Presenting Our Annual Report 2010

Welcome to our online Annual Report 2010. Here you can find out about our performance in 2010, our fields of research and our challenges for the future.

Word cloud of Natural Hazards 2010 by Wordle

The research plan was followed and the goals set for the year were achieved. With respect to four major goals of ICG, a) in-kind contribution from the partners, b) complementary projects from the industry, c) number of PhD candidates, and d) international networking, the results have exceeded by far the goals and expectations.

• Assessment of the risks associated with geohazards to individuals and society, with special focus on the impacts of climate change and changes in demography on the risks.
• Development and improvement of methods for modelling the mechanical proc-esses underlying the physical phenomena of different geohazards and for evaluating the consequences of geohazards.
• Geohazards prevention and risk mitigation strategies.
• Collaborative research efforts with European partners in European Commission's 7th Framework Programme (FP7).
• Graduate university programmes on geohazards at UiO and NTNU.
• Joint workshops, seminars, and project meetings contributed to further enhance the good collaboration among the five partners.

The ICG partners are involved in several FP7 projects related to natural hazards. The latest project is MATRIX: New Multi-HAzard and MulTi-RIsK Assessment MethodS for Europe, which started in October 2010. There is considerable interest and enthusiasm about the activities of ICG, both in Norway and abroad.

Challenges for 2011
The overall research plan remains essentially unchanged. The main challenges foreseen for 2011 include:

• Finding complementary funding sources to maintain the high activity level at ICG through the end of 2012.
• Research on complex issues such as vulnerability and risk assessment, tsunami run-up estimation, disintegration of material during sliding, rainfall-induced landslides, earthquake response, etc.
• Identification of the niches where the combined expertise of ICG partners could be put into practical use on the international arena.
• Networking with centres of expertise who work on the societal aspects of the risk associated with geohazards.
• Further work on identifying the most appropriate strategies for geohazards prevention and risk mitigation.
• Implementing the achievements made at ICG in practical use within the partner organisations.
• Attracting PhD candidates, post-docs and guest researchers to Norway.
• Active participation in the research programmes on natural hazards and risk management in the 7th Frame Programme.
• Running and planning new international conferences, seminars and workshops.
• Publication in highly respected scientific journals.