CSIC 2021 Distinguished Lecture
Tuesday 13th July 2021

Title: The data revolution in global-scale analysis of climate risks to infrastructure systems
Professor Jim Hall, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks in the University of Oxford

Abstract: The impacts of extreme events, like floods and hurricanes, can lead to systemic impacts by disrupting supply chains, industries and communities. These risks to infrastructure systems from climate change need to be quantified if we are to plan, design and manage more resilient systems. This lecture will explore rapidly growing capabilities for analysing infrastructure networks at very large scales. Earth observation, data from social media platforms and machine learning is enabling us to geolocate assets and quantify their usage, anywhere on Earth. One recent study analysed over 50 million km of OpenStreetMap data to provide the first assessment of the risk of natural hazards to global transport networks. Even more recently we have used billions of satellite Automatic Ship Identification data to analyse the risk of extreme storms hitting ports and disrupting global supply chains. The outputs from the analysis are being used for infrastructure adaptation planning, financial risk reporting and disaster risk reduction.

Professor Jim Hall FREng is Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks in the University of Oxford. Before joining the University of Oxford in 2011 to become Director of the University’s Environmental Change Institute, Prof Hall held academic positions in civil engineering departments in Newcastle University and the University of Bristol. Prof Hall is internationally recognised for his research on risk analysis for water resource systems, flooding and coastal engineering, infrastructure systems and adaptation to climate change. Professor Hall is a member of the Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology and is Expert Advisor to the National Infrastructure Commission. He was a member of the UK independent Committee on Climate Change Adaptation from 2009 to 2019. He led the development of the National Infrastructure Systems Model (NISMOD), which was used for the UK’s first National Infrastructure Assessment and in national infrastructure plans and risk assessments in many countries worldwide. Prof Hall invented, and now chairs, the UK Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI). Amongst various distinctions, Prof Hall was awarded the ICE’s George Stephenson Medal in 2001 and the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water in 2018. He was a Contributing Author to the Nobel Prize-winning Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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