Earth & Space Sciences

Natural disasters are a part of everyday life and may cause significant economic, social, and emotional damage. Natural disasters include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, meteorite impacts, floods, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, landslides, and land subsidence. Many natural disasters act at scales so large that humans have no choice but to adapt or suffer the consequences. But in many others, it is mostly human (in)action and behavior before and after the event itself that determines the scale and scope of a disaster. This course connects several recent developments; the ongoing climate change, the increasing connections between economies which cause, for example, the next earthquake in Tokyo or California to have global repercussions, modern media showing the tsunami in Thailand real-time into our homes, refugee flows, and climate conflicts. The course is designed for bachelor students in economics, social sciences, physical geography, earth sciences, history, social geography, environmental sciences, and liberal arts and sciences.

This course explores the many aspects of volcanism on Earth, from the formation of magma below or within the crust to its eruption at the surface, focusing on the volcanism of Mt. Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world and a perfect natural laboratory thanks to its peculiar characteristics. The different types of eruptive styles of volcanoes are described and explained within their geological and tectonic contexts, with an additional focus on their impact on the local ecosystem and on human activities in the region, through multiple case studies and in-class discussions. A geological excursion to the Aeolian Islands volcanic archipelago provides an opportunity to further explore modern volcano monitoring techniques, with a particular focus on geophysical and geochemical methods, and of implementing data collection into a research project. This course provides students, through a combination of classroom and field-based learning, with knowledge on geophysical, geochemical and petrological monitoring methods of active volcanoes, on the techniques and strategies for analyzing and modeling monitoring data and on their use for the purpose of assessing volcanic hazard. In addition to the lectures, the students are engaged in practical exercises on instrumentation and modeling methods. The field trips and site visits also provide context to devote specific attention to the impact of volcanic eruptions on human activities and life, unveiling the close interplay between man and volcanoes around the world and throughout history.

The course introduces field study and geological surveying methods. The teaching material is lecture based and includes the concept of field geological surveying and the Heng-Chun Peninsula, which the class embarks on a four-day trip to Southern Taiwan to examine the rock and land formations of the area. Field practice is held during the semester, and performance during the field observation is the main determinant for performance assessment. Students who cannot participate in the field trip should not enroll in the course.

The course provides an introduction to the key concepts and applications of geomorphology, with particular reference to the understanding of fluvial, slope, coastal/marine systems. The course builds upon the basic understanding of earth systems and environmental change acquired during first year students, and facilitates a deeper appreciation of the conceptual and technical issues involved in understanding how landform morphology evolves at various time and space scales. Topics include a brief history of geomorphology, showing how it has emerged from geological origins as a distinct geoscience in its own right; key concepts related to the analysis of landform morphology and the understanding of temporal and spatial scales of landform change (including computer practicals); processes of sediment entrainment, transport, and deposition, illustrated in the context of hillslope, aeolian, fluvial and coastal landforms; and the concept of morphodynamics.

The course provides an overview of geology, the science of the earth. An understanding of geology is important to many disciplines, providing information about the physical and chemical processes that determine the distribution of resources, location of hazards, operation of surface processes and the interaction between engineering structures and earth surface materials. The four components of the course begin with consideration of the earth’s structure and the role of plate tectonics, before considering the nature of earth surface materials and the functioning of earth surface systems.