volanoes – Cabot Institute for the Environment blog

#CabotNext10 Spotlight on Natural Hazards & Disaster Risk

Posted on November 25, 2021April 6, 2023 by janet.crompton

Dr Ryerson Christie

In conversation with Dr Ryerson Christie, theme lead at the Cabot Institute

Why did you choose to become a theme leader at Cabot Institute?

Obviously with a decision such as this, there are numerous reasons informing our choices. However, there are three specific factors that were central to my agreeing to take this on. First, and foremost, I am passionate about the theme. Secondly, I have personally benefited from the work of the Cabot Institute, and as such I feel a responsibility to contribute back to the research institute. Finally, while I have always seen value in interdisciplinarity, my own research on disasters has convinced me of the fundamental importance in increasing the ties between academic disciplines. I should add as well that I would not have agreed to take on this role if I didn’t enjoy the people I am able to work with.

In your opinion, what is one of the biggest global challenges associated with your theme?

There are a multitude, and identifying one is difficult. The nature of our area of focus, on natural hazards and disasters, means that we are dealing with the complex interface between geophysical processes, a changing climate, and societies. Work across the working group relates to everything from seeking to better understand the science behind natural hazards, to how we can better design and maintain physical infrastructure, to how states and communities can reduce the potential impact of hazards. However, if I have to pick one specific global challenge, it is how we can ensure that development can take place in a way that reduces vulnerabilities in a way that privileges the local voices in these paramount policy decisions.

As we are looking into the future, what longer term projects are there in your theme?

In a way that longer term projects that we will be undertaking in the years to come are no different from the ones in which we are currently engaged. However, the impact of climate change is going to make the importance of these issues all the more acute. So, we will be exploring in greater depth the intersectionality of vulnerabilities to disasters, expanding our geographic focus, and seeking further interdisciplinary approaches to these questions.

We have a number of ongoing research projects across Bristol, and I will note a few here:

Tomorrow’s Cities – The University of Bristol has a central role in this Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Hub project, which is working with partners in Istanbul, Nairobi, Kathmandu, and Quito. The aim is to better understand disaster risk in the rapidly urbanising environment with the aim to ensure that future city development is resilient and addresses underlying drivers of disaster risk.

UK Flood Impacts project – This project is seeking to produce more accurate projections of the nature of UK flood risk which is crucial to ensure that policy decisions on mitigation, adaptation and development are fit for purpose.

Helping East Africa get Earthquake-Ready – focused on the East African Rift, this project is seeking to develop usable risk assessment tools to assist Malawi in disaster preparedness. The project will also work with local authorities to co-produce planning guidelines to ensure development is resilient. A new statistical tool is being developed to help identify and help the most vulnerable sectors of society within disaster effected states.

Across the portfolio of projects in your theme, what type of institutions are you working with? (For example, governments, NGO’s)

The work that has been taking place within the hub has been extraordinary in the breadth of partners involved in the activities. Crucially, the work is not only about targeting and helping states and communities, but it is motivated by a drive to empower communities and governments in alleviating disaster risk. This means that the range of partners are actively involved in the entire life cycle of projects, from the identification of problems, co-designing research projects, the collection, interpretation and writing up of research, and the development and implementation of policy. We actively work with local communities, social movements, and Non-Governmental Organizations (both local and international), all levels of Government, as well as regional and international organizations.

Please can you give some examples and state the relevant project

Tomorrow’s Cities is an exemplar here, where we are partners include community groups and formal NGOs in Quito, academics at FLACSO, the Instituto Geofisico, local and city level government representatives, and professional bodies representing engineers. Without bringing all of these actors together we would not be able to fully appreciate the complexity of the problems, let alone develop and implement effective policies to reduce disaster risk.

What disciplines are currently represented within your theme?

We have been drawing on a broad range of disciplines, including Economics, Modern Languages, Sociology, Politics, Law, History, Civil Engineering, Geography, and the Earth Sciences.

In your opinion, why is it important to highlight interdisciplinary research both in general and here at Bristol?

The only way to redress the complex problems posed by natural hazards, is by bringing together the skills and expertise across the breadth of academia. We can not bring about positive change by working in silos, and interdisciplinarity, while sometimes difficult, is fundamental. We all come at the problems with different perspectives, tools and indeed language. But we are all working for the same common ideal, of improving the lives of people, of reducing disaster risk, and doing so in a way that is empowering and sustainable.

Are there any projects which are currently underway in your theme which are interdisciplinary that you believe should be highlighted in this campaign?

All of our projects are interdisciplinary to one degree or another. To highlight one in this respect is very difficult. I suppose, if pushed, I would point to the work of the Tomorrow’s Cities team. I would also like to highlight a previous project, BRACE, which was innovative in its integration of history, seismology, education, and engineering in a focused project seeking to increase resilience to Earthquakes in Bhutan.

Is there anything else you would like to mention about your theme, interdisciplinary research and working as part of Cabot Institute?

As with other working groups, our activities crosscut the breadth of Cabot and drawing lines between this working group and others is exceptionally difficult. Cabot has been a fantastic catalyst to our work, and it is likely that little of these endeavours would have been possible without the support of the research institute.

For more information, visit Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk.

The Bristol Volcanology Group: Managing Britain’s volcanic crises

Posted on October 25, 2016April 6, 2023 by janet.crompton

When Professor Steve Sparks moved to Bristol from Cambridge in 1989 to take up the Chair of Geology in the School of Earth Sciences little did he know what was in store for him. His time at Bristol would see him advise the government and become one of the most cited scientists of all time.

Sparks’s extraordinary journey as head of the volcanology group has lead it to study volcanism on every continent and has allowed it to grow from one man to a thriving collective of staff, researchers and students. The world-class science produced by the group has resulted in it receiving the Queen’s Anniversary Prize; the highest accolade in higher education.

Professor Kathy Cashman accepting the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education

Naturally, this evolution has been heavily influenced by volcanoes. Unlike many sciences, the progress of volcanology can be episodic- driven by key eruptions and crises. For the Bristol group, two events have defined their work which has, in turn, altered the course of the science:

The eruption on the Island of Montserrat lasted from 1995 to 1997, killed 23 people and displaced several thousand. As Montserrat is a British dependant territory, the British government was closely engaged in managing the crisis and wasted little time roping in Bristol’s volcanic expertise as Sparks explains: “Bristol was a key partner in establishing the Volcano Observatory on the island and several Bristol staff and PhD students were involved in the monitoring effort in the first few years.” This partnership has continued for the past two decades with Professors Sparks and Aspinall acting as directors of the observatory and heading up the advisory committee ever since. In addition, the research resulting from the eruption has contributed invaluable information to the science of volcanology including causes of volcanic cyclicity and eruptions.

More recently in 2010, the Eyjafjallajokull ash crisis cost the European economy $5 billion through the closure of airspace. In the midst of the decision-making surrounding this closure was a SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) meeting attended by six volcanologists, of which three were from Bristol. Bristol’s Professor Willy Aspinall, was one of the three called to advise, alongside Dr Matt Watson and Professor Sparks. He described the meeting as a ‘spectrum of people working in many areas from civil aviation to defence’.

Eruption column above Eyjafjallajokull

The role Bristol played was pivotal in the national response and was a turning point for the group as a whole as Watson explains ‘Eyja changed how we operated. Volcanology had previously comprised mostly of research produced for other researchers, but this was the first time we could use it practically in a crisis’.

Indeed, not only did it highlight the need for more applied approach to volcanology, it also prompted whole new field of research on volcanic ash involving analysis of ash deposits and advances in remote sensing techniques. Such challenges were met head on by the group that has a huge breadth of research capabilities, from geophysics to geochemistry to petrology.

Looking to the future, the group’s challenge is to be prepared for new eruptions, wherever they may be. The researchers are working in regions all over the world including countries such as Guatemala and Ethiopia. Bristol volcanologists hope to expand this aspect of their research through opportunities such as the Global Challenges Research Fund which will draw together expertise from all corners of the group to address volcanic challenges in less developed nations.

Keri McNamara looking at a volcanic air fall deposit in Ethiopia, alongside some of the locals

In recent years, Sparks has stepped down as the head of the group allowing for the appointment of Professor Kathy Cashman as AXA professor of volcanology and the group’s new lead. Now, 27 years after it began, the group is not showing any signs of slowing down. The question is, when will next episode in the group’s history erupt?

This blog is written by Cabot Institute member Keri McNamara, a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol.

Thank you to Alison Rust, Kathy Cashman, Matt Watson, Willy Aspinall and Steve Sparks for providing information for this blog.

Why is the UK interested in volcanoes? We don’t have any of our own!

Posted on February 25, 2016April 12, 2023 by janet.crompton

Eruption column from the explosive phase of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption drifting over a farm – image by Bristol volcanologist Susanna Jenkins

The University of Bristol’s volcanology group has been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its contribution to research excellence. The Queens Anniversary Prize is the most prestigious form of national recognition an institution can receive. When I tell members of the public that, not only am I a volcanologist, but that I am part of the one of the largest and most successful volcanology groups in the world, the first reaction is always surprise: ‘Why is the UK interested in volcanoes? We don’t have any of our own!’

They are right of course, the Bristol volcanology group spends its time travelling all over the world to address volcanic risk in many countries, from the first to the third world. When one looks back on volcanic eruptions in recent history, especially the big, memorable ones like Mount St Helens, Eyjafjallajokull and Montserrat one realises that Bristol volcanologists were there at every stage.

There are, of course, many layers to handling a volcanic crisis. First there’s initial monitoring; will this volcano erupt at all? Often this involves going to volcanoes that have been little studied in remote places, or monitoring them from satellites: something which Bristol volcanology has taken in its stride, by trailblazing projects on understudied African volcanism.

InSAR image showing volcanic uplift in the Great Rift Valley as part of research by Bristol volcanologist Juliet Biggs

Then there’s handling eruptions as they happen. Who will be affected? What are the primary risks? How should we respond to the media? Bristol has a glowing history of aiding in volcanic crisis by supplying the information when the world needs it. During the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull ash and aviation crisis, Bristol led the way in supplying expert opinion on managing the situation.

Still there is no rest for our volcanologists. Afterwards there’s the post-eruption work: Working out what made the volcano erupt and understanding the physical processes surrounding an event. How does it fit into the wider setting? Are the volcanoes linked? These questions have been asked and answered by our volcanologists who have also reached out to form a global database with other institutions. This has resulted in more cohesion in the community, and a greater understanding of how volcanoes interact.

A wealth of different specialities have populated the group since it was started by Professor Steve Sparks including petrologists, geophysicists and geochemists. It is a result of this diverse environment that Bristol has been able to excel in so many areas. With natural hazards occurring on a near-daily basis, it’s safe to say the group has played its part in reducing the uncertainty of volcanic hazard across the globe. The Queen’s Anniversary Prize is an amazing recognition of the work that has been done over the years and a well-deserved reward for the hard work of the Bristol volcanologists.

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This blog is written by Cabot Institute member Keri McNamara, a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol.