Observing the Volcano World Volcano Crisis Communication

About this book

Observing the Volcano World provides a comprehensive overview of volcanic crisis research, the goal being to establish ways of successfully applying volcanology in practice and to identify areas that need to be addressed for future progress. It shows how volcano crises are managed in practice and helps to establish best practices. Consequently, the book brings together authors from all over the globe who work with volcanoes, ranging from observatory volcanologists, disaster practitioners and government officials to NGO-based and government practitioners to address three key aspects of volcanic crises.

First, Observing the Volcano World explores the unique nature of volcanic hazards, which makes them a particularly challenging threat to forecast and manage, due in part to their varying spatial and temporal characteristics. Second, it presents lessons learned on how to best manage volcanic events based on a number of crises that have shaped our understanding of volcanic hazards and crises management. Third, it discusses the diverse and wide-ranging aspects of communication involved in crises, which merge old practices and new technologies to accommodate an increasingly challenging and globalised world.

The information and insights presented here are essential to tapping established knowledge, moving towards more robust volcanic crises management, and understanding how the volcanic world is perceived from a range of standpoints and contexts around the globe.

Contents

- Introduction: Observing the volcanic world

PART I Adapting Warnings for Volcanic Hazards
- Volcano Alert Level Systems: Designing a system for New Zealand's differing scales of volcanic eruptions
- Challenges in developing volcano early warning systems
- Lahar warnings: acoustic flow monitors in North and South America
- Volcanic ashfall and impact on the ground
- Volcanic ash and aviation
- Volcanic gases: silent killers
- Hydrothermal Activity: explosive tourism in Iceland and Yellowstone
- Pyroclastic flows and attempting mitigation
- Lava flows

PART II Observing Volcanic Crises
- Long Valley: lessons learnt from the volcano that never erupted - building relationships
- An emerging perspective: Colombia's learning curve and regional perspectives
- The eruptions of Rabaul Volcano, Papua New Guinea - self-warning
- Indonesia: integrating the social and physical perspectives in mitigation policy and practice
- Japan: linking science, volcano warnings with public actions (Unzen)
- Communicating a warning effectively to the public
- Equador: dealing with false alarms and volcanic activity over time
- Pinatubo: then and now - a review of the management of Pinatubo from 1991 to present
- Montserrat: developing risk maps and alert levels in a complex social context
- Tourists, locals and volcanoes - a challenge for effective management in the Canaries

PART III Communicating into the Future
- Communication methods from the past: drawing from lessons learnt
- Passing on volcanic communication in oral tales: Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea
- Communicating in geopolitically sensitive contexts: volcanoes and security
- Hazard perception, communication and quantitative exposure levels at Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica; Implications for policy and practice
- Managing volcanic communication: different scales, times, and spaces
- The role of the expert - expert solicitation and its application
- Statistics: application in volcanic communication and management in Italy
- Participatory approaches to engage and communicate with local populations
- Role of performance and volcanic art in communications
- Multi-national collaborations: working beyond boarders in Russia and Alaska
- Emerging issues of standardising volcano early warning systems
- Technologies in making warnings more effective: GIS, Remote sensing
- Role of social media and networking in volcanic crises
- Concluding statement: lessons learnt and steps forward

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Biography

Carina J. Fearnley is Lecturer in Science and Technology Studies at University College London in the Department of Science and Technology Studies. Her research draws on relevant expertise in the social sciences to enable concepts of scientific uncertainty, risk, and complexity to be re-framed and communicated within the context of Disaster Risk Reduction and provide practical insights into how, early warning systems specifically, can be made more effective. Carina is also interested in the transdisciplinary potential of science and art collaborations around environmental hazards, and the role of geopolitics in the production of risk.