water floods, droughtsand wildfires- brown（水洪水、droughtsand野火-布朗）.docVIP

Water: Floods and Droughts; Landslides and Wildfires Extremes of Water Excess and Deficiency Geological Sciences 4 Provisional Syllabus for Proposed Course Synopsis: Water, the ultimate source of life, is often mankinds greatest killer during the cataclysms of tsunamis, mudslides, killer storms, droughts and wildfires. This course provides a common forum for science and humanities students to collaboratively analyze the physical processes and consequences of the distribution and movement of water throughout the environment. No prerequisites. No exams.? John F. Hermance Professor of Environmental Geophysics/Hydrology Department of Geological Sciences Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel.: 401-863-3830 Office: Room 167, Geochem Building 324 Brook Street (Corner Brook and George Streets) e-mail: John_Hermance@Brown.Edu Course Description Overview. This course provides a common forum for students in the sciences and humanities to collaboratively analyze the local, regional, and global impacts of water surplus and deficiency; the yin and yang of floods and droughts. Water, comprised of the two most common elements in nature, has some of the most anomalous properties of any chemical compound, man-made or natural, causing water to be a principal agent in a broad spectrum of natural processes, from wildfires to landslides, even earthquakes. Our educational strategy will be to first understand the physical processes associated with water in the environment, and how the fundamental properties of water mitigate against some natural disasters, while “fueling” others. In short, we want to assess the causes of water-related catastrophes and their impact on peoples from a variety of cultures, and to debate, from the points of view of the technologist and the humanist, the prospects for the national and international community to predict and mitigate water-driven disasters. To do so, students will engage in a semester-long, interactive dialogue on issu