12 research outputs found
Training in crisis communication and volcanic eruption forecasting:Design and evaluation of an authentic role-play simulation
We present an interactive, immersive, authentic role-play simulation designed to teach tertiary geoscience students
in New Zealand to forecast and mitigate a volcanic crisis. Half of the participating group (i.e., the Geoscience Team)
focuses on interpreting real volcano monitoring data (e.g., seismographs, gas output etc.) while the other half of the
group (i.e., the Emergency Management Team) forecasts and manages likely impacts, and communicates emergency
response decisions and advice to local communities. These authentic learning experiences were aimed at enhancing
upper-year undergraduate studentsâ transferable and geologic reasoning skills. An important goal of the simulation was
specifically to improve studentsâ science communication through interdisciplinary team discussions, jointly prepared,
and delivered media releases, and real-time, high-pressure, press conferences.
By playing roles, students experienced the specific responsibilities of a professional within authentic organisational
structures. A qualitative, design-based educational research study was carried out to assess the overall student experience
and self-reported learning of skills. A pilot and four subsequent iterations were investigated.
Results from this study indicate that students found these role-plays to be a highly challenging and engaging learning
experience and reported improved skills. Data from classroom observations and interviews indicate that the students
valued the authenticity and challenging nature of the role-play although personal experiences and team dynamics
(within, and between the teams) varied depending on the studentsâ background, preparedness, and personality.
During early iterations, observation and interviews from students and instructors indicate that some of the goals of the
simulation were not fully achieved due to: A) lack of preparedness, B) insufficient time to respond appropriately, C)
appropriateness of roles and team structure, and D) poor communication skills. Small modifications to the design of
Iterations 3 and 4 showed an overall improvement in the studentsâ skills and goals being reached.
A communication skills instrument (SPCC) was used to measure self-reported pre- and post- communication competence
in the last two iterations. Results showed that this instrument recorded positive shifts in all categories of self-perceived
abilities, the largest shifts seen in students who participated in press conferences. Future research will be aimed
at adapting this curricula to new volcanic and earthquake scenarios
Deciphering post-caldera volcanism: insight into the Vulcanello (Island of Vulcano, Southern Italy) eruptive activity based on geological and petrological constraints
Integrated field-based volcanology and petrologic studies can provide relevant clues about the way in which structural features, magma replenishment of a shallow subcaldera reservoir, and magma evolution exert control on eruption behavior during post-caldera volcanism. Post-caldera activity of the past 1000 years at the La Fossa caldera (Island of Vulcano, Italy) occurred at two vents: the dominantly explosive La Fossa vent located at the center of the caldera and the lava-dominated Vulcanello vent located close to the northern ring fault of the caldera. Revised chrono-stratigraphic data indicate that the activity occurred in two clusters of eruptions: in the eleventh to twelfth centuries and during the seventeenth century. The activity was, in part, contemporaneous with La Fossa vent and led to the formation of three, partially overlapped Strombolian cones. Each cone-building episode was accompanied by the outpouring of lava in subaerial and submarine environments. The erupted volumes of the pyroclastic cones vary between 2 Ă 10â3 and 3 Ă 10â6 km3, while the volumes of the three lavas span between 0.3 km3 (a submarine lava field) and 3 Ă 10â3 km3. Petrology data indicate that the activity of Vulcanello was fed by three different magma batches: Vulcanello 1 was fed by a slightly zoned reservoir of shoshonitic composition, Vulcanello 2 was fed by a slightly more evolved magma whereas Vulcanello 3 was fed by latitic magma. The compositions of melt inclusions (major elements and volatile content) trapped in olivine separated from pyroclastic materials record the entire differentiation history and suggest that all Vulcanello magmas underwent volatile loss during pre-eruption equilibration at â€1 km depth. Integration of all available information also suggests that in the last 1000 years, the northern caldera fault acted as a preferential duct for the rise of degassed magma from the sub-caldera magma reservoir whereas volatile release namely took place separately at La Fossa cone where activity was almost entirely explosive in nature