DAAD-SINRI-Preparatory Course Enguri Dam: Seismic Risk and Earthquakes & Aspects of the Thermal Monitoring of Dams
Location: Jvari 0150 Close to Enguri Dam
The DAAD-SINRI (Strong Institutions for NaTech Resilient Infrastructure) aims to strengthen the ability to assess and enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure against cascading risks with a special focus on the South Caucasus. Its project partners (TSU (Georgia), GTU (Georgia), IGS (Armenia), Educational Complex (Armenia) and KIT (Germany) seek to close existing knowledge gaps in hazard assessment, safety and risk evaluation and enable mutual knowledge transfer between research and practice.
The October course is a practice-oriented course that will be established at the wonderful location of Enguri High Arch Dam. The focus is on Seismic Risk and Earthquakes and measures for dam monitoring. The course is not designed for experienced specialists in seismology and engineers, but for students and young professionals that want to get basic theoretical and practical knowledge about seismicity in the Caucasus but also of practical measures (seismicity recording in the field, temperature changes at dam wall) that can be implemented in Early warning systems.
Natural Hazards Triggering Technological Disasters (NaTech) refers to industrial and technological accidents caused by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, storms, landslides, and extreme weather events. These cascading events can damage industrial facilities, trigger spills, fires, explosions, and infrastructure failures, and amplify the impacts of the original disaster. Natech incidents may also result in transboundary pollution through air and water systems, posing significant risks to human health, the environment, and critical infrastructure. As climate-related hazards become more frequent and intense, understanding and managing NaTech risks is increasingly important for disaster preparedness and resilience.
Tentative Agenda
| Monday, October 5 | ||
| morning | Travel to location at Enguri Dam (village of Jvari) | |
| afternoon | Arrival and get to know each other | Armine Hayrapetian (MIAEC) & Nino Tsereteli (TSU) |
| night | Arrival of German Team | |
| Tuesday, October 6 | ||
| morning | Lecture: Introduction to NaTech Disasters and relevance for the Caucasus Countries | Armine Hayrapetian (MIAEC) |
| morning | Introduction to Seismology | Nino Tsereteli (TSU) + Mikayel Gevorgyan (IGS) |
| morning | Overview Seismicity in Georgia Overview Seismicity in Armenia |
Nino Tsereteli (TSU) + Mikayel Gevorgyan (IGS) |
| afternoon | Practical Seismic Sensor Maintenance in the Field | Nino Tsereteli (TSU) + Mikayel Gevorgyan (IGS) |
| evening | What is the difference between Earthquake Forecasts and Early Warning? Induced Seismicity |
Birgit Müller (KIT) |
| Wednesday, October 7 | ||
| morning | Lecture: History of Enguri High DamVisit to Enguri Dam (Museum, Shtolna and Galleries) | Gia Kalabegishvili (GTU) |
| afternoon | Principles of Dam Monitoring (Tiltmeters, …) | Gia Kalabegishvili (GTU) + Roman Zorn (EIFER) |
| night | Visit Enguri Dam with a Beer… | |
| Thursday, October 8 | ||
| morning | Why Temperature and conductivity Sensors can provide important information | Roman Zorn (EIFER) |
| afternoon | Installing sensor/reading out data | Roman Zorn (EIFER) + Gia Kalabegishvili (GTU) |
| Friday, October 9 | ||
| morning | Installing sensor/reading out data | all |
| afternoon | Departure |
Georgian and Armenian Student Registration
Students at Tbilisi State University and Georgian Technical University in Georgia as well as students of the Educational Complex and Institute of Geological Sciences of Armenia can apply for support for travel and accommodation. They should write a motivation e-mail and indicate therein: Institution, Field of study and degree programme (bachelor, master, PhD) and write 5–10 sentences about their motivation to participate in the SINRI-Course. The accommodation (shared rooms) will be organized. Travel will be organized by the institutions and the participants will be informed about the details in advance. Students should be able to speak and understand English as all lectures will be given in English.
Clothing & Other Materials:
Please bring also rain and warm clothing and good boots for the site visits, a headlamp as well as paper, pencils with you. If possible bring your laptop.