About the project
To explore how targeted climate adaptation of critical infrastructure may reduce systemic vulnerability, this studentship will measure and model disruption of transportation networks under increasing extremes in coastal flood hazard, using a novel method for analysing network connectivity.
Critical infrastructure networks including roads, railways, and urban drainage are fundamental to societal functioning, but in low-lying coastal settings these networks are especially vulnerable to disruption by floods. Knowing where and how often the road network of a coastal city, for example, may fail from hazard disruption is valuable information for authorities and planners. However, the systemic vulnerability of infrastructure networks to natural hazard, or how local disruptions may trigger functional failure of the wider network, is still not well understood.
This studentship will use network analysis and climate-change scenarios to quantify current and potential future infrastructure network vulnerability to coastal flooding; model effects of targeted adaptation interventions into network vulnerability; and gain solutions-oriented insight into vulnerability and adaptation to coastal flood hazard in real infrastructure networks through collaborative knowledge exchange with a diverse group of expert partners.
Partners anticipate a variety of potential benefits from this research, including: planning for emergency management, flood-management guidance, and reporting for compliance under the Climate Change Act.
Please contact the lead supervisor if you require further information about the project.
