Which volcanic

The PEI was introduced by Aspinall et al. Aspinall et al. Brown et al. Both Aspinall et al. Our new dataset expands the number of incidents with a recorded distance to , improving confidence in weightings.

Indirect fatalities and fatalities through seismicity are excluded from this count. Of these, are QL1 data. As QL2 data represents a range over which fatalities occurred it is excluded for the purposes of PEI calculation.

It is this latter group where population exposure is particularly high. The database provided as per this paper is Version 1. Periodic updates will be made as new data becomes available and new versions will thus be released.

Readers are invited to contribute to the database via the corresponding author. The fatalities dataset will also be incorporated into Volcanoes of the World database through the GVP. The updated fatalities database holds records with , fatalities in total, considering all fatal causes. The distance at which fatalities occurred from the volcano is identified in incidents, ranging from inside the crater to over km.

The removal of indirect and seismicity-related fatal incidents leaves , fatalities in incidents: distance is recorded in of these incidents. The distribution of fatalities with distance is highly dependent on the occurrence of major incidents in which thousands die. These occur at distances beyond 5 km and to tens of kilometres, typically due to hazardous flows or tsunamis.

Ballistics dominate the proximal incident record, PDCs the medial, and lahars, tsunami and tephra the distal record. Reducing mortality from disasters is a priority target of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. As such, systematic fatality data collection is crucial. In line with the requirements of Sendai, we recommend that future volcanic fatalities are recorded with at least a basic level of detail covering: gender, location, date of death and fatal cause.

A better understanding about the lethal range and lethal elements of volcanic hazards could be gained if the physiological cause of death was also recorded e. If volcano-related injuries were recorded in a similar manner, this would provide empirical data for the further development of safety recommendations, equipment and less vulnerable structures. The distribution of fatalities and quantification of fatal distances enables an analysis of volcanic threat to life around volcanoes, and permits more robust calculations of population exposure to volcanic hazards.

The weightings in the Population Exposure Index proposed and applied by Aspinall et al. The ever-growing population exposed to volcanic hazards is a significant factor increasing risk. Risk can be reduced with improvements in forecasting and monitoring, together with increased societal resilience achieved through raising awareness and development of volcanic emergency management plans.

Exposure can be reduced through timely evacuations and restrictions on development of urban areas in potential volcanic hazard footprints. Such mitigation measures can be improved upon and supported by the fatality dataset and the understanding of threat with distance. The occurrence of a fatality or fatalities with one fatal cause identified and one date but listed separately due to the identification of multiple distances.

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But in the past decade, researchers have gained new ways to monitor all volcanoes using instruments mounted on satellites. Infrared channels revealed that thermal emissions jumped in June 3. The research demonstrated how, even when ground instrumentation is limited, scientists can learn about the lead-up to an eruption or volcanic landslide from satellites. Researchers have combined radar data with satellite observations that record temperature and sulfur dioxide emissions to capture a multidimensional picture of what happens at volcanoes before and during eruptions.

A study of the 47 most active volcanoes in South America, which used 17 years of satellite data, showed that changes in at least one of these variables, and sometimes in all three, precede an eruption, sometimes years in advance 4. To exploit these data, many of which are freely available, Walter and colleagues have created a volcano-monitoring platform called MOUNTS monitoring unrest from space. The platform uses data from the current suite of Sentinel satellites and ground-based earthquake information, and currently monitors 17 volcanoes, including Anak Krakatau.

As they started on the project, however, the researchers faced a new and unusual problem — too much data. The satellites provide torrents of readings, more than researchers can analyse using conventional methods. In response to this challenge, researchers have turned to machine-learning techniques, a form of artificial intelligence in which computer algorithms such as neural networks can be trained to pick out patterns in data.

Juliet Biggs, a volcanologist at the University of Bristol, UK, and her colleagues have created a neural network that has churned through some 30, Sentinel-1 images of more than volcanoes and flagged about images as needing more attention.

Of those images, 39 showed real ground distortions 5 , meaning that the AI system had reduced the workload for the volcanologists by a factor of nearly Now, they are testing their system on some half a million images from more than 1, volcanoes. Other groups are trying to develop algorithms that can sift through temperature or gas-emission data from satellites.

Why deadly New Zealand volcano eruption was hard to predict. When Anak Krakatau sprang back into action on 10 April this year, Walter was quick to monitor the situation remotely by analysing the satellite data.

Because visibility was low, he had to rely on the radar data, which can penetrate thick clouds. The information will help scientists understand the behaviour of Anak Krakatau and in the future it might be used to help create a tsunami early-warning system for landslides from the Indonesian volcano, Walter says.

Biggs says that the combination of satellite data and AI is a useful tool for drawing attention to possible risks and prioritizing the installation of ground-based instruments. Such remote-monitoring techniques provide valuable information and are safer for scientists, but she thinks they are never going to completely replace having instruments close to the volcano itself. In the United States, researchers will soon gain a large new source of ground-based data.

In the past 40 years, scientists have successfully forecast the timing of many eruptions, from smaller blasts at Mount St Helens in the early s to the ash-rich lava fountains at Mount Etna. Nevertheless, volcanic eruptions still take people fatally by surprise. A small explosive eruption at Mount Ontake in Japan in killed 63 people, and a violent eruption of the Fuego volcano in Guatemala in June killed hundreds.

A minor eruption at White Island in New Zealand in claimed 21 lives. And each volcano has its own personality — its own unique set of materials and structure. The individualistic nature of volcanoes highlights the limitations of using patterns from past eruptions to forecast future ones. With more data and better understanding of volcanic systems, researchers hope to develop dynamic models that can capture the physics and chemistry of what happens below ground.

In this way, the development of volcanology could parallel that of meteorology, which uses dynamic models of the atmosphere to forecast weather many days in advance.

But volcanic systems are so complex and so hidden that volcanic forecasts will never be as good as meteorological ones, says Poland. Aiuppa, A. Article Google Scholar. Protect your lungs and eyes by wearing protective gear such as goggles and masks. Pay particular attention to vulnerable people and support them to evacuate or shelter in place.

Follow official instructions from local authorities on whether to evacuate or take shelter. If you get warning prior to ash fall, return home from school or work and shelter in place.

If the ash fall is heavy, do not remain in a building that has a low-pitched or flat roof. Make sure you have additional supplies such as dust masks, eye protection, cleaning supplies, a flashlight and an evacuation bag to hand. Collect and store clean water and clean up outside carefully when it is declared safe to do so. Key hazard-specific messages for individuals and communities on how to prepare for, and stay safe during, volcanic eruptions. Read more. When magma erupts at the surface as lava, it can form different types of volcano depending on: the viscosity, or stickiness, of the magma the amount of gas in the magma the composition of the magma the way in which the magma reached the surface Strictly speaking there are two broad types of volcano, a stratovolcano and a shield volcano, although there are lots of different volcanic features that can form from erupted magma such as cinder cones or lava domes as well processes that shape volcanoes.

Why are there different types of volcano? Characteristics of lava domes include the growth of spines. Incandescence of a lava dome at night. You may also be interested in. Discovering Geology Discovering Geology introduces a range of geoscience topics to school-age students and learners of all ages.

Earth hazards The Earth beneath our feet is constantly shifting and moving, and violently with catastrophic and immediate results. Volcanoes We have a team of volcanologists that works on various research projects in locations around the world to help governments and local people to understand volcano behaviour.

How volcanoes form How the different types of volcano are formed and the relationship with plate tectonics. Eruption styles Volcanic eruptions can be explosive, sending ash, gas and magma high up into the atmosphere, or effusive, producing lava flows and domes.

Volcanic hazards Find out about the different types of volcanic hazards that put human lives, livelihoods or infrastructure at risk of harm. Living with volcanoes It may seem unwise to choose to live with such a hazardous neighbour as a volcano. Was this page helpful?