May 16th – May 20th
Lecturer in charge of the module:
Lecturer(s) contributing to the module
Application are due by: May,12nd
Module Learning Objectives and Skill Acquisition
This module consists in three parts. The first allows the students to familiarize with the definition and quantification of extremes as well as the associated risks. Examples on how people have coped and do cope with hydrometeorological extreme events such floods, droughts, cyclones, heat waves, etc. are illustrated. The second part is dedicated to the effects of climate change on hydrometeorological extremes and on possible adaptation strategies. Climate modelling of extremes is discussed together with ways to deal with the presence of unavoidable uncertainties in climate impact projections. The third part describes the catastrophe modelling (CAT) done by the re-insurance industry and the students will apply a simplified CAT model.
Detailed Teaching Agenda
Part I: Extremes and Risk
| Lecture topic | Lecturer | Hours |
| Introduction and examples of hydrometeorological extremes | AV | 2 |
| Quantifying extremeness and definition of hazard | AV | 2 |
| Exercise: flood frequency analysis of the Danube at Melk | AV | 2 |
| Coping with extreme hydrometerological events: options and examples | AV | 2 |
| Exercise: Danube flood risk reduction at Melk and cost-benefit analysis | AV | 2 |
Part II: Coping with extremes in a changing world
| Lecture topic | Lecturer | Hours |
| Changes in flood risk, Surprises and Feedbacks hydrology-society | AV | 2 |
| Climate modelling of extremes and future projections | JH | 2 |
| Coping with uncertainty in climate impact projections | JH | 2 |
| Numerical exercise: analysis of extremes in climate model data | JH | 2 |
| Environmental Social and Climate Change Risk for infrastructures | RM | 2 |
Part III: Catastrophe modelling in the re-insurance industry
Lecture topic | Lecturer | Hours |
| Catastrophe modelling and re-insurance industry | CB | 2 |
| Coping with extreme events in the insurance sector | MS | 2 |
| Use of CAT models for financial risk assessment and analysis | LM | 4 |
| Catastrophe loss modelling: showcase and application exercise | LM | 2 |
Involved stakeholders
Assessment and grading
The students, subdivided in groups, are asked to reason on topics related to the course proposed by the teacher with no preparation time. First, each group has 5 min discussion time to elaborate the topic, where only the group members are allowed to participate. Second, (max) 5 min discussion time is allowed where all other students can participate. The grading is based on the the demonstrated knowledge and the clarity of exposition in the topic discussions.
ECTS: 3
Hours of lecture: 30