Summit to address
active volcano dangerParticipants will join workshops
and visit Kilauea this week
The third in a series of international Cities on Volcanoes meetings opens today in Hilo with delegates looking at both the science and emergency management of volcanoes.
Meeting through Friday at the University of Hawaii-Hilo, specialists concerned with natural hazards will discuss impacts of volcanic activity on planning, education, volcanology, sociology, psychology and emergency management.
"What we're aiming for is representation from both the scientific side that monitors active volcanoes but also from the emergency management side," said UH geochemist Don Thomas, with the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes.
"The idea is that we try to attract people who work in the interface between science and public policy or disaster management."
The first Cities on Volcanoes conference was held in Rome and Naples, Italy, near Mount Vesuvius, and the second was held among young volcanic cones and crater clusters in Auckland, New Zealand.
Workshops and field trips are planned for participants this week to see the erupting Kilauea volcano and measures used to reduce hazards.
Bruce Houghton, UH Macdonald Professor of Volcanology, is chairman of the organizing committee.
Sponsors and supporters besides UH-Manoa and UH-Hilo include the state, Hawaii County, Hawaii Coastal Zone Management, Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, state Civil Defense Division, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, Mehana Brewing Co., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Geological Survey, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.