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LandAware network News from members

PhD position at the University of Salerno

NEWS received from
Michele Calvello (University of Salerno, Italy)

A PhD position in “Innovative monitoring and warning strategies for weather-induced landslides using IoT and Machine Learning” is offered at the University of Salerno, Italy. The deadline for applications is 14 July 2022.

The PhD research will be conducted as part of a recently funded Horizon Europe project, coordinated by Prof. Michele Calvello, called “The HuT (Human-Tech nexus): Building a safe haven for coping with climate extremes.” The project includes 26 EU Partners and 10 demonstrators across Europe. The HuT will employ innovative DRR solutions, accounting for the potential variations induced by climate change, and will deal with weather-induced events tackled with trans-disciplinary risk management tools and approaches.

Deadline to apply for the PhD fellowship: 14 July 2022

Call:
https://web.unisa.it/en/teaching/phd-programmes
Annex:
https://web.unisa.it/uploads/rescue/151/6605/risk-and-sustainability-in-civil-architectural-and-environmental-engineering-systems.pdf

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News from members WG08 IoT-based methods and analyses

WG8 – #1 Workshop on Seismic noise and Geophysical monitoring

NEWS received from
Luca Piciullo (NGI Norway)

—–

First Workshop on Seismic noise and Geophysical monitoring for the IoT-based methods and analyses Working group

July 5, 2022 — 16:00 – 17:30 CET

Agenda

———-          

Dr. Eric Larose is a CNRS Director of Research at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France. Eric is the Director of LABCOM, a joint industry-academia research partnership focused on developing innovative technologies and methodologies to monitor and predict natural and artificial instabilities. Eric has a history of transdisciplinary work related to natural hazard monitoring. His expertise lies in geophysics and seismology. 

Dr. Jim Whiteleyis a geophysicist, with expertise in integrating seismic investigation methods with well-established electrical resistivity tomography monitoring methods. His research focuses on the application of these methods to monitor landslides, with an emphasis on establishing hydrogeological and geomechanical precursors to slope failure. He is currently employed at the British Geological Survey.

Dr. Malgorzata Chmiel is Postdoc at Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). She is a geophysicist, with expertise in seismic data (ground vibrations) generated by mass movements and ambient noise sources. Her research focuses the application of machine learning to natural hazards (e.g., debris flow detection with machine learning and seismic data).

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LandAware network News from members WG02 Communication-Networking

Regional-scale landslide forecasting in two regions of India

NEWS received from
Mirianna Budimir (Practical Action, SHEAR)

Developing regional-scale landslide forecasting in two hazard-prone regions of India: the LANDSLIP project.

Over twelve per cent of the Indian land mass is prone to landslides, directly impacting settlements, roads, strategic trade corridors, and heritage sites. As part of the UKRI funded Science for Humanitarian Emergencies and Resilience (SHEAR) Programme, an international research team have co-developed a prototype regional-scale landslide forecasting system in two hazard-prone districts of India, helping authorities to improve early warning and build resilience to rainfall-triggered landslides. This research project, LANDSLIP “Landslide multi-hazard risk assessment, preparedness and early warning in South Asia: Integrating meteorology, landscape and society” research project, ran from 2016 to 2022.

The LANDSLIP consortium consisted of physical scientists, engineers, social scientists and practitioners from nine organisations in the UK, Italy, and India, including the Geological Survey of India, who are the principal government agency for landslides in India:

  • India: Geological Survey of India, Amrita University, Practical Action-India, SaveTheHills and Keystone.
  • Italy: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.
  • UK: British Geological Survey, King’s College London, Met Office, Practical Action Consulting International, Newcastle University.

Through multi-agency collaboration, using interdisciplinary methodologies and perspectives and associated funding of eight PhD students, LANDSLIP has also developed new research and insights by building on existing scientific research in India, the UK and Italy.

Project outputs are aiding Indian authorities to further develop data, models, protocols and procedures to improve landslide forecasting and, in turn, support early warning.

For more information on the project, and to access resources produced by the project see:

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LandAware network News from members WG07 Operational LEWS

WG7 regional meetings

NEWS received from
Graziella Devoli – NWE Norway

The LandAware WG7 – Operational LEWS is organizing three regional meetings to establish contact among members from the same country/region, to exchange experiences and to know about projects in the region and possibly to promote future collaborations among LandAware associates and observers. We would like to have the opportunity to discuss the status of landslide early warning systems in the region, needs, resources and limitations that delay or have delayed the organization of operational LEWS.

— — —

1. Meeting Latin America (in Spanish):
Wednesday 29th of June 2022 (at 8:00 AM Ciudad de Guatemala time, 16:00 CEST).

— —

2. Meeting Brazil (in Portuguese):
Monday 4th of July 2022 (at 18:00 Rio de Janeiro time, 23:00 CEST).

— —

3. Meeting Indian-Himalayan region (in English):
Wednesday 13 of July for India (18:00 Mumbai time, 14:30 CEST).

— —

Please forward this invitation to other colleagues that could be interested in this topic even if they are not part of the LandAware network.

For problem with the link, contact Graziella Devoli gde@nve.no

Best regards,
Graziella Devoli, Paulo Hader, Sesha Ammavajjala

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LandAware network

LandAware 2022 workshop – Preliminary program published

The preliminary program of the 2022 LandAware workshop, which will be held at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL in Birmensdorf, Zürich, Switzerland, on 3-5 October 2022, is online!

Binding registration by 15 August 2022

Updated info at:
https://www.landaware.org/workshop2022/

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News from members WG08 IoT-based methods and analyses

New article on IoT-based hydrological monitoring of water-induced landslides

NEWS received from
Emir Ahmet Oguz – NTNU, Norway

Our new paper “IoT-based hydrological monitoring of water-induced landslides: a case study in central Norway” was published on the Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment.
This study presents an overview of a case study on IoT-based hydrological monitoring of water-induced landslides in central Norway and highlights several important findings on the implementation of IoT-based monitoring systems. The collected data on hydrological activities in terms of volumetric water content and matric suction provided novel and valuable insights into the hydrological responses of slopes in seasonally cold climates.
Our paper was published with open access and feel free to read this study!
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10064-022-02721-z

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LandAware network

EGU LandAware get-together in Vienna on Wednesday 25 May

As written in the title of this blog post, I would like to take advantage of the fact that some LandAware members will be in Vienna at #EGU22 at the end of May… to get together for one evening, to meet and talk in person after a series of online conversations.

I chose Wednesday, May 25, because that’s the day the session NH3.7 Towards reliable Landslide Early Warning Systems is scheduled (Session LINK), thus I am assuming that if you will indeed attend EGU in person, you will most likely be in Vienna on that evening.

The get-together will be an informal dinner with good Austrian beer, self-funded by the participants (unfortunately LandAware doesn’t have any funding to manage), in a restaurant/brewery I like a lot: Salm Brau (webpage). I suggest we meet there at 19:30.

If you are in Vienna on that day, and you like the idea, I ask you to FILL THIS FORM (https://forms.gle/bSEQW5V5NqPeCnidA), as I need to know in advance the number of people participating (a reservation is necessary in that place). Feel free to extend the invitation to some friends.

I am looking forward to seeing you (hopefully many of you) in Vienna,
Michele Calvello

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News from members WG08 IoT-based methods and analyses

Working Group 8 kick-off meeting

NEWS received from
Dylan Mikesell and Luca Piciullo (NGI, Norway)

Please join us for the LandAware Working Group 8 (WG08kick-off meeting. This working group is meant to share knowledge from case studies and pilot test sites with the goal to test real-time monitoring and modeling for landslide early warning purposes. Both local and territorial landslide early warning systems will be investigated.

The speed-meeting will be brief (ca. 30min) and held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The goal of this meeting is to introduce interested participants to this working group and share information on potential opportunities. In addition, participants will have the chance to give input on the direction this working group goes.

Who: LandAware WG08

What: Kick-off meeting

WhereTeams Link

When: Wednesday 11 May 202216:00-16:30 CET

Agenda:

1. Introduction to WG08 – Luca Piciullo – 10 min

2. Short questionnaire – moderator Dylan Mikesell – 10 min

3. participant discussion – ca. 10/20 min

We hope to meet you soon virtually to start this exciting cooperative working group.

The organizing group:

Luca Piciullo, Dylan Mikesell, James Michael Strout, Regula Frauenfelder, Rosa Maria Palau Berastegui, Emanuele Intrieri, Małgorzata Chmiel, Veronica Tofani, Marcel Hürlimann.

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News from members

Call for manuscripts in the Special Issue “Natural Hazards, Disaster Risk Reduction and Society”

NEWS received from
Davide Tiranti (Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Piemonte region, Italy)

The Special Issue “Natural Hazards, Disaster Risk Reduction and Society” on All Earth journal – 3.235 (2020) Impact Factor – by Taylor & Francis Group is now open for manuscripts submission.

You can submit your manuscript for open-access publication by the deadline of November 14, 2022 following this link.

This Special Issue aims to collect and disseminate the most relevant research concerning the study and characterization of Natural Hazards also in view of the possible future scenarios induced by Climate Change. The topic also includes the impacts that hazards have on the human community and the environment, the strategies for the mitigation of the dangerousness, both in terms of methodologies aimed at the forecast and prediction of the calamitous phenomena and the best practices to develop and manage early warning, surveillance and mitigation systems, having regard to technological innovation. Another important theme addressed in the context of the Special Issue concerns the communication strategies, both for the purpose of alerting and environmental education addressed to stakeholders and citizens. Communication techniques and related procedures for dissemination of alert products are the link between experts and end users, a fundamental aspect for an effective action of prevention, mitigation and resilience against the Natural Hazards.

Key themes will include (among the others): Avalanches; Channelized debris flows; Climate change induced disasters, the scenarios, trends and patterns; Disaster management; Disaster Risk Reduction; Early Warning Systems; Hazard and risk communication; Landslides.

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News from members

SHEAR at EGU22

NEWS received from
Mirianna Budimir (Practical Action, SHEAR)

SHEAR will be presenting a range of discussions, findings, and learning from our innovative projects at the EGU22 General Assembly- join us to hear about the advancements we’ve made towards improved landslide risk reduction and early warning since 2016. Presentations related to landslides include:

–        Developing forecast information for institutional decision-makers (Monday 23 May, 17:54–18:01 Room 1.14): There remains a gap between the production of scientifically robust forecasts, and the translation of these forecasts into useful information for institutional decision-makers in early warning systems. This presentation will explore learning and share best practices about both the content and process of developing such early warning information for institutional decision-makers, providing specific case study examples and drawing on practical experience from SHEAR projects.

–        Developing a methodology for the delineation of regions into landslide domains with a case study in East Sikkim, India (Tuesday 24 May, 08:52–08:59 Room 0.16): This presentation will share a new, more systematic methodology for the mapping of landslide domains, using as a case study East Sikkim district, a landslide-prone region in northeast India. Landslide domains are defined as regions with similar physical and environmental characteristics that specifically drive landslide dynamics. These domains can support the homogenous description of landslide processes, training and stakeholder engagement in landslide processes, and the development of landslide susceptibility maps and early warning.

–        Value of ground information in regions with limited landslide inventory for trigger threshold development — Application in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu State, India (Tuesday 24 May, 13:20–13:27 Room 1.61/62): Forecasting rainfall-induced landslides is increasingly important as these hazards greatly impact communities, however it is extremely challenging due to the variability of the geo-environmental factors and the scale of underlying processes. Extensive data is needed to develop end validate forecasting thresholds, but this data is often limited. This presentation will share an innovative hydrological mode, called the “BGS water balance model”, which has been used in Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu state, India) to integrate the limited data available and support the development of threshold models, enabling the mapping of conditions that lead to landslide events.

–        Developing the conceptual framework for a prototype government-led regional Landslide Early Warning System in India (Wednesday 25 May, 13:25–13:32 Room M2): The LANDSLIP project has been working since 2016 to develop a prototype regional landslide forecasting and early warning system (LEWS) to help build resilience to rainfall-induced landslides in the Nilgiris and Darjeeling districts of India. In this presentation, key learning and reflections on the development of this prototype LEWS will be shared, including the challenges and outcomes of developing the underpinning conceptual framework, and the building of a shared understanding among the wide range of project partners involved.

–        Serious game for landslides: a review of the literature reviews to fill an existing gap in serious game research (Wednesday 25 May, 15:50–15:56 Room 1.14): Serious games are designed to develop knowledge and skills, or to change attitudes, about a specific topic. In this presentation, a member of the SHEAR Studentship Cohort shares the findings of a review of 58 serious games related to natural hazards or disaster risk, comparing characteristics and identifying gaps to devise four ideas for serious games for landslides in data-poor regions, focusing on India.

–        Road influences on landslide inventories (Thursday 26 May, 14:31–14:38 Room 1.31/32): Roads can both increase and decrease the likelihood of landslides occurring in a given region. This SHEAR Studentship Cohort presentation shares the findings of a spatial statistical analysis of landslide proximity to roads across a range of geographic settings and landslide inventory types to better understand how to use road proximity in landslide susceptibility models.

–        Investigating boulder motions with smart sensors in lab experiments (Thursday 26 May, 15:39–15:46 Room K2): Events such as landslides, rockslides, debris flows, and flash floods can have destructive and possibly fatal outcomes. In these events, boulders are carried downstream under the action of gravity; the study of their movement can give important insight on the dynamics and hazards related to these processes. This presentation will share research outcomes from the BOULDER project, which has been investigating boulder motion by the use of smart sensors in geomorphology applications both in lab and field experiments in order to better understand these hazardous flows and improve early warning systems.

For full details of all SHEAR presentations and a calendar, see here.

If you have any questions, please email Mirianna Budimir (Mirianna.budimir@practicalaction.org.uk).