UNIPD-NCKU Joint Summer School 2014 "NATURAL HAZARDS IN THE ITALIAN ALPS" June 29 - July 6 2014

Dal 29.06.2014 al 06.07.2014

This summer school represents the second appointment of the agreement signed two years ago between TESAF Dept. (University of Padova) and the Earth Science Dept. (National Cheng Kung University). The purpose was to arrange a moment where 10 Italian and 10 Taiwanese students meet each other and discuss about the critical and social issues related to natural hazards, since both Italy and Taiwan are yearly subject of several natural disaster. In 2013 a first summer school/field trip was organized in Taiwan and 7 students from University of Padova attended the event. The purpose of this year is to organize the same in the Italian Alps (Dolomites). The principal aim is to make the students aware of natural hazards in the alpine region. This will be accomplished through both lectures and field surveys in a typical alpine catchment (Rio Cordon) and also a well-known site: the Vajont.

During this summer school, the students had the possibility to gain awareness of the principal issues related to natural hazards in the Alps, especially landslides and debris flow. Some lectures were gave at the campus of Agripolis (Scuola di Agraria – Medicina Veterinaria), whereas field surveys have been carried out in the Rio Cordon alpine catchment. This study area fits for the purposes because it has been fully covered by several surveys in the last decades. In addition, multi-temporal environmental data (landslide scars, channel heads, rainfall and discharge, sediment transport, channel network) are available and tested.

Then the students visited the Vajont dam (BL) in order to understand how one of the most (and sadly) famous natural disasters in the world, has occurred.
Dr. Paolo Tarolli, from University of Padova, was the teacher in charge of the Summer School. Prof. Ruey-Juin Rau, head of the Earth Science Dept. of the National Cheng Kung University, also attended as co-instructor.