Slope-failure mechanisms, catastrophic mass flow processes and public perception of risk in British Columbia and Southern Patagonia

Mountainous environments present a variety of risks to human populations in the surrounding communities. Landslides in mountainous regions are a particularly deadly form of natural hazard due to their unpredictability and potential scale, resulting in thousands of deaths every year. Due to current climate warming as a result of human actions, the risk of these natural disasters is increasing in both frequency and magnitude. The Mount Meager Massif presents a contemporary case study of how climate warming is resulting in increased landslides that have the capability to severely impact local communities. This research intends to use fieldwork to map and quantify this risk to local communities, as well as interviews with the first-nation communities in the area to determine their perception of risk in a warming climate. The outcomes of this research will be a chapter within my PhD thesis, and a research paper in an academic journal.

Faculty Supervisor:

Michele Koppes

Student:

Partner:

Newcastle University

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Sustainability & the Environment; Environmental Science and Technology; Indigenous Affairs

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: