CEG8514 : Climate Change: Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation
- Offered for Year: 2022/23
- Module Leader(s): Professor Hayley Fowler
- Lecturer: Dr Alistair Ford, Dr Oliver Heidrich, Dr Stephen Blenkinsop, Professor Richard Dawson, Professor Sean Wilkinson
- Owning School: Engineering
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
Aims
The module aims are to:
introduce the likely hazards (impacts) associated with climate change in a range of areas of the human, built and natural environments;
develop understanding of risk, its composition in terms of hazard and vulnerability and how these can vary spatially depending on local context;
develop understanding of engineering adaptation strategies to identified hazards and risks for a number of key areas in the context of a changing climate;
apply a relevant framework for the assessment of risks and adaptations for different cities.
The module introduces the concept of risk in the context of natural (hydro-climatological) hazards in a changing climate. The impacts of climate change on different sectors, principally (but not exclusively) related to water are described and engineering responses to these impacts are examined. The module demonstrates how climate information and methods introduced previously are used in practice in risk assessment frameworks to adapt to these future risks and aid decision-making.
Outline Of Syllabus
Students will learn not just how climate change will impact society, but also how we can assess the risk and decide how we should respond. The student will be well equipped to propose, assess, and apply sustainable adaptation strategies in a range of key settings.
Key concepts of impacts, hazard, vulnerability and risk in the context of climate change.
Identifying hazards and vulnerabilities at specific locations or in specific systems on local to national scales.
Use of climate information/data/models in impact studies, including how they are applied with impact models.
Detection of change in climate and climate hazards
Attributing anthropogenic influence on changes in climate and climate hazards.
Impacts and adaptation (including engineering) strategies for hydro-climatic hazards:
Flooding: fluvial and pluvial , sea level rise and coastal
Water resources
Heat, people and buildings
Critical infrastructure
Sustainable cities: strategy, design and implementation and the need for integrated assessment
Using risk assessment frameworks to consider how data and tools examined during the course are applied in practice to undertake risk assessment and adaptation planning for climate change.
The UK legal and institutional frameworks for climate adaptation (and mitigation) and wider international context.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 30:00 | 30:00 | Coursework |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 9 | 1:00 | 9:00 | Pip lectures |
| Structured Guided Learning | Academic skills activities | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | Guided remote practical exercise (Asynchronous online) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | PiP computer practicals and group work |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured non-synchronous discussion | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | Recordings with guided short activities (Asynchronous online) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | PiP discussion sessions and seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 42:00 | 42:00 | Background reading, practice, and study |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures allow transfer of the various knowledge, methods and practices available for understanding impacts and adaptation, and in person computer-based practicals and other tutorials and workshops allow for consolidation of this knowledge prior to its application in a given problem (which is carried out as coursework). Guided independent study will comprise short recorded lectures some of which will be supported by short exercises and learning from these will be consolidated in group discussions and seminars. Should the public health situation require us to move our teaching online alternative arrangements should be easily implemented as this module has been delivered remotely twice. Remaining in person lectures can be substituted with either existing or new recorded lectures as all lecturers now have the skills to do this. In person workshops and practicals all use open-source online software and tools and so can be delivered remotely with synchronous online sessions implemented to support these.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case study | 2 | M | 100 | Casework Report (2000 words) |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Assessed by coursework. This allows a student's knowledge and understanding of the theory and practical methods introduced in the teaching to be monitored, applied and tested.
Assessment is :-
(a) Coursework - which assesses understanding of the nature of risk as a function of hazards and vulnerability and how these are incorporated into the risk assessment and adaptation planning processes using climate change impacts information. Understanding of viable responses to identified risks is assessed.
The rationale is to assess the students’ grasp of the practical skills and understanding represented by the knowledge outcomes. The written exercise involves using a risk assessment framework for the assessment of vulnerability and risk and the development of an adaptation plan for a chosen city. It assesses skills in the use of the taught methods, available open-access tools and datasets, and ability to critique their use by identifying their limitations.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- CEG8514's Timetable