Municipal flood hazard mapping: the case of British Columbia,Canada

Historical responses to flood hazards have stimulated development in hazardous areas. Scholars recommend an alternative approach to reducing flood losses that combines flood hazard mapping with land use planning to identify and direct development away from flood-prone areas. Creating flood hazard maps to inform municipal land use planning is an expensive and complex process that can require resources not always available at the municipal government level. Senior levels of government in some countries have addressed deficiencies in municipal capacity by assuming an active role in producing municipal flood hazard maps. In other countries, however, senior governments do not contribute to municipal flood hazard mapping. Despite a large body of research on the importance of municipal land use planning for addressing flood hazards, little is known about the extent of flood hazard information that is available to municipalities that do not receive outside assistance from senior governments for flood hazard mapping. We assess the status of flood hazard maps in British Columbia, where municipalities do not receive outside assistance in creating the maps. Our analysis shows that these maps are generally outdated and/or lacking a variety of features that are critical for supporting effective land use planning. We recommend that senior levels of government play an active role in providing municipalities with (1) detailed and current information regarding flood hazards in their jurisdiction and (2) compelling incentives to utilize this information.     

The volume and shape of the 1991–1993 lava flow field at Mount Etna, Sicily

 The 1991–1993 lava flow is the most voluminous flow erupted at Mount Etna, Sicily, in over 300 years. Estimates of the volume obtained by various methods range from 205×10⁶ m³ (Tanguy 1996) to over 500×10⁶ m³ (Barberi et al. 1993). This paper describes the results of an electronic distance measurement (EDM)-based field survey of the upper surface of the 1991–1993 flow field undertaken in 1995. The results were digitised, interpolated and converted into a digital elevation model and then compared with a pre-eruption digital elevation model, constructed from a 1 : 25 000 contour map of the area, based on 1989 aerial photographs. Our measurements are the most accurate to date and show that the 1991–1993 lava flow occupies a volume of 231±29×10⁶ m³. Received: 20 July 1996 / Accepted: 5 November 1996     

Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope low-frequency observations of extrasolar planetary systems

Extrasolar planets are expected to emit detectable low-frequency radio emission. In this paper, we present results from new low-frequency observations of two extrasolar planetary systems (Epsilon Eridani and HD 128311) taken at 150 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). These two systems have been chosen because the stars are young (with ages <1 Gyr) and are likely to have strong stellar winds, which will increase the expected radio flux. The planets are massive (presumably) gas giant planets in longer period orbits, and hence will not be tidally locked to their host star (as is likely to be the case for short-period planets) and we would expect them to have a strong planetary dynamo and magnetic field. We do not detect either system, but are able to place tight upper limits on their low-frequency radio emission, at levels comparable to the theoretical predictions for these systems. From these observations, we have a 2.5σ limit of 7.8 mJy for ε Eri and 15.5 mJy for HD 128311. In addition, these upper limits also provide limits on the low-frequency radio emission from the stars themselves. These results are discussed and also the prospects for the future detection of radio emission from extrasolar planets.