Teaching Natural Hazards: The Use of Snow Avalanches in Demonstrating and Addressing Geographic Topics and Principles

Butler, David

doi:10.1080/00221348808979790

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The first appraises the content of hazards instruction or methods of delivery (Lidstone, 1990(Lidstone, , 1996Mitchell et al, 2008). The second follows the creation of teaching materials, such as hazards maps, and their use (Anderson, 1987;Butler, 1988;Cross, 1988;Lewis, 2006). This project builds on the lessons learned from this literature.…”

Section: Hazards Educationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Development of an online hazards atlas to improve disaster awareness

Battersby

Mitchell

Cutter

2011

International Research in Geographical and Environmental Educat

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Understanding the causes, effects and geographic patterns of local hazards is important for helping individuals make educated decisions about how to respond to their threat. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to find comprehensive sources of information about local hazards. In this paper, we discuss the development of an online hazards atlas for the state of South Carolina. We have designed this atlas to facilitate awareness about the causes and effects of hazards. An effective method for communicating this information is through education and awareness programs for children, so we have designed this atlas primarily as an educational tool for K-12 students. However, we have also structured the atlas to ensure that it provides details of interest to the general population. In this paper, we focus on educational, methodological and technical aspects of development of the online hazards atlas to highlight both the benefits and challenges of this type of product and to emphasize where it fits as a tool for improving hazards education. In addressing these issues, we present a model that can be adapted for use in other geographic areas. IntroductionThe recent Grand Challenges for Disaster Reduction (NSTC [National Science and Technology Council -Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction], 2005) report suggested six broad challenges for reducing the impacts of disasters -one of these challenges was to "promote risk-wise behavior" through better communication of information about hazards (NSTC, 2005, p. 2). Learning about the causes, effects and geographic patterns of hazards is an important part of understanding the local environment. A population that is knowledgeable about hazards is critical so that individuals can make educated decisions about how to respond to the threat of different types of hazards; this can help to create a more "safe society" (Press, 1989). Thus, there is a need for focused educational materials designed to improve public awareness so that individuals can make more intelligent decisions about preparing for, surviving and recovering from hazards when they occur. Blanchard-Boehm and Cook (2004) have indicated that in order to motivate hazard preparedness and mitigation, we need resources that can communicate clearly to individuals with little to no personal experience with specific hazards. Even for individuals with personal experience, the reiteration of information about the risks of hazards is important. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to find comprehensive sources of information about local hazards .

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Section: Hazards Educationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Development of an online hazards atlas to improve disaster awareness

Battersby

Mitchell

Cutter

2011

International Research in Geographical and Environmental Educat

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“…The first focus has been the creation of materials to teach hazards, or an appraisal of existing resources for said use. Over the past 20 years educators have been shown how to use hazards maps in the classroom (Cross, 1988), how geographic principles can be demonstrated by snow avalanches (Butler, 1988), volcanoes (Anderson, 1987) and tornadoes (Lewis, 2006), and how hazard events may be altered in response to global change (Mitchell & Cutter, 1997). A digital hazards atlas of a U.S. state has also been developed for classroom use Thomas et al, 1999).…”

Section: Hazards Geography In the K-12 Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Hazards Geography and Geographic Information Systems: A Middle School Level Experience

Mitchell¹,

Borden²,

Schmidtlein³

2008

Int. Res. in Geo & Environ. Edu.

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Hazards are taught with the belief that knowing something about their occurrence might help us avoid their consequences. The integrative nature of hazards -physical and social systems bound together -is attractive to the student and the instructor alike. Answering why we teach hazards is fairly straightforward. A more pressing question at present is this: how should we teach about hazards? To a large degree, attention towards how we teach hazards in a K-12 environment has been sparse. In this paper we explore the challenges faced when introducing hazards geography in a pre-collegiate setting. Following a review of the status of teaching hazards and the use of geographic information systems as an instructional aid, we outline a hazards course taught successfully for middle school students and discuss implementation obstacles for the traditional classroom.

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“…Incorporating larger areas of accurate sampling across all major ecosystem types of a given area into global carbon cycle models will enhance accuracy of terrestrial carbon storage (Grierson, Adams, & Attiwill, 1989). Mountains make up about 20% of the Earth's landmass with much of this area at latitudes or elevations that promote snow accumulation (Armstrong & Williams, 1986;Butler, 1988). Avalanche paths represent a significant portion of land in the northern Rocky Mountains, as much as 50% in some mountain valleys (Walsh et al, 2004), and therefore should be clearly distinguished from surrounding forest when estimating regional carbon storage and/or cycling.…”

Section: Terrestrial Carbonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Slab avalanches, the third type of avalanche documented in the Butler (1986) chronology, are the most lethal of the three, accounting for 96% of all avalanche related human fatalities in the United States (Armstrong, 1984). They can be of the wet or dry variety and involve the release of cohesive layer(s) of snow as a single unit (Butler, 1988;Fredston & Fesler, 2011b). These have been found to occur regularly in the southern portion of the park (Reardon et al, 2004).…”

Section: Avalanche Type and Associated Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Snow avalanches are mass movements consisting of mainly snow as well as sediment, rocks, and debris. They leave a significant signature on forests in which they occur that can be easily recognized as avalanche paths in alpine to subalpine environments (Butler, 1988;Fredston & Fesler, 2011a;Schaerer, 1972;. Avalanche paths in the northern Rocky Mountains tend to be associated with topographic indentions on a slope; within which lies a narrow gully, creek, or central ravine (Butler & Malanson, 1990;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimating organic carbon on avalanche paths in Glacier National Park, Montana

Williams

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___________________________________Marc Linderman ___________________________________ Heather Sanderii "Far away in Montana, hidden from view by clustering mountain-peaks, lies an unmapped northwestern corner -the Crown of the Continent. The water from the crusted snowdrift which caps the peak of a lofty mountain there trickles into tiny rills, which hurry along north, south, east and west, and growing to rivers, at last pour their currents into three seas. From this mountain-peak the Pacific and the Arctic oceans and the Gulf of Mexico receive each its tribute. Here is a land of striking scenery."George Bird Grinnell 1901iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to Greg Pederson and his crew for the initial data collection in 2003.Thanks to the Glacier National Park personnel for granting permission to conduct this research. Special thanks to Chris Douglass, who assisted with data collection in August of 2013 (sorry we didn't catch any fish). Most importantly, I would like to thank my family for their encouragement and support while pursuing my Master's degree.iv ABSTRACT Avalanche paths are unique ecosystems that represent a significant portion of the landscape in the northern Rocky Mountains. Frequent avalanche disturbance results in vegetative cover that is unlike the adjacent coniferous forest. These high relief environments have the potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere at rates differing from those of the surrounding forest, and to regulate matter and/or energy fluxes to downslope ecosystems. This thesis attempts to estimate organic carbon on south-facing avalanche paths in the southern portion of Glacier National Park, Montana. I am specifically interested in total organic carbon density, compartmental carbon density, and change in organic carbon over time as a function of shrub and tree diameter. Using an integrated sampling method, estimates of total organic carbon on avalanche paths appear to be different than those of the adjacent forest and similar to those of other shrub formation types in the area. However, the potentially moveable litter compartment is consistently larger. Organic carbon from shrub and trees growing on paths appears to be increasing at a continuous rate leading up to disturbance, while a typical individual's rate of increase appears to be slowing. The organic material temporarily stored on avalanche paths could serve as an important outside carbon source for near and distant aquatic ecosystems.

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Teaching Natural Hazards: The Use of Snow Avalanches in Demonstrating and Addressing Geographic Topics and Principles

Cited by 13 publications

References 32 publications

Development of an online hazards atlas to improve disaster awareness

Development of an online hazards atlas to improve disaster awareness

Teaching Hazards Geography and Geographic Information Systems: A Middle School Level Experience

Estimating organic carbon on avalanche paths in Glacier National Park, Montana

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