Rationalising a volcanic crisis through literature: Montserratian verse and the descriptive reconstruction of an island

International audienceThis article discusses a selection of the literary output provoked and inspired by the eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano on Montserrat - notably poetry and prose written by Montserratians affected by the disaster. It argues that literature can be a source of local knowledge, and a window into a culture that is seeking to deal with a tragedy. It can also be used to assess outreach efforts and to investigate the impact of volcanic events - and of volcanological information - on local populations. The texts describe the process by which Montserratians moved from bewilderment and denial to renewal and re-identification, and even pride in the volcanic activity and their own ability to live with it - and to help prepare other Caribbean islands for future volcanic events. Literature looks both backwards and forwards, communicating the acts of experiencing and changing. On Montserrat, that applies both to colonialism and the role of the UK in Montserrat's political, economic and social life, and also to the importance of learning volcanology, and welcoming volcanologists, as a means of survival

Resilient science: The civic epistemology of disaster risk reduction

In this paper, we use insights from science studies to elucidate the nature of advisory science in the context of disasters, particularly those involving geophysical hazards. We argue that there are some key differences between disaster advisory science and the issues that are most discussed in science studies: they are both time- and space-specific and they constitute major social, economic and scientific shocks. We suggest that disasters require flexible advisory structures that maximise the co-production of science and social order, and present a framework for this. We argue that the aim of increasing resilience to natural hazards requires that sociology of scientific knowledge play a part in the application of scientific advice: disaster studies has focused on the reduction of vulnerability as a reaction against technical-rational models of scientific advice, but in doing so has restricted the potential role of the social sciences in the framing of scientific advice and expertise.AD gratefully acknowledges support from a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship, part-funded by the Isaac Newton Trust, University of Cambridge. AD would also like to thank Professor Susan Owens for productive and enjoyable discussions.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scv03

The ways of the bird rising

The Ways of the Bird Rising centres on a small Scottish island community threatened by offshore fracking. It takes the idea of “community” in the widest sense, extending its reach to the narrative voices of animals, plants, stones and the island itself in an attempt to evoke the consequences of resource extraction on a more-than-human world. The human story centres on Alana, who grew up on the island and is, with mixed feelings, moving back there after years away; and Comgall, a Canadian geologist who comes to the island as an employee of the company in charge of the fracking. In their own ways, both are reconciling their relationship to the land and to their respective rural homes, while being opened to the lively multi-species world around them—a process mirrored in the reader’s experience as the island’s many inhabitants contribute to narrating their home

Caught in the act: Implications for the increasing abundance of mafic enclaves during the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat

An exceptional opportunity to sample several large blocks sourced from the same region of the growing Soufrière Hills lava dome has documented a significant increase in the presence of mafic enclaves in the host andesite during the course of a long-lived eruptive episode with several phases. In 1997 (Phase I) mafic inclusions comprised ~1 volume percent of erupted material; in 2007 (Phase III) deposits their volumetric abundance increased to 5–7 percent. A broader range of geochemically distinctive types occurs amongst the 2007 enclaves. Crystal-poor enclaves generally have the least evolved (basaltic) compositions; porphyritic enclaves represent compositions intermediate between basaltic and andesitic compositions. The absence of porphyritic enclaves prior to Phase III magmatism at Soufrière Hills Volcano suggests that a mixing event occurred during the course of the current eruptive episode, providing direct evidence consistent with geophysical observations that the system is continuously re-invigorated from depth

The 2011 eruption of Nabro volcano, Eritrea: perspectives on magmatic processes from melt inclusions.

The 2011 eruption of Nabro volcano, Eritrea, produced one of the largest volcanic sulphur inputs to the atmosphere since the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, yet has received comparatively little scientific attention. Nabro forms part of an off-axis alignment, broadly perpendicular to the Afar Rift, and has a history of large-magnitude explosive silicic eruptions, as well as smaller more mafic ones. Here, we present and analyse extensive petrological data obtained from samples of trachybasaltic tephra erupted during the 2011 eruption to assess the pre-eruptive magma storage system and explain the large sulphur emission. We show that the eruption involved two texturally distinct batches of magma, one of which was more primitive and richer in sulphur than the other, which was higher in water (up to 2.5 wt%). Modelling of the degassing and crystallisation histories demonstrates that the more primitive magma rose rapidly from depth and experienced degassing crystallisation, while the other experienced isobaric cooling in the crust at around 5 km depth. Interaction between the two batches occurred shortly before the eruption. The eruption itself was likely triggered by recharge-induced destabilisation of vertically extensive mush zone under the volcano. This could potentially account for the large volume of sulphur released. Some of the melt inclusions are volatile undersaturated, and suggest that the original water content of the magma was around 1.3 wt%, which is relatively high for an intraplate setting, but consistent with seismic studies of the Afar plume. This eruption was smaller than some geological eruptions at Nabro, but provides important insights into the plumbing systems and dynamics of off-axis volcanoes in Afar

Columbus State University Honors College: Senior Theses, Fall 2019

This is a collection of senior theses written by honors students at Columbus State University in 2019.https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/honors_theses/1000/thumbnail.jp

Managing cross-border eruptions: Insights from recent crises in Chile and Argentina

This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities for cross-border eruption management between Chile and Argentina, focussing on an examination of the 2011–2012 eruption of Cordon Caulle in Chile and other crises between 2012 and 2015. We discuss the differences between Chile and Argentina in volcano monitoring, eruption impacts, eruption management and governance during this timeframe. We also discuss the issues in communication of the risks and the potential for future integration at the scientific level. The study is based on 31 interviews with scientists and local officials in 2014–15 (15 in Chile and 16 in Argentina), a questionnaire survey of 128 Argentinian residents in 2015 and a questionnaire survey of 25 disaster managers and residents of Pucón during the 2015 eruption of Villarrica volcano. We conclude that in 2011–12, there were issues with communication across the border, particularly at the political level, and that there are important ways that the scientific institutions in both countries complement each other.Fil: Donovan, Amy. University of Cambridge; Reino UnidoFil: Toyos, Guillermo Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales; ArgentinaFil: Amigo, Alvaro. Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (sernageomin);Fil: Villarosa, Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto Andino Patagónico de Tecnologías Biológicas y Geoambientales. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Instituto Andino Patagónico de Tecnologías Biológicas y Geoambientales; ArgentinaFil: Orozco Lafranco, Gabriel. Universidad Santo Tomás, Facultad de Ingeniería; ChileFil: Rovere, Elizabeth Ivonne. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Comparative Analysis of Pollution in Farmington Bay and the Great Salt Lake, Utah

Farmington Bay covers 94 mi2 (260 km2) in the SW comer of the Great Salt Lake, and is essentially a separate lake because it is enclosed by Antelope Island and a causeway leading to the island from the mainland. The bay has received wastes from the adjoining Salt Lake City metropolitan area for decades. Because of water quality concerns for Farmington 8ay, the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory class at Utah State University studied the bay and a nearby control site (Bridger Bay) in the Great Salt Lake during the fall of 2001. Field sampling and laboratory experiments, as well as other data sources, demonstrated the bay is severely eutrophic and is one of the most polluted water bodies in the state of Utah. A preliminary nutrient loading estimate for the bay indicates that total phosphorus coming into the system is a-times higher than necessary for the bay to be classed as eutrophic. Sewage treatment plants discharging directly to the bay contribute approximately 500/0 of the nutrients. Metrics of eutrophication (chlorophyll, Secchi depth and total phosphorus) all indicated that the bay was hypereutrophic and the combined Trophic State Index was 91, higher than any other lake or reservoir in the state. Oxygen was supersaturated in the surface waters of Farmington Bay during the day, but the bottom water was anoxic. During the night, nearly the entire water column became anoxic due to respiratory demand of the biota. The anoxic conditions allowed high concentrations \u27Of foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide to be produced. Brine shrimp were not abundant in Farmington Bay and the community was dominated by rotifers. In contrast, water quality in Bridger 8ay located on the main lake, was good and brine shrimp were abundant there. Our results, although restricted in scope, corroborate existing monitoring data from this bay. Water quality characteristics in Farmington Bay do not meet those mandated for the protection of aquatic life. Odor problems from the bay likely impact more people than are affected by any other polluted water body in the state. The impact of eutrophication and anoxia on the biota in Farmington Bay may also be substantial, although inadequate data exists to determine these impacts. There are substantial technical challenges to be overcome if water quality in the bay is to be improved to meet its designated use. However, before these technical issues can be solved, the responsible agencies will need to address the problem, and begin studies that may eventually lead to a solution to this serious water quality issue