Environmental Hazards
Luke Cullen edited this page Dec 17, 2020
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2 revisions
A summary of the environmental hazards we are concerned with in this domain to try and narrow our focus. Environmental denotes hazards related to the physical world rather than political/social factors such as mismanagement, embezzlement etc... although these can unavoidably be related.
- Earthquake Ground Movement
- Visible Progress: + Building quality improvement, - More building near large fault-lines
- Ground Data: Exposure - https://www.globalquakemodel.org/gem, Quakes - https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=-73.01883,161.01563&extent=79.87656,588.51563
- Tsunamis
- Progress: + Flood barriers on coast, + Easy evacuation routes, - More buildings in hazardous area
- Ground Data: Limited examples of major tsunamis
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Direct
- Visible Progress: + Evacuation routes, + Infer more efficient evacuation from better telecommunications? (cell towers?, richer areas?), - More Buildings in hazardous area
- Ground Data:
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Volcanic Plumes
- Visible progress: ?
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Extreme Temperature (Heatwaves & Cold snaps)
- Visible progress: + More AC/heating (see units on houses or visible heat emissions NIR on sentinel 2?, low-res thermal on sentinel-3?), + More trees/greenery (countering urban heat island effect & avoiding whiteouts on plains?), + Access to water for cooling (see pools, unpolluted lakes?), - Densely populated urban areas for heat, - Worldwide effect of emissions from fossil power plants?
- Ground Data:
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Storms (Cyclones, Extra-tropical storms, Convective storms)
- Visible progress: + Better constructed buildings, + Infrastructure for evacuation, + Power plants/lines and houses clear of large trees?
- Ground Data: meteorological + coastal flooding,
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Fog?
- Wildfire (Forest, land, urban)
- Visible Progress: + Fire Breaks, - Houses in hazardous areas (dry forests), + Infrastructure for evacuation, + Clear forests with less tinder/kindling
- Ground Data:
- Drought
- Visible Progress: + Access to drinking water (water towers, unpolluted lakes, mains water distribution), + Irrigation for croplands, - Desertification, - Population growth in arid areas
- Ground Data:
- Flooding (Coastal, Flash flooding, Ice Jam, Riverine)
- Visible Progress:
- Landslides (Avalanches, Subsidence, Mudslides, Rockfalls)
- Visible Progress:
- Wave Action (Rogue waves, seiches)
- Visible Progress:
- Epidemics, Insect infestations
- Meteor impacts, extreme space weather
- Accidents - transport, industrial...