The Flood and Climate Risk related module
This module aims at providing a description on key mechanisms of weather and climate, on climate system and the anthropogenic climate changes, as well as the potential consequences such as extreme climatic events and slow-onset events (e.g. sea-level rise). This module will also provide basic understanding of phenomena related to flood risk assessment and a basis for judgment and interpretation of flood risk assessment issues. It will promote students' judgment of the analysis and synthesis of case studies and basic understanding of flood risk assessment techniques. In addition, this part of the module will provide participants with scientific knowledge that can be directly applied to their home countries. Rather than looking for personalized solutions, the participants will have an access to a broad catalog of techniques and experiences for them to evaluate and analyze in the perspective of local applications.
The following aspects will be covered:
- Weather and climate
- Extreme climatic events
- Processes (meteorological, hydrological and hydraulic) generating flood hazard
- Flood hazard maps delineation
- Impacts of flood control measures
Teaching Team |
- Lionel Fontannaz (Meteorology)
- Stéphane Goyette (Climatology)
- Markus Stoffel (Climate related issues)
Objectives |
At the end of this course, students will be able to understand:
- the difference between weather and climate
- the climate impact on natural systems from global to local scales
- the impact of sea level rise and the associated mitigation strategies
- the flood hazard assessment and flood delineation techniques
Associated Field Trip |
Related Links |
- VICAIRE - VIrtual CAmpus In hydrology and REsources management
- IAH: International Association of Hydrogeologists: Website includes general information “about groundwater” and useful “groundwater links”
- World Water: Website including a large amount of information concerning freshwater resources
- UN Environment: United Nations Environment Programme: Information about water, and links to other websites
- Water Quality in Switzerland: information on drinkable water of Switzerland (in French, German and Italian)
- Darthmouth Flood Observatory: information on surface water from Space
- Geoscience Australia - floods: Data and tools