Geographical Information Systems in Assessing Natural Hazards

The 16 contributions to Geographical Information Systems in Assessing Natural Hazards report on GIS investigations into landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and groundwater pollution hazards. Current methods for predicting extreme events are critically discussed, the emphasis being on the intrinsic complexity of this type of operation, requiring many spatial data, long historical records and sound models of the physical processes involved. Within this context, the potentials and limitations of GIS are addressed in terms of data acquisition, spatial data structures and modelling for simulation of the causal phenomena.
Geographic Information Systems in Assessing Natural Hazards will help investigators in both public and private institutions to evaluate the actual effectiveness of GIS in coping with natural disasters, and to develop new strategies for projects aimed at the assessment and mitigation of the effects of such catastrophic events.

Klappentext

The 16 contributions to Geographical Information Systems in Assessing Natural Hazards report on GIS investigations into landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and groundwater pollution hazards. Current methods for predicting extreme events are critically discussed, the emphasis being on the intrinsic complexity of this type of operation, requiring many spatial data, long historical records and sound models of the physical processes involved. Within this context, the potentials and limitations of GIS are addressed in terms of data acquisition, spatial data structures and modelling for simulation of the causal phenomena. Geographic Information Systems in Assessing Natural Hazards will help investigators in both public and private institutions to evaluate the actual effectiveness of GIS in coping with natural disasters, and to develop new strategies for projects aimed at the assessment and mitigation of the effects of such catastrophic events.

Inhalt
1 A Survey of the Field of Natural Hazards and Disaster Studies.- 2 GIS and Natural Hazards: An Overview from a GIS Perspective.- 3 Vector and Raster Structures in Generating Drainage-Divide Networks from Digital Terrain Models.- 4 Deterministic Modelling in GIS-Based Landslide Hazard Assessment.- 5 Determining Paths of Gravity-Driven Slope Processes: The 'Vector Tree Model'.- 6 Statistical and Simulation Models for Mapping Debris-Flow Hazard.- 7 Multivariate Regression Analysis for Landslide Hazard Zonation.- 8 GIS Technology in Mapping Landslide Hazard.- 9 Flood Delineation and Impact Assessment in Agricultural Land Using GIS Technology.- 10 The Role of GIS as a Tool for the Assessment of Flood Hazard at the Regional Scale.- 11 GIS Technology for the Design of Computer-Based Models in Seismic Hazard Assessment.- 12 GIS-Aided Volcanic Activity Hazard Analysis for the Hawaii Geothermal Project Environmental Impact Statement.- 13 GIS Potential for Regional and Local Scale Groundwater Hazard Assessment.- 14 Application of GIS to Hazard Assessment, with Particular Reference to Landslides in Hong Kong.- 15 The San Mateo County California GIS Project for Predicting the Consequences of Hazardous Geologic Processes.- 16 GIS Used to Derive Operational Hydrologic Products from in Situ and Remotely Sensed Snow Data.- Colour Plates.