IISEE-UNESCO Lecture Notes Archive

Visit to the Nojima Fault Preservation Museum

This course aims to provide advanced knowledge and technology concerning earthquakes and seismic hazards to trainees who are invited from the organizations responsible for seismic observation and earthquake disaster mitigation in their respective countries. It is also designed to help trainees utilize this knowledge and technology for seismic hazard/risk evaluation and earthquake disaster mitigation policy-making in their native countries. The IISEE incorporates fast-evolving seismological knowledge and seismic observation technology into programs without delay, and is willing to provide not only classroom instruction but also practical training and study tours, as well as participation in international conferences.

Fracture experimenti performed for participants

This course provides training to participants who mainly consist of young researchers, engineers and administrative persons from government agencies and universities in their respective countries. Their training is geared towards contributing to the reduction of structural damage caused by earthquakes that can result in human suffering in developing countries. The curriculum comprises basic earthquake engineering studies, covering topics such as structural analysis and structural dynamics; various earthquake resistant structures for reinforced concrete construction, and steel structures; the latest technology, such as seismic isolation and response control technique and seismic limit state design. All of these are systematically provided through lectures, practical training and study tours, enabling trainees to solve problems in their native countries.

Visit to facilities for tsunami disaster prevention in Tohoku/Sanriku District

The tsunami disaster mitigation course began in 2006. The gigantic tsunami that was generated by a major earthquake off Sumatran in 2004 wreaked havoc on the coastal regions of the Indian Ocean. To mitigate such tsunami disasters, it is necessary to take disaster mitigation measures based on the latest information regarding earthquakes and tsunamis. This course provides advanced education and technology for dealing with earthquakes and tsunamis, with the aim of training specialists who can apply and disseminate their acquired knowledge and techniques for tsunami disaster mitigation and introduce tsunami hazard evaluation and early-warning systems in their native countries. The initial target countries were coastal nations around the Indian Ocean, but since 2009 the scope of the course has been expanded to include countries around the Pacific Ocean.

The international community is making efforts to put the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT）into effect, and to complete the International Monitoring System (IMS) for CTBT-compliance verification. Observation technology using seismological techniques plays an important role in the IMS.

At the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IISEE launched a global seismological observation training course in 1995 in cooperation with the Japan Metrological Agency and JICA as a part of Japan’s contribution to nuclear disarmament. The IISEE has contributed to the development of human resources who have acquired the skills necessary for detecting nuclear tests through seismic observation as well as the data analysis techniques required for identifying nuclear tests, and are expected to play important roles in the CTBT and IMS.

contents of the program

Course Objective and Goal

Group photo taken at the completion of the first lecture of the 2009 term

On May 12, 2008, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province in the People's Republic of China caused extensive damage, leaving 69,185 dead, 374,171 injured, 18,404 still missing and 23.143 million households damaged, including the collapse of 6.525 million houses. The BRI launched its China Seismic Building Course in October 2009 as part of the "Human Resource Development Project for Aseismic Buildings", carried out by JICA as a supportive reconstruction measure in response to the earthquake disaster in China. This is a two-month training course, and around 20 engineers participate in the course every year. Once their training is complete, engineers return to their respective countries to implement and disseminate their newly acquired technology and knowledge. The project aims to educate about 5,000 structural technology specialists over the course of three years. Short-term training courses focusing on specific themes such as this have been carried out since 1980. These are generically referred to as "Seminar Course".