Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 An introduction to global volcanic hazard and risk
- 2 Global volcanic hazard and risk
- 3 Volcanic ash fall hazard and risk
- 4 Populations around Holocene volcanoes and development of a Population Exposure Index
- 5 An integrated approach to Determining Volcanic Risk in Auckland, New Zealand: the multi-disciplinary DEVORA project
- 6 Tephra fall hazard for the Neapolitan area
- 7 Eruptions and lahars of Mount Pinatubo, 1991-2000
- 8 Improving crisis decision-making at times of uncertain volcanic unrest (Guadeloupe, 1976)
- 9 Forecasting the November 2010 eruption of Merapi, Indonesia
- 10 The importance of communication in hazard zone areas: case study during and after 2010 Merapi eruption, Indonesia
- 11 Nyiragongo (Democratic Republic of Congo), January 2002: a major eruption in the midst of a complex humanitarian emergency
- 12 Volcanic ash fall impacts
- 13 Health impacts of volcanic eruptions
- 14 Volcanoes and the aviation industry
- 15 The role of volcano observatories in risk reduction
- 16 Developing effective communication tools for volcanic hazards in New Zealand, using social science
- 17 Volcano monitoring from space
- 18 Volcanic unrest and short-term forecasting capacity
- 19 Global monitoring capacity: development of the Global Volcano Research and Monitoring Institutions Database and analysis of monitoring in Latin America
- 20 Volcanic hazard maps
- 21 Risk assessment case history: the Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat
- 22 Development of a new global Volcanic Hazard Index (VHI)
- 23 Global distribution of volcanic threat
- 24 Scientific communication of uncertainty during volcanic emergencies
- 25 Volcano Disaster Assistance Program: Preventing volcanic crises from becoming disasters and advancing science diplomacy
- 26 Communities coping with uncertainty and reducing their risk: the collaborative monitoring and management of volcanic activity with the vigías of Tungurahua
- Index
- Online Appendix A
- Online Appendix B - part 1 (low res)
- Online Appendix B - part 2 (low res)
15 - The role of volcano observatories in risk reduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 An introduction to global volcanic hazard and risk
- 2 Global volcanic hazard and risk
- 3 Volcanic ash fall hazard and risk
- 4 Populations around Holocene volcanoes and development of a Population Exposure Index
- 5 An integrated approach to Determining Volcanic Risk in Auckland, New Zealand: the multi-disciplinary DEVORA project
- 6 Tephra fall hazard for the Neapolitan area
- 7 Eruptions and lahars of Mount Pinatubo, 1991-2000
- 8 Improving crisis decision-making at times of uncertain volcanic unrest (Guadeloupe, 1976)
- 9 Forecasting the November 2010 eruption of Merapi, Indonesia
- 10 The importance of communication in hazard zone areas: case study during and after 2010 Merapi eruption, Indonesia
- 11 Nyiragongo (Democratic Republic of Congo), January 2002: a major eruption in the midst of a complex humanitarian emergency
- 12 Volcanic ash fall impacts
- 13 Health impacts of volcanic eruptions
- 14 Volcanoes and the aviation industry
- 15 The role of volcano observatories in risk reduction
- 16 Developing effective communication tools for volcanic hazards in New Zealand, using social science
- 17 Volcano monitoring from space
- 18 Volcanic unrest and short-term forecasting capacity
- 19 Global monitoring capacity: development of the Global Volcano Research and Monitoring Institutions Database and analysis of monitoring in Latin America
- 20 Volcanic hazard maps
- 21 Risk assessment case history: the Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat
- 22 Development of a new global Volcanic Hazard Index (VHI)
- 23 Global distribution of volcanic threat
- 24 Scientific communication of uncertainty during volcanic emergencies
- 25 Volcano Disaster Assistance Program: Preventing volcanic crises from becoming disasters and advancing science diplomacy
- 26 Communities coping with uncertainty and reducing their risk: the collaborative monitoring and management of volcanic activity with the vigías of Tungurahua
- Index
- Online Appendix A
- Online Appendix B - part 1 (low res)
- Online Appendix B - part 2 (low res)
Summary
Volcanic risk reduction is a partnership between science, responding agencies and the affected communities. A critical organisation in the volcanic risk reduction cycle is a volcano observatory (VO), which is an institute or group of institutes whose role it is to monitor active volcanoes and provide early warnings of future activity to the authorities. For each country, the exact constitution of a VO may differ, dependent on the legislative framework for disaster risk reduction and scientific advice to government. For example, in the USA, the Alaska Volcano Observatory is a joint programme of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI), and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS), whereas in New Zealand, GNS Science has sole responsibility under the country's Civil Defence Emergency Management Act to provide warnings on volcanic activity and hence provides the function of a volcano observatory.
The responsibilities of a VO also differ from country to country. In some nations, a volcano monitoring organisation may be responsible only for maintaining equipment and ensuring a steady flow of scientific data to an academic or civil protection institution, who then interpret the data or make decisions. In other jurisdictions, the VO may provide interpretations of those data and undertake cutting edge research on volcanic processes. In most cases a VO will provide volcanic hazards information such as setting Volcanic Alert Levels and issuing forecasts of future activity, and in some instances, a VO may even provide advice on when civil actions should take place such as the timing of evacuation. Some of the VOs have responsibility for multiple volcanoes, whereas others may only monitor and provide advice on a single volcano. In some countries an academic institute may fulfil both the monitoring and research function for a volcano.
This wide range of potential roles and responsibilities demonstrates the importance of a VO function, but also shows that there is no single template for the constitution of a VO. However, it is critically important that governments recognise the need for volcano monitoring, provide adequate resourcing and have clear definitions of roles for VOs, academic institutions, civil protection agencies and other key players for the pathway for issuing warnings.
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- Global Volcanic Hazards and Risk , pp. 299 - 304Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015
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- This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/cclicenses/
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