Time series of hindcast wave data on the eastern Mexican coast were analysed. The goal was to examine the presence of interannual trends in the number or the main features of wave storm events. Storms were classified as related to tropical cyclones or Norte events. There is no significant change in the events related to Nortes during the study period. However, there are subtle increases in the number, wave height and energy content of events related to tropical cyclones in the western Caribbean.

Recent coastal floods in the USA have highlighted a lack of resilience in poor communities. By researching successes from Bangladesh and Cuba, this paper details how lessons from these countries can reduce the vulnerability of less well-off or isolated American citizens to future coastal storm surges. The relevance of the lessons learnt from Cuba and Bangladesh to the USA was assessed. Transferable lessons include the importance of volunteerism and education in developing a “culture of safety”.

Scour (erosion) during floods can cause bridges to collapse. Modern design and maintenance mitigates the risk, so failures are rare. The residual risk is uncertain, but expert knowledge can help constrain it. We asked 19 experts about scour risk using methods designed to treat judgements alongside other scientific data. The findings identified knowledge gaps about scour processes and suggest wider uncertainty about scour risk than might be inferred from observation, models or experiments alone.

To address the issue of what can influence the occurrence of landslides on a global scale and to what impact those factors can have in a relatively objective way, we proposed to produce a global landslide susceptibility map using the method of logistic regression. We find out that topology may not be the first controlling factor of landslides, and finer resolution of DEM may not significantly contribute to the improvement of landslide model when the location precision of landslides is limited.

A total of 743 Asian dust storm (ADS) events from January 2003 to August 2015 were analyzed using backward trajectory HYSPLIT models to gain insight into the dust generation and transport in eastern Asia. Spatial distribution of ADS events is northwesterly, as more than two-thirds of ADS events are azimuthally confined. The total amount of cumulative PM₁₀ discharge was rather constant over time in Korea, as there is an inverse correlation between ADS occurrence and PM₁₀ dust air concentration.

Earthquakes are produced by sudden movements of rock masses along surfaces called faults. Major earthquakes are produced by major faults. It is important to know where these faults are located in a territory. Major faults can be seen in the landscape as they control the morphology of the terrain. In the field geologists determine their last movement and the rate they move at over time. This information is stored in active fault databases and later used for earthquake prevention.