Putting Research to Work for Monitoring Volcanic Hazards and Enhancing Public Safety

Abstract:

Volcanic eruptions pose serious hazards to aircraft in flight and to people and facilities on the ground. Fortunately, some aspects of volcanic activity are predictable, or at least predictable enough that warning signs of impending activity can be used to warn the public about elevated levels of hazard. The study of and monitoring of active volcanoes is inherently multi-disciplinary, a microcosm of earth sciences. Many different types of data must be brought together to study active volcanic systems. A volcano observatory brings together experts in various disciplines to work on a common mission of providing accurate and timely warnings of potential future activity, notifications of ongoing activity, and assessments of hazards and impacts that may result if an eruption escalates. This requires using an array of data including seismic, geodetic, remote sensing, gas monitoring, thermal imaging, and visual observations. Effective communication of scientific information to the public is of critical importance. The Alaska Volcano Observatory pioneered the use of a simple green-yellow-orange-red color code to communicate the level of concern about activity at individual volcanoes, and this color code has been refined and adopted by all US volcano observatories. The use of an easily understood color code and other standard notifications makes for more effective communication with other agencies, emergency managers, and the public.