|
Science
Friday > Archives
> 1997
> December
> December 26, 1997
Hour Two: Volcanoes:
| Very few people consider volcanoes to be as big a risk as other natural disasters, like earthquakes or hurricanes. But volcanoes are a threat -- since 1980, volcanic activity worldwide has killed over 29,000 people and forced over a million to evacuate their homes. Over 50 volcanoes have erupted in the United States in the past 200 years alone.
Furthermore, volcanic eruptions can cause disruption of life far away from the volcano itself. Ash can swamp rivers, stop air travel, disable agriculture, and even affect the climate temporarily. | 
(photo courtesy of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program) | 
Pu'u O'o Cone, Kilauea, Hawaii,
April 14, 1986.
(photo Lyn Topinka,
USGS/Cascades Volcano Observatory) | More and more people are beginning to live dangerously close to volcanoes. Some choose to live near them because of rich soil, easily-farmed land, or views. Others are being driven nearer to volcanoes as land becomes more scarce. In Mexico City, millions live in the shadow of the massive volcano Popocatepetl. Seattle and Tacoma, which boast a view of Mount Ranier, now a picturesque mountain, could also be in the line of fire if Ranier decides to erupt again. Mout Ranier is considered by the United States Geological Survey to be the most dangerous volcano in the U.S., because of its history of eruptions and mudflows, and because of the large population living nearby. | | The dangers from volcanoes do not just come from the well-known, glamorous, red-hot lava flows. An eruption product from less flashy volcanoes, the pyroclastic flow, actually produces most deaths from volcanoes. A pyroclastic flow is an avalanch of ash, gas, and rock fragments that tumbles down the slopes of a volcano. These flows can reach speeds of over 100 kilometers an hour, and are hot enough to carbonize wood and powerful enough to knock down walls. A large pyroclastic flow from the Soufriere Hills volcano on Montserrat in June of this year destroyed over 100 houses and killed at least nine people. | 
Pyroclastic flow sweeps north
from Mt. St. Helens, July 22, 1980.
(photo courtesy USGS Volcano Hazards Program) | Scientists are trying to reduce the hazards of volcanoes through education of the people living in the danger zones, and by studying several of the volcanoes that they believe to pose the greatest risk to human life. These 15 sites, called "decade volcanoes," are situated near major metropolitan areas around the world -- and could erupt at any time.
In this hour of Science Friday, join guest host David Baron for a look at the hazards of volcanoes, and at what can be done to lessen their threat.
Guests:
Steven Malone
Research Professor of Geophysics
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Jill Norton
Deputy Chief Scientist
Montserrat Volcano Observatory
Montserrat
David Hill
Geophysicist, USGS
Menlo Park, California
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
USGS Volcano Hazards Program
A world volcano map from Michigan Technological University
VolcanoWorld
International Decade for Natural
Disaster Reduction
Global Volcanism Program, based at the Smithsonian
UN Volcano Mitigation Team
Montserrat
|
