2008 Woodie Awards
Volcanoes and You
Professor Holli Frey
Issue date: 1/17/08 Section: Sci/Tech
Have you ever seen a volcano? Or thought about the consequences of a volcanic eruption? For most of us living in central NY, the answer is probably no. We don't live near a volcano, active or dormant, and a major worldwide eruption has not occurred in the last 15 years. Most current Union students were not alive in 1980, when the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington took the nation by surprise and laid a blanket of ash over the Pacific Northwest. They were toddlers during the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, when improved monitoring allowed geologists to accurately predict the eruption and evacuate half a million people. These events attracted worldwide attention and interest, both in terms of the public's fascination with volcanoes and funding for the study of volcanology. The large, snow-capped, conical peaks that rim the Pacific Ocean inspire awe and wonder. Most are dormant now, but for how long? What subtle changes in the magma beneath the volcanoes will trigger an eruption that turns an area of beauty and tranquility into a deadly, destructive menace? Will we be able to read the warning signs in time and evacuate people to safety? As a volcanologist, these are the types of questions I tackle in my research.
As a new faculty member at Union, I've tried to get students to start thinking about these questions too. In the fall, I taught a course on natural disasters, which included a two week unit on volcanism. Although significant volcanic eruptions may be less common than other disasters, they are amongst the most deadly. This term, I'm teaching a volcanology class that bridges the gap between the scientific study of volcanoes and the societal impacts of eruptions. We're presently looking at how the perception of volcanoes has evolved from ancient myths, to water-laid features, to conduits that release heat and magma. We are studying the most catastrophic historic volcanic eruptions, such as Mt. Vesuvius, Italy in 79 AD and Mt. Pelee, Martinique in 1902, which killed thousands of people. We are also studying a myriad of modern monitoring techniques, including seismic activity, gas emissions, remote heat sensors, and GPS altimetry. Although our monitoring techniques have become more sophisticated and our understanding of volcanoes has improved, is it enough to avert or mitigate the most deadly disasters?
As a new faculty member at Union, I've tried to get students to start thinking about these questions too. In the fall, I taught a course on natural disasters, which included a two week unit on volcanism. Although significant volcanic eruptions may be less common than other disasters, they are amongst the most deadly. This term, I'm teaching a volcanology class that bridges the gap between the scientific study of volcanoes and the societal impacts of eruptions. We're presently looking at how the perception of volcanoes has evolved from ancient myths, to water-laid features, to conduits that release heat and magma. We are studying the most catastrophic historic volcanic eruptions, such as Mt. Vesuvius, Italy in 79 AD and Mt. Pelee, Martinique in 1902, which killed thousands of people. We are also studying a myriad of modern monitoring techniques, including seismic activity, gas emissions, remote heat sensors, and GPS altimetry. Although our monitoring techniques have become more sophisticated and our understanding of volcanoes has improved, is it enough to avert or mitigate the most deadly disasters?
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