In this course we will work with scientists from the University of Canterbury to discover how they learn about natural disasters in order to work out how probable different events are and how we can try to keep people safe. This will include field trips to local sites of interest and also to the University of Canterbury to experiment with volcanic eruptions!
Aspects that could be covered in this course:
Aotearoa - where long white clouds sometimes turn dark and stormy... flooding, slips, bridges washed out, entire communities cut off for days or weeks.
Christchurch was 'munted' by Earthquakes 14 years ago. A few years later Kaikoura and Wellington took a hit. The Alpine fault is 'overdue' for a major earthquake, with a 75% chance that it will happen in our lifetime.
There is a 'lake' of magma under the North Island that drives volcanic eruptions of varying frequencies and intensities - including 'the world's most active supervolcano' which covered most of Aotearoa in ash when it erupted 25,500 years ago.
Most of New Zealand's cities (including Christchurch) are on the coast and vulnerable to tsunamis generated by Earthquakes or volcanoes locally or further away.