Why hazard fieldwork uses secondary data
Active hazards are too dangerous + episodic for primary fieldwork. Pearson tests SECONDARY-data + map skills.
Most physical-geography fieldwork (rivers, coasts) uses PRIMARY measurements students take themselves. Hazard fieldwork is different — for two reasons:
- Safety: standing on an active volcano or fault is dangerous. Earthquakes, lahars, pyroclastic flows + tsunamis kill instantly.
- Episodic timing: hazards strike unpredictably; you can't schedule fieldwork around an eruption.
So Pearson 4GE1 spec frames hazard practical skills around secondary data analysis + map work:
- Interpreting hazard maps.
- Reading + plotting frequency-magnitude data.
- Drawing choropleth maps of impacts.
- Using GIS overlays.
- Volcanic hazard zoning.
- Tsunami inundation maps.
Key secondary data sources.
| Source | What it provides |
|---|---|
| USGS Earthquake Hazards Program | Real-time + historic earthquake catalogue, ShakeMaps, hazard maps |
| BGS (British Geological Survey) | UK + global seismic data |
| UN OCHA + Reliefweb | Post-disaster impact data (deaths, displaced, costs) |
| JMA (Japan Met Agency) | Real-time earthquake + tsunami data for Japan |
| GEM (Global Earthquake Model) | Global hazard + risk maps |
| GVP (Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program) | Historic + active volcano database |
| ESA Sentinel + JAXA ALOS-2 | Satellite InSAR for ground deformation |
- Hazard fieldwork = secondary data + map skills (safety + timing).
- Key sources: USGS, BGS, UN OCHA, JMA, GEM, GVP.
- Direct primary measurement of active hazards is dangerous.