Kia ora! I’ve been following the #Whakaari volcanic crisis unfolding, over here in Melbourne. I want to share some thoughts about our public understanding of volcanoes. I hope these thoughts help how we think about volcanoes #education #risk #volcano #tourism (1/22)
I want to convey my feelings of deep sadness for those that were hurt and died on Monday, and their families. I also want to share my support for the scientists (@gnsscience @geonet), med. practitioners, & em. managers. I know how hard you work to protect people from harm (2/22)
#1 There are widely held volcano misconceptions: how & where they form, why they erupt, and our relationship with them. E.g., “If a volcano does not produce lava, it is not dangerous” and “most volcanoes are tall peaks with craters at the summit” (3/22) tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…
Parham et al (2011) surveyed 672 US first-yr students finding very limited initial volcano knowledge. Lower levels of knowledge coincided with learning about volcanoes from popular films, TV News, newspaper and magazines compared with coursework (4/22) lib.dr.iastate.edu/ge_at_pubs/12/
They proposed this was due to inaccurate representations of volcanic phenomena in these non-trad. sources of knowledge. Of course, film&media need not always portray accurate scientific phenomena, but these are very influential to our mental models of complex phenomena! (5/22)
----> Side note: The Core is one of worst movies I’ve ever watched
Are levels of knowledge different in New Zealand, or elsewhere? Did you take a course in earth science at school or university? What are the earth science literacy requirements where you live? (6/22)
I observed in my research and volcanology teaching that students often maintained viscous (sticky! pun!) volcanic misconceptions that persevere throughout formal education, and were often only addressed during training scenarios in upper-year courses. (7/22)
BTW, if you don’t know me, I’m a lecturer of STEM Education with a MSc in monogenetic volcanism, a PhD in volcano and geothermal higher education (@UCNZgeology) and my postdoctorate was about training students and practitioners in natural hazards risk communication (8/22)
Argument #2. Volcano tourism. Now that we’ve established, even upper year volcanology students can struggle with how volcanoes work… how can people booking a holiday to a volcanic site make informed decisions about being safe on/or around volcanoes? (9/22)
It’s important to highlight that not all volcanoes are the same. Some volcanoes erupt more often, more violently, and more sporadically in time and location. (10/22)
You can walk on Mt Ruapehu in the morning and swim in Lake Taupō later that day; visiting two different volcanoes with different histories, “personalities” and levels of risk. Would we hope/expect people to research the geologic landscapes that they encounter on vacation? (11/22)
I’m a volcano tourist. At Mt Yasur, I’ve never felt more equally terrified and brave looking down into the vent, where eruptions were occurring meters away. But I was fully aware of the risks and consequences being in such close proximity to an active volcano. (12/22)
Can we overcome common misunderstandings, through volcanic risk communications? Social volcanologists do excellent research into how to communicate risk through many mechanisms: @Mary_Anne_Tweet, @SallyHPotter, @emmahudsondoyle, and @DisastrousComms, among many others (13/22)
Maps and statements can tell people that the vent of the volcano is riskier. But I really worry that some people approach these materials with the same level of interest as they read a software disclaimer (14/22)
Would having a higher level of earth science literacy, mean you’d read volcano communications more closely? Would you take special consideration of the routes noted as “lower risk” and be more risk averse in volcanic environments? (15/22)
If you’ve never lived in a volcanic landscape and seen eruptions and their impacts, how can you fully imagine and feel the danger in your body? Can newcomers really practice informed decision-making on volcanic sites? (16/22)
And do we become complacent, if our neighbourhood volcano is quiet or steady for generations? See @MorganGodfery ‘s recent excellent article: theguardian.com/world/commenti… (17/22)
Do we place all of the burden on policy-makers and mitigate risk through law? Do we (scientists, policy makers) manage these decisions on our citizens behalf, as discussed by Professor David Johnson (newsroom.co.nz/2019/12/10/942…) (18/22)
Solution # 1. I think we need to meet our lawmakers halfway. We need to improve our earth science literacy. If our society’s baseline understanding of the earth is improved, we can make better decisions about living with volcanoes and other natural hazards (19/22)
Solution #2. Increased funded research into how people think, feel, learn, and make decisions about our volcanoes (super biased here!) Social scientists can continue to look at our human behaviour, our emotions, our histories and connections with volcanoes. (20/22)
Solution #3-x. Your solutions? What do you think we can do to help people who travel to volcanoes make more informed decisions about their safety? (21/22)
ps. Thank you to my hair stylist who encouraged me to write about this, despite how scared I was of sharing some of these ideas online (22/22)
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