Practitioners Quiz

Introduction

This module of the website is aimed at the Practitioner who will be responsible for the technical assessment and advising the Client and Regulator in relation to Landslide Risk Management (LRM).

The format of the module is for a series of Questions relating to the understanding required by the Practitioner of the main concepts or steps in LRM.

Instructions

Multiple choice answers are provided. If you are not sure which answer may be correct, then click HINT next and further information will be provided to assist you. You can test your understanding by selecting an answer to see if you are correct or learn why your choice was not. If you chose the correct answer, you can either read the detailed answer or skip to the next question. Each detailed answer provides further links to more resources, such as video explanations, presentations or PDF extracts from guidelines that have been developed by the Australian Geomechanics Society. Further topics are discussed by FAQ pages which pose a series of questions and then give further explanations.

AGS 2007 LRM Guidelines Australian Geoguide

At any time during this module, feel free to launch the guideline PDF’s to research your answers, or simply to give yourself a refresher on Landslide Risk Management.

LRM Guidelines

Question 2 of 10

2. What are the skills and knowledge that the Practitioner needs to have?

The ability to make up a good story and communicate it convincingly to the client.
None in particular.
Diverse foreign languages.
The ability to make observations in the field, to map field features to scale, a knowledge of geology, geomorphology, ground water hydrology, an understanding of landslide types and past landslide events.
The ability to work in a team, relying on information provided by the Client without questioning the source and accuracy, and without qualification.

The basic requirement for assessment of any site is to understand the slope processes and the site relationship of those processes to geology and groundwater at the site and surrounds.

To gather this data in the field requires good observational skills, and the ability to record the observations systematically, otherwise known as mapping. Mapping to scale, either as cross sections or plans, aids the assessment process in our brain by comparison with other knowledge of stability in similar geology and slopes. Use of mapping instruments, such as a clinometer, hand compass, tape or hip chain, is necessary to acquire reliable required data. Use of standardized geomorphological mapping symbols provides a shorthand for mapping.

Mapping requires time in the field and cannot be completed in the office or the comfort a car. Valuable knowledge can be gained from reading case history papers which provide a basis for comparison and understanding of critical factors.