data to analyze the natural and human characteristics of landscapes that contribute to mass wasting hazards. Most of the geodetic data sets are high resolution topography from Lidar and radar, but some InSAR data are also included. Students consider the environmental and societal impacts of mass wasting and landslides as well as the physical factors behind mass movements. Materials for student reading and preparation exercises, in-class discussions, lab exercises, small group activities, gallery walks, and a final project are provided, as well as teaching tips and suggestions for modifications for a variety of class formats. Case study sites include Peru, Italy, and a variety of North American sites from Alaska to Utah to New York.

Show more about Online Teaching suggestions

Webinar about teaching this module: Addressing Landslide Hazards in Introductory Undergraduate Courses

For a majors-level module on landslide hazards, please see Planning for Failure: Landslide Analysis for a Safer Society

Strengths of the Module

Numerous study areas are included. The module involves case studies from Italy, Peru, Southern and Northern Washington, Alaska, Utah, Upstate New York, Yosemite Valley, and Colorado. The diversity of tectonic, geologic, and climatic regimes in these study areas, as well as the societal impact of each event, provides an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast different mass wasting events. For students who live relatively close to one of the study sites, the module also offers a chance for some place-based learning.
Students consider the scientific and societal aspects of mass wasting and a variety of data sets. Over the course of the module, students work with topographic maps, slope and aspect maps, Lidar hillshade images, digital elevation models, InSAR data, aerial imagery, and precipitation data to analyze mass wasting hazards. An important part of the module involves a consideration of how existing populations in mass wasting-prone areas would be influenced by a mass wasting event and how anthropogenic factors such as infrastructure and land use contribute to an area's mass wasting susceptibility.
Activities require qualitative and quantitative analysis to interpret mass wasting hazards. A significant amount of qualitative analysis and synthesis of multiple data sets is required for students to rank particular areas within a study site as having a high, medium, or low mass wasting vulnerability. There are numerous opportunities for students to do quantitative work to characterize an area's mass wasting susceptibility. The Yosemite Valley exercise in Unit 2 involves slope calculations and construction of topographic profiles to compare mass wasting potential in different areas of the valley. In Unit 3, students consider the resisting force and driving force and use trigonometry to make predictions about how the angle and lithology of a hillside influences mass wasting potential. They calculate slide areas and velocities for the 2014 Oso, WA event in Unit 4.
The adaptability of activities for different class formats makes it feasible for use in both lecture and lab settings.