Multi-hazards and resilience
BGS Research
Natural hazardous processes have significant effects on economic growth, the built environment, lives and livelihoods. Risks and impacts of disasters are particularly severe in developing countries and are likely to be exacerbated by climate change.
Our work with partners worldwide to enhance understanding of hazards, exposure, vulnerability and risk will ensure our science is usable, useful and used.
- Single hazard characterisation: improving our monitoring, characterisation, analysis and modelling of single hazard processes, such as rockfalls or earthquakes
- Multi-hazard characterisation and cascades: improving our monitoring, characterisation, analysis and modelling of the relationships between hazards, such as those between earthquakes and landslides
- Impacts, vulnerability and exposure: characterising the potential impacts of a hazard or multi-hazards on populations, societies and their assets.
- Forecasting: supporting the management of risks by governments by rapidly harvesting and analysing near
real-time data to provide information about a hazardous or multi-hazardous event. - Hazard and risk communication: working with risk-affected communities, particularly internationally, and tailoring science to meet their needs, improving the understanding of societies at risk and effecting action or behavioural change.
- Event response: providing responsive services, products or advice to decision makers such as governments before, during and after hazardous events.
- Resilience and recovery: working with partners to reduce risks, support redevelopment and identify ways to use the reconstruction process to improve a community’s resilience following a hazardous event.
- Data acquisition: collecting and managing data from the monitoring of hazards or multi-hazard events, their processes and impacts.
- Uncertainty: underpinning effective decision making by gaining a sound understanding of uncertainty in natural-hazard risk assessment.
Our multi-hazard research projects
Geomagnetism
Measuring, recording and interpreting variations in the Earth’s magnetic field including those caused by space weather
Volcanology
Our scientists lead research projects and work in partnerships around the world to improve our understanding of volcanic processes, hazards and risks.
Earthquakes and seismology research
We are measuring, recording and analysing ground motions from earthquakes and other seismic events across the UK and overseas.
Shallow geohazards
Measuring, recording and analysing near-surface geological hazards including landslides, sinkholes and discontinuities.
Our facilities
Engineering and Geotechnical Capability
The BGS Engineering and Geotechnical Capability leads the development and application of field and laboratory infrastructure and long-term management of geophysical and geotechnical property data.
Shallow geophysics
BGS are developing and using leading-edge technologies such as Geophysical Tomography to image the shallow subsurface.
Geodesy and Earth Observation
We develop and use innovative Earth observation (EO) techniques to characterise and monitor Earth processes that impact lives and livelihoods.
Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET)
COMET analyses satellite measurements alongside ground-based observations and geophysical models to study earthquakes and volcanoes
Our core challenge areas
Related news
Introducing the BGS Debris Flow Susceptibility Model for Great Britain
21/11/2022
Debris flows are a landslide hazard of particular concern to transport infrastructure managers and local authorities.
Film trilogy wins award and shares experiences of 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption
24/10/2022
A collaborative film trilogy co-directed by BGS Volcanologist, Dr Anna Hicks, has won the overall ‘Dynamic Earth’ Theme Award at the Earth Futures Festival 2022.
Scientific report published
22/09/2022
BGS was requested by the UK Government to address six questions related to recent scientific research on the hazard and risk from induced seismicity during hydraulic fracturing of shale rocks.
BGS GeoScour: bridging the river erosion data gap
31/08/2022
The geological properties of bedrock and superficial deposits that make up riverbeds and banks are fundamental controls on the susceptibility of any given river reach to scouring.
River erosion: the forgotten hazard of flooding
03/08/2022
Impacts from flood events can be widespread, long-lasting and extremely costly. The UK Government and environmental protection agencies continue to invest heavily in mitigation measures, as well as trying to predict which areas are most at risk.
GeoScour dataset launch event
Event on 08/09/2022
BGS Product Development invites you to the launch of our newly updated dataset, GeoScour.
Observing magnetic fields: 100 years of data
02/08/2022
Marking the centenary of the Lerwick Geophysical Observatory.
UK’s geomagnetic blind spots tackled with new observatories
28/07/2022
Three new geomagnetic observatories have been installed across the UK to fill in the country’s ‘blind spots’ and tackle the risk posed by space weather.
Increased risk to the public from rockfalls as a result of the forecasted heatwave
15/07/2022
Take notice of warning signs and avoid going directly under or on top of cliffs, no matter how tempting it might be.
BGS GeoScour Open
The BGS GeoScour Open datasets provide a generalised overview of the natural characteristics and properties of catchment and riverine environments for the assessment of river scour in Great Britain.
BGS GeoScour Premium
The BGS GeoScour datasets provide a generalised overview of the natural characteristics and properties of catchment and riverine environments for the assessment of river scour in Great Britain.
Developing regional-scale landslide forecasting in hazard-prone regions of India
23/06/2022
BGS has been involved in co-developing a prototype regional-scale landslide forecasting system in two hazard-prone districts of India.