Friday Photo (40) - Photo Archives (Volcanism)

VOLCANISM

Over the past year we've published a number of photos relating to volcanism, 

have a look here to see the full archive and related posts.

Friday Photo (32) - Old Lava Flows

CANARY ISLANDS: HISTORIC LAVA FLOWS
Beautifully defined old lava flows on the foothills of Mt. Teide
(c) Geology for Global Development 2012

Friday Photo (30) - Mt. Teide

CANARY ISLANDS: MT. TEIDE
Mt. Teide is the world's third highest volcano, and one of the 'decade volcanoes' - a group of 16 volcanoes identified as being particular worthy of study due to their destructive eruptions and close proximity to populated areas. (c) Geology for Global Development 2012

Newswatch: April 2012

There have been a few relevant and interesting stories in the news recently, that many of our readers may be interested in:

'Huge' Water Resource in Africa

The British Geological Survey (BGS) have been working on a range of quantitative groundwater maps for the African continent. These suggest that many countries described as being 'water scarce' actually have sme good groundwater resources. Whilst the researchers are not advocating large scale extraction of this water, there is suggestion that the resources can be used in small, low-yield boreholes in rural areas. 

Mexico Raises 'Alert Level' on Volcano

A major volcano in Mexico has begun spewing ash, steam and burning rock, prompting Mexico to raise their alert level. In the past eruptions from the volcano, Popocatapetl, have resulted in many local communities being evacuated.

West African Food Crisis

This crisis hitting many nations in West Africa is impacting many people, and yet has a relatively low profile across the UK. Read more about the drought in the Sahel and the impacts on Oxfam's website.

BBC Panorama

This week the BBC Panorama show focused on the problem of acid pollution into a local river in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You can find a brief highlight here and the full documentary here. 

Friday Photo (22) - Eruption in Montserrat



MONTSERRAT: ERUPTION AT SOUFRIERE HILLS
This stunning image, courtesy of Jonathan Stone who wrote the excellent guest blog published on Monday, was taken in December 2009



Guest Blog: The Social Geologist

“the social geologist...

thinking about people and not just rocks”

Last week I introduced the blog of PhD student Jonathan Stone, undertaking research into volcanic systems at the University of East Anglia. Jonathan has written an entertaining and informative piece for the GfGD blog about the social geologist...

As a young undergraduate, I used to love going out into the field - swinging my hammer at any outcrop foolish enough to show itself to me. Whilst I wasn’t as hammer happy as some of my peers (“Jackhammer” Jake in particular), there seemed to be so much rock out there, and too many samples to collect. I can distinctly remember though, standing on a desolate beach in Somerset on a windy afternoon, being told we were not allowed to hammer at rocks here, as the site was a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). This was probably my first introduction to geologists having an obligation to preserve things, even at small scales such as this.

As geologists we have a responsibility to do things sustainably, to preserve and in some cases protect, whilst making the most of the world that we live in and its resources. This obligation, or responsibility, doesn’t stop with the natural environment and its feelings or preservation, but also to the people that live in it. Can the people be more important than the resources or the scientific research? Of course they can and indeed they are - a fact that can often be overlooked.

But why, as geologists, should we be bothered about people? Isn’t that what geographers or social scientists do? I remember having some disdain for “Jackhammer” Jake, famed for his rock smashing prowess, when he switched courses from geology to environmental geoscience. It was almost as if the word ‘environmental’ made us ‘pure’ geologists shudder. Jackhammer however, was just ahead of the curve and spotted a trend that we should all take note of. It is impossible to divorce the world of science from the public’s impression of it, and so we really do need to keep people in mind when we plan our next research, exploration or extraction. I’m not calling for everyone to become social scientists, not every geologist needs to go out and interview people (please don’t just go out and do a questionnaire to tick this box), but all of us need to at the very least, engage with those that do try to listen to or understand people (social scientists) and we need to keep an open mind.

Half way into my MSc, I worked at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory in the role of scientific communication and outreach. I had gone out there to work at a volcano observatory, hoping to do some quantitative volcanic risk assessment work if the volcano started to erupt, but ended up learning profound lessons about the intersection of people and science. Heightened activity in December 2009 meant that we were no longer able to give sufficient warning to some people in a particular community there, and so the authorities took the decision to evacuate them. Residents there were quite unhappy with the decision to evacuate and in some cases angry. The decision was based on sound scientific evidence, so why didn’t people understand? I was perplexed, but just tried to continue acting professionally. Only later, having acquired some social science research training and returning to Montserrat, did I manage to talk to some of the residents and understand from their point of view why they were so unhappy with the evacuation. What may have seemed black and white to scientists did not seem that way to the residents. You see, we are all people with emotions, feelings and opinions, but we sometimes forget this when we are being professional scientists. We then manage to divorce emotion from our thinking and in some cases decision making, instead relying on pure logic. Clearly from a practical point of view it is sometimes necessary to act with cold logic, but we should be aware of the other dimension, so that we can at least understand, even if it sometimes does not change the decisions we make.

Eruption of Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, November 2009 - (Courtesy of Jonathan Stone)

People, us scientists included, have opinions and feelings, based on a vast many things. Some opinions may seem ‘wrong’ scientifically, but are they any less valid? The ‘social geologist’ doesn’t need a social science degree... they need to stop and consider the opinions of others before they smash the rock with their hammer, sink a new well or evacuate a village. They are aware of the importance that people and their voices should have in decision making, and strive to be inclusive. If you read the news or articles in scientific journals, our world is facing an uncertain future, in terms of climate, competition for resources or increasing vulnerability to natural disasters. Scientists can’t answer and fix these issues on their own, so we need to include and listen to the public. We can no longer hide inside a lab or behind a computer screen but rather we should make concerted effort to engage with and communicate to people whose lives we affect with our decisions.

External Blog: Volcanic Risk

"Volcanic eruptions are incredible and the thrill of seeing one is often indescribable. However, if you live near one and the eruption might cause you to be evacuated, or put your life in danger, then they may evoke a different set of emotions..."

Read more of the fascinating first-hand experience of Jonathan Stone, a PhD student at the University of East Anglia and working closely with the British Geological Survey, on his blog 'Volcanic Risk'. Jonathan has experience working in Central America and at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.

Friday Photo (20) - Ol Doinyo Lengai

TANZANIA: Ol Doinyo Lengai From the EGU Open Access Image Repository, the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania is special and unique due it being the only active volcano to produce natrocarbonatite lava, rather than the common silicate lavas.
Source: Julie Albaric , Domaines Oceaniques/CNRS - France

Friday Photo (19) - Mount Yasur, Vanuatu

VANUATU: ERUPTION OF MT YASUR
From the EGU Open Access Image Repository, this image shows volcanic activity at Mt. Yasur, Tanna Island, Vanuatu. 
Source: Derya Gürer, Physics of Geological Processes (PGP) , Oslo - Norway

Friday Photo (9) - Rocks Down The Microscope

Somebody asked me recently what a rock looks like down a microscope, and so today's Friday Photo explores this. Below is an image of an igneous rock known as andesite, that forms when a certain type of lava soldifies, and some images of a felsic dyke (formed when acidic magma, the name for molten rock below ground or that has not been erupted, solidifies). Both of these rocks were found in the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile.



CHILE: ANDESITE
Andesite, seen under cross-polarised light (field of view = 4.4mm) 
(c) Geology for Global Development 2011



CHILE: FELSITIC DYKE
Felsitic dyke material, seen under plane-polarised light (field of view = 4.4mm)
(c) Geology for Global Development 2011

  

CHILE: FELSITIC DYKE
Felsitic dyke material, seen under cross-polarised light (field of view = 4.4mm)
(c) Geology for Global Development 2011



Nyamuragira Volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo

This video, from the Guardian Natural Disasters and Extreme Weather page, highlights the growing activity of the Nyamuragira Volcano in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). You can find more recent footage of the eruption, which volcanologists believe is not a threat to the local population or gorilla community on the BBC website.



Can Earthquakes Trigger Volcanic Eruptions?

Scientists from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have written an excellent article about the relationship between earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Due to the fact that both volcanoes and active faulting occur on plate boundaries, these are closely related processes. Simply put, earthquakes change the stress field in the area in which they occur. These changes in the stress field can change the stress balance around magma chambers - bringing them closer to an eruption. Both the fields of seismology and volcanology are complex processes however, and therefore the interactions between these two systems are also complicated.

One reflection from reading this article, is the importance of understanding and incorporating the interaction of hazards within natural hazard risk assessments. If people have been affected by a large earthquake they will be more vulnerable to a volcanic eruption than if there had been no earthquake. Their properties may have been damaged, giving them less protection from ash, blocks of rock etc - and roads used as emergency escape routes may also have been damaged. This again highlights the importance of a holistic, multi-hazard approach to natural hazard analysis. 

Read the full article for more information.

Photos: Volcanism in Chile (3)

A final set of photos, relating to volcanism in Chile. In certain areas around the world associated with active volcanism, groundwater boils due to the proximity of magma and this causes steam and boiling water to erupt at the surface out of a vent. These are quite rare, but make spectacular viewing. These photos were taken at the El Tatio Geysers, Chile.

Photos: Volcanism in Chile (2)

Geology is a subject that takes you to many beautiful parts of the world. Here are a few more photos of volcanoes in the north and north-east of Chile, taken from a fieldtrip there in 2007.

Newswatch - July 2011

Newswatch is a regular round up of some key stories relating to the geosciences in international development. In the past Newswatch has examined stories relating to geohazards, and in particular landslides. This month there have been a number of geoscience-related things in the news that are well worth a mention:

Mount Lokun (Source: Wiki)

Volcanic Eruption Leads to Evacuation, Indonesia

Thousands of people have been evacuated on the island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia. An evacuation zone has been established, affecting around 28,000 people, some of whom have begun to evacuate. There are reports of one fatality (a woman had a heart attack during the evacuation process) and forest fires as a result of the eruption. Indonesia has many active volcanoes, which have caused many fatalities and disruption when erupting in the past. Mount Merapi, for example, killed more than 350 people when it erupted last year. The Jakarta Globe has regular updates on the situation and The Guardian Natural Disasters page also has more details. 

Beginning of Monsoon Season, Bangladesh

July sees the beginning of the monsoon season in Bangladesh - in which there is routine flooding and displacement of communities. These striking images by NASA show the increase in water in the north of the country. Increased precipitation is likely to result in landslides as well. 

Latest News on Severe Drought, Horn of Africa

An article written in the past week suggests there have been significant problems in communication between scientists and decision makers following the drought in East Africa. Forecasters issued warnings about very poor rainy seasons, and yet the region has found itself in significant turmoil. It is also suggested that the international community as a whole failed to respond in the provision of funds so that humanitarian organisations could prepare and respond effectively. Meanwhile, there is still a significant crisis in the region and a shortfall of funds. The UK has pledged over £52million more, and is calling on the international community to do more to avoid a catastrophe in the region. The UK public have donated a fantastic £13million through the Disasters Emergency Committee. There is some indication that the drought is also affecting Tanzania more than reported too as they impose power rationing to conserve water in their hydro-electric schemes.

High Cost of Natural Hazards (January - June 2011)

Figures suggest that the first two quarters of 2011 have been the costliest, in terms of losses from natural hazards, on record. The huge economic cost of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has resulted in losses from the first two quarters of 2011 exceeding the total annual cost of the previous highest year, in 2005. The number of fatalities, however, is below the 2001-2010 average. 

The Work of a Volcanologist

There's a brilliant audio slideshow on the BBC website giving us an insight into the life and work of volcanologists. Dr Tamsin Mather from the University of Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences gives some interesting insights and commentates on a range of pictures. 

Volcanoes affect regions around the world, notably the Pacific Ring with countries such as Chile, Indonesia and Japan. There are also  volcanoes across Europe (Iceland, Italy etc), in Africa (Rwanda, Democratic republic of Congo) and the USA.

USGS: Volcano Distribution Map

Further Reading:

BBC Science: Volcanoes

Geology for Global Development - Volcanism in Southern Chile

Geology for Global Development - Volcano Photos - Chile

Volcanism In Southern Chile

Licancabur, one of the 500 or so
potentially active volcanoes found in Chile

There has been increased volcanic activity in southern Chile over the past couple of days, with the eruptions in the Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcanic range. The eruptions have caused disruption, and the evacuation of 3000 residents. Communities in Argentina have also been affected due to the wind direction. The volcanic activity was preceded by several minor earthquakes, with no recorded major earthquakes yet. 

Although the volcanic eruption is quite prominent in the UK/USA news, it is not entirely unexpected. The particular chain of volcanoes in question has not erupted for around 50-years, however prior to that had erupted fairly regularly. Monitoring of seismic activity in the region has been ongoing for some time. The Chilean authorities are very used to evacuations and responding to natural hazards. Volcanism in the country is not a significant problem/threat for the vast majority of the population (despite having around 2000 volcanoes, of which 500 are potentially active), only a few villages at the base of them, as Dr John Cobin writes. Seismic activity, on the other hand, affects many more people.

Images of the ash cloud and the effects on local communities can be found on many news sites - a few good examples are the BBC News website, Denver Post Site, and the Guardian

Photos: Volcanoes in Chile