Restless Vulcan

This is not a course on Roman mythology, but it is designed to dispel some of the scientific myths associated with volcanism, many of them generated by that hotbed of scientific rigour, the Hollywood movie industry.  With the aid of some common-or-garden substances (like golden syrup, custard, putty, ball bearings and a lava lamp), and with the help of Google Earth and NASA, the physical properties of lava flows will be investigated and quantified. Lava flows are only one of the products of volcanism, many eruptions being catastrophically explosive.  So, we need to know why some volcanoes produce only lava, but others cause explosions. It's actually all down to some straightforward physics. 

So, now we have some eruptions, but what are their effects?  Explosive eruptions, are a particularly nasty hazard, the Romans living at Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79AD found this out to their detriment, as did most of Western Europe when the volcano beneath Eyjafjallajökull casually reminded everyone of it existence in 2010. So, local devastation effects people, property, livestock and economies. Globally, we see changes in climate. 

But can we do anything about this? Well yes we can, if we understand the physics and we know about the history and geology of a volcanic province. Eruptions can be mitigated against and the hazards managed. Back to NASA. NASA provides some vital information about current and historical activity through its Earth Observatory and remote sensing Satellite cluster. So, we will find out just how NASA can help.

Will you now be able to dispel the Hollywood myths? Well, by the end of this course you certainly will not be able to watch "Dante's Peak" or "Volcano" without shouting at the TV, let's put it that way.  In fact, we will be checking that you can communicate with the public, because as part of the assessment, you will have to produce a public-friendly factsheet on a volcano or volcanic phenomena of your choice, which your classmates will have a hand in grading.

Case studies (subject to change depending on Vulcan's mood that week):

Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland 2010 - englacial eruptions; aviation hazards; jökulhlaup hazard

Mount St Helens, USA 1980 compared to Devado del Ruiz, Colombia 1985 (former: well-monitored, 68 casualties - devastation measured in US$; latter: poorly monitored, 25,000 casualties in 45 minutes - devastation largely unknown and umonitored)

Mt Pinatubo 1991 - syn- and post-eruptive meterologically controlled lahar harzard. Impact on subistence agriculture. Effect on global climate.

At the end of the course you will:

• have an insight into the physical processes controlling volcanic eruptions and their products
• understand the monitoring, management and mitigation of volcanic hazards
• be able to provide technical and non-technical reports to guide local officials and the population at large as to the hazards of living in the shadow of volcanism