Hazel P. Faulkner

Bio: Hazel P. Faulkner is an academic researcher from Middlesex University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Flood myth & Erosion. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 45 publications receiving 1412 citations. Previous affiliations of Hazel P. Faulkner include University of Hertfordshire & University of North London.

Developing a Translational Discourse to Communicate Uncertainty in Flood Risk between Science and the Practitioner

Abstract: The language and tools of risk and uncertainty estimation in flood risk management (FRM) are rarely optimized for the extant communication challenge. This paper develops the rationale for a pragmatic semiotics of risk communication between scientists developing flood models and forecasts and those professional groups who are the receptors for flood risk estimates and warnings in the UK. The current barriers to effective communication and the constraints involved in the formation of a communication language are explored, focusing on the role of the professional's agenda or “mission” in creating or reducing those constraints. The tools available for the development of this discourse, for both flood warnings in real time and generalized FRM communications, are outlined. It is argued that the contested ownership of the articulation of uncertainties embedded in flood risk communications could be reduced by the development of a formally structured translational discourse between science and professionals in FRM, through which process “codes of practice” for uncertainty estimation in different application areas can be developed. Ways in which this might take place in an institutional context are considered.

The causes of piping in a set of abandoned agricultural terraces in southeast Spain

Abstract: This study aims to identify some of the factors contributing to the piping process in abandoned terraces in seven sites located in the Murcia Region (southeast Spain). The local landscape has the appearance of badland geomorphology, possessing deep valleys which until the 1970s were terraced and cultivated. The terraces have now been abandoned to the piping process. The research focuses on the relationship between the size and position of pipes and the physical and geochemistry properties of the local highly dispersive marl lithology; and the extent to which the reworking of the materials for terrace cultivation has exacerbated piping erosion. Morphologically, the terracing in the stream beds has resulted in a series of gentle benches separated by steeper risers with variable ‘drop’, (riser height). A series of flat infiltration surfaces result, and because the resculpting produces a reduced bulk density infill with enhanced throughflow, infiltrating water is forced along steep hydraulic gradients to a low outfall at the base of the riser. Paralleling studies of land levelling and terrace abandonment in similar materials elsewhere, piping in the study area is shown to be closely related to the physical and chemical characteristics of the materials its sodicity and dispersive character. Considerable differences in structure, texture, mineralogical composition and material's surface crust and subsoil geochemical properties emerged from ‘site signature’ plots, and these results suggest that agricultural processes affect the dispersive character of the crust materials, presumably because agricultural activity increases the buffering effect of organic acids on the dispersed clay. This is supported by the observation that on the one site that was levelled but not used for agriculture, a stable organically-distinct crust like the abandoned agricultural sites has not formed. The changes to the material's aggregate stability and bulk density properties when terracing occurs is examined, but insufficient evidence is available from the data collected to unpick the causes of aggregate stability changes in the study plots. The way in which differences between crust and subsoil enhance infiltration is discussed, and the role of the terrace ‘drop’ in influencing hydraulic gradients and pipe development is illustrated. A possible index to describe the relationship between evacuated material volumes and the controlling parameters discussed above is tested. It is concluded that terracing which is intended as a conservation practice has, in dispersive materials, actually enhanced piping, leading to the abandonment of farming.

Streams in the Urban Landscape

Abstract: The world’s population is concentrated in urban areas. This change in demography has brought landscape transformations that have a number of documented effects on stream ecosystems. The most consistent and pervasive effect is an increase in impervious surface cover within urban catchments, which alters the hydrology and geomorphology of streams. This results in predictable changes in stream habitat. In addition to imperviousness, runoff from urbanized surfaces as well as municipal and industrial discharges result in increased loading of nutrients, metals, pesticides, and other contaminants to streams. These changes result in consistent declines in the richness of algal, invertebrate, and fish communities in urban streams. Although understudied in urban streams, ecosystem processes are also affected by urbanization. Urban streams represent opportunities for ecologists interested in studying disturbance and contributing to more effective landscape management.

Gully erosion and environmental change: importance and research needs

Abstract: Assessing the impacts of climatic and, in particular, land use changes on rates of soil erosion by water is the objective of many national and international research projects. However, over the last decades, most research dealing with soil erosion by water has concentrated on sheet (interrill) and rill erosion processes operating at the (runoff) plot scale. Relatively few studies have been conducted on gully erosion operating at larger spatial scales. Recent studies indicate that (1) gully erosion represents an important sediment source in a range of environments and (2) gullies are effective links for transferring runoff and sediment from uplands to valley bottoms and permanent channels where they aggravate off site effects of water erosion. In other words, once gullies develop, they increase the connectivity in the landscape. Many cases of damage (sediment and chemical) to watercourses and properties by runoff from agricultural land relate to (ephemeral) gullying. Consequently, there is a need for monitoring, experimental and modelling studies of gully erosion as a basis for predicting the effects of environmental change (climatic and land use changes) on gully erosion rates. In this respect, various research questions can be identified. The most important ones are: (1) What is the contribution of gully erosion to overall soil loss and sediment production at various temporal and spatial scales and under different climatic and land use conditions? (2) What are appropriate measuring techniques for monitoring and experimental studies of the initiation and development of various gully types at various temporal and spatial scales? (3) Can we identify critical thresholds for the initiation, development and infilling of gullies in different environments in terms of flow hydraulics, rain, topography, soils and land use? (4) How does gully erosion interact with hydrological processes as well as with other soil degradation processes? (5) What are appropriate models of gully erosion, capable of predicting (a) erosion rates at various temporal and spatial scales and (b) the impact of gully development on hydrology, sediment yield and landscape evolution? (6) What are efficient gully prevention and gully control measures? What can be learned from failures and successes of gully erosion control programmes? These questions need to be answered first if we want to improve our insights into the impacts of environmental change on gully erosion. This paper highlights some of these issues by reviewing recent examples taken from various environments.

Comfort, cleanliness and conveniencethe social organization ofnormality

Abstract: Over the past few generations, expectations of comfort, cleanliness and convenience have altered radically, but these dramatic changes have largely gone unnoticed. This intriguing book brings together the sociology of consumption and technology to investigate the evolution of these changes, as well the social meaning of the practices themselves. Homes, offices, domestic appliances and clothes play a crucial role in our lives, but not many of us question exactly how and why we perform so many daily rituals associated with them. Showers, heating, air-conditioning and clothes washing are simply accepted as part of our normal, everyday lives, but clearly this was not always the case. When did the daily shower become de rigueur? What effect has air conditioning had on the siesta at one time an integral part of Mediterranean life and culture? This book interrogates the meaning and supposed normality of these practices and draws disturbing conclusions. There is clear evidence supporting the view that routine consumption is controlled by conceptions of normality and profoundly shaped by cultural and economic forces. Shove maintains that habits are not just changing, but are changing in ways that imply escalating and standardizing patterns of consumption. This shrewd and engrossing analysis shows just how far the social meanings and practices of comfort, cleanliness and convenience have eluded us.

Gully erosion: Impacts, factors and control

Abstract: Gully erosion attracts increasing attention from scientists as reflected by two recent international meetings [Poesen and Valentin (Eds.), Catena 50 (2–4), 87–564; Li et al., 2004. Gully Erosion Under Global Change. Sichuan Science Technology Press, Chengu, China, 354 pp.]. This growing interest is associated with the increasing concern over off-site impacts caused by soil erosion at larger spatial scales than the cultivated plots. The objective of this paper is to review recent studies on impacts, factors and control of gully erosion and update the review on dgully erosion and environmental change: importance and research needsT [Poesen et al., 2003. Catena 50 (2–4), 91–134.]. For the farmers, the development of gullies leads to a loss of crop yields and available land as well as an increase of workload (i.e. labour necessary to cultivate the land). Gullies can also change the mosaic patterns between fallow and cultivated fields, enhancing hillslope erosion in a feedback loop. In addition, gullies tend to enhance drainage and accelerate aridification processes in the semi-arid zones. Fingerprinting the origin of sediments within catchments to determine the relative contributions of potential sediment sources has become essential to identify sources of potential pollution and to develop management strategies to combat soil erosion. In this respect, tracers such as carbon, nitrogen, the nuclear bomb-derived radionuclide 137 Cs, magnetics and the strontium isotopic ratio are increasingly used to fingerprint sediment. Recent studies conducted in Australia, China, Ethiopia and USA showed that the major part of the sediment in reservoirs might have come from gully erosion. Gullies not only occur in marly badlands and mountainous or hilly regions but also more globally in soils subjected to soil crusting such as loess (European belt, Chinese Loess Plateau, North America) and sandy soils (Sahelian zone, north-east Thailand) or in soils prone to piping and tunnelling such as dispersive soils. Most of the time, the gullying processes are triggered by

Recommendations for the quantitative analysis of landslide risk

Abstract: This paper presents recommended methodologies for the quantitative analysis of landslide hazard, vulnerability and risk at different spatial scales (site-specific, local, regional and national), as well as for the verification and validation of the results. The methodologies described focus on the evaluation of the probabilities of occurrence of different landslide types with certain characteristics. Methods used to determine the spatial distribution of landslide intensity, the characterisation of the elements at risk, the assessment of the potential degree of damage and the quantification of the vulnerability of the elements at risk, and those used to perform the quantitative risk analysis are also described. The paper is intended for use by scientists and practising engineers, geologists and other landslide experts.