Imagining the Unimaginable: Communicating Extreme Volcanic Risk

Donovan, Amy; Oppenheimer, Clive

doi:10.1007/11157_2015_16

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 75 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…9). Moreover, and perhaps more usefully still, the Laacher See can be used as a case study for seriously thinking through the societal consequences and responses to events of this magnitude and to do so in a manner that is historically informed by what we know of past impacts (Donovan and Oppenheimer, 2016;Riede, 2017a). A strategic and balanced inclusion of the Laacher See's dark heritage would likely further increase the region's and the eruption event's appeal and hence lift the reach of any associated educational initiatives up on a supra-regional scale.…”

Section: Laacher See Germanymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dark Geo-Cultural Heritage of Volcanoes: Combining Cultural and Geoheritage Perspectives for Mututal Benefit

Scarlett¹,

Riede²

2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is now widely accepted that vulnerability is in part culturally and historically contingent. Similarly, geoheritage cannot be readily disentangled from cultural values and cultural heritage given that the assignment of value to a given geosite is conducted in the present and that many if not most geosites are also sites of culture-historical significance. Vice versa, most tangible cultural heritage also contains elements of geoheritage. To bridge these perspectives, we propose the notion of geo-cultural heritage; we argue that the viewpoints of geoheritage and of cultural heritage – here especially of dark heritage – can be brought together for mutual benefit. We begin by demonstrating through a bibliometric analysis that the two fields never were fully connected and that they remain disjointed. We highlight at the same time that cultural heritage generally leverages more public attention while the natural sciences arguably command greater attention with policymakers. We then illustrate how geoheritage and dark cultural heritage can be brought together through four case studies of past volcanism and their complex human impacts. In concluding, we encourage heritage workers to be more fully interdisciplinary, to read more widely outside their own fields, and to disseminate their research more broadly for mutual benefits of preservation, risk reduction and valorisation.

show abstract

Section: Laacher See Germanymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dark Geo-Cultural Heritage of Volcanoes: Combining Cultural and Geoheritage Perspectives for Mututal Benefit

Scarlett¹,

Riede²

2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While it may be difficult to provide quantitative estimates of societal disaster responses other than and beyond death tolls and property damage, there is remarkable overlap between the ways of thinking used in volcanological scenario elicitations and Staley's proposal to use historical thinking as a rigorous means of framing future societal trajectories. Add to this Clarke's argument for the importance of rare events, we end with a necessarily interdisciplinary conceptual framework that assists in, as demanded by and Donovan and Oppenheimer (2017), 'imagining the unimaginable' in efforts to communicate extreme environmental risks. One specific tool developed to integrate both natural and human science sources of information in constructing scenarios is labelled Realistic Disaster Scenarios (Mazzorana et al 2009).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Past-Forwarding Ancient Calamities. Pathways for Making Archaeology Relevant in Disaster Risk Reduction Research

Riede

2017

Humanities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the alleged mastery of humans over nature, contemporary societies are acutely vulnerable to natural hazards. In interaction with vulnerable communities, these transform into catastrophes. In a deep historical perspective, human communities of many different kinds have been affected by numerous kinds of natural disasters that may provide useful data for scenario-based risk reduction measures vis-à-vis future calamities. The low frequency of high magnitude hazards necessitates a deep time perspective for understanding both the natural and human dimensions of such events in an evidence-based manner. This paper focusses on the eruption of the Laacher See volcano in western Germany about 13,000 years ago as an example of such a rare, but potentially highly devastating event. It merges Lee Clarke's sociological argument for also thinking about such very rare events in disaster planning and David Staley's notion of thinking historically about the future in order to 'past-forward' such information on past constellations of vulnerability and resilience. 'Past-forwarding' is here intended to signal the use of such deep historical information in concerns for contemporary and future resilience. This paper outlines two pathways for making archaeological information on past extreme environmental events relevant in disaster risk reduction: First, the combination of information from the geosciences and the humanities holds the potential to transform ancient hazards from matters of fact to matters of concern and, hence, to more effectively raise awareness of the issues concerned. Second, in addition to information on past calamities feeding into preparatory scenarios, I argue that the well-established outreach channels available to the humanities (museums, in particular) provide powerful platforms for communication to multiple publics.

show abstract

“…Becoming well informed about hazards and effective protective measures requires pre-crisis trust-building among scientists and emergency officials and a complex web of stakeholders as noted by Mileti and Sorensen (1990); Mileti (1999); Barclay et al (2008); Paton et al (1999); Haynes et al (2008a); Marzocchi et al (2012); and more recently by Donovan and Oppenheimer (2016) and Becker et al (2017). Mileti refers to the necessity of "long-term ongoing conversations" between scientists and stakeholders, which require two-way and long-term investment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On this issue, Fischhoff (1995) adds that the best hope for successful planning may come through a complex network of mutually respectful relationships. Numerous researchers have recognized that long-term trust, credibility, and community participation can be established through repeated informal interactions and formal demonstrations of agency commitment (Peters et al 1997;Peterson 1988;GNS 1999;Newhall et al 1999;Cronin et al 2004aCronin et al , 2004bRonan and Johnston (2005); Guffanti et al 2006;Pierce County 2006;Peek et al (2008); Haynes et al 2008a andHaynes et al 2008b;McGuire et al 2009; and more recently in Donovan et al 2014, Donovan andOppenheimer 2016). This relationship building can facilitate response capabilities and identify areas for improvement (Paton and Jackson 2002;Doyle et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging lessons learned to prevent future disasters—insights from the 2013 Colombia-US binational exchange

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In 2013, scientists implemented a binational exchange for emergency planners and responders in communities near Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia and volcanoes of the Cascade Range of the United States (US). This program was designed to promote understanding of volcanic disasters and effective mitigation options, motivate participants to strengthen emergency planning efforts, and promote trust-building among participants. The 2013 Binational Exchange was funded by the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP), a joint U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program. During a week-long visit to Colombian emergency response agencies, Nevado del Ruiz, and lahar-destroyed ruins of the city of Armero and the region of Viejo Rio Claro, US participants became familiar with Colombian counterparts who have had recent and frequent experiences addressing volcanic crises. Aging survivors and authorities of the Nevado del Ruiz catastrophe of 1985 gave participants first-hand accounts, and ideas for improved preparedness and response. While in the US, Colombian participants observed emergency response capabilities and facilities, and received training in systems of incident command. Colombians made presentations to the US public and officials about the similarities of lahar risks in both nations. This article describes the 2013 Binational Exchange as an experiential learning event and uses results of post-exchange discussions and interviews as evidence of steps achieved within the learning process. Six years hence, this article provides examples of progress with volcano hazards mitigation in both nations. The article offers the binational exchange model as an effective tool that employs both experiential learning and socialization of participants to create a highly motivating and effective learning environment.

show abstract

Imagining the Unimaginable: Communicating Extreme Volcanic Risk

Cited by 12 publications

References 75 publications

The Dark Geo-Cultural Heritage of Volcanoes: Combining Cultural and Geoheritage Perspectives for Mututal Benefit

The Dark Geo-Cultural Heritage of Volcanoes: Combining Cultural and Geoheritage Perspectives for Mututal Benefit

Past-Forwarding Ancient Calamities. Pathways for Making Archaeology Relevant in Disaster Risk Reduction Research

Leveraging lessons learned to prevent future disasters—insights from the 2013 Colombia-US binational exchange

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About