PA23B:
The Hazards of Hazard Communication: Importance, Rewards, and Challenges of Science in the Public Sphere I


Submit an Abstract to this Session


Session ID#: 57809

Session Description:
Accurate public communication of hazards science is critical; it can deliver timely information to emergency planners, improve public confidence in science, disseminate scientific findings and demonstrate the importance of science to society. However, scientists are often reluctant to publicly communicate science. Stories about misrepresentation, trolling, and sensationalized reporting deter potential communicators from entering into the public sphere.

This session aims to explore the concerns surrounding public communication of hazards and work towards finding solutions to some of the more common issues. The goal is to facilitate community-wide discussion about how we can more accurately, effectively and responsibly communicate science to a broad audience using various media and communications partnerships. We welcome in particular submissions that explore research-based evidence and personal case studies of both the challenges and rewards of communicating science through social media, mass media, institutional communications teams, and more, with a focus on lessons learned and best practices.

Primary Convener:  Wendy Bohon, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, Seattle, WA, United States
Convener:  Beth A Bartel, UNAVCO, Inc., Boulder, CO, United States
Primary Liaison:  Beth A Bartel, UNAVCO, Inc., Boulder, CO, United States
Chairs:  Wendy Bohon, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, Seattle, WA, United States and Beth A Bartel, Michigan Technological University, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Houghton, MI, United States
OSPA Liaison:  Wendy Bohon, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, Seattle, WA, United States
Index Terms:

4306 Multihazards [NATURAL HAZARDS]
4323 Human impact [NATURAL HAZARDS]
4334 Disaster risk communication [NATURAL HAZARDS]
4355 Miscellaneous [NATURAL HAZARDS]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Earthquakes in Dallas-Fort Worth? Untangling the complex ways official and unofficial earthquake catalogs are reported to a concerned public (396282)
Heather DeShon, Southern Methodist University, Roy Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Dallas, TX, United States
Using Communication Science to Communicate About Science: A Case Study for Aftershock Forecasts (416865)
Sara K McBride, USGS, Moffett Field, United States, Andrew Jay Michael, USGS, Earthquake Science Center, Moffett Field, United States, Jeanne Hardebeck, U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Science Center, Moffett Field, United States, Eric Martinez, U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Golden, CO, United States and Michael L Blanpied, USGS Headquarters, Reston, United States
What If Your Institution Forgets Your Role During A Hazard Event? (407109)
Steven C Jaume, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, United States and Norman S Levine, College of Charleston, Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Charleston, SC, United States
Sifting Fact from Science Fiction for the Public During a Geohazard Media Event: Lessons from Kilauea Volcano in 2018 (402849)
Dr. Kenna Harmony Rubin, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett, United States
#EruptionImminent! Wielding the double edge sword of Twitter during a volcanic crisis (441012)
Janine Krippner, Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, Washington D.C., DC, United States
Lessons from the eye of a global media earthquake: how to handle nonlinear coverage about hazards (Invited) (365315)
Rebecca O Bendick, University of Montana, Geosciences, Missoula, MT, United States
What To Say When the Microphone Is In Your Face: A Reporter's Perspective on Hazard Communication (Invited) (454229)
Alexandra Witze, Nature, Washington, DC, United States

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