Earth Sciences

AIMS

The course aims to provide an understanding of the dynamics of volcanic processes from theoretical and observational volcanology, including:

• effusions of lava flows and domes;
• explosive eruptions: phreatic, strombolian, hawaiian, vulcanian and plinian;
• magma rheology and dynamics;
• fracturing of volcanoes;
• eruption forecasting;
• hazard evaluation and mitigation.

OUTCOMES

Knowledge and Understanding:

• effusive eruptive mechanisms;
• explosive eruptive mechanisms;
• eruption precursors and eruption forecasting;
• volcanic hazard evaluation and mitigation.

Intellectual Outcomes:

• application of the concepts and principles of physical volcanology to volcanic hazard evaluation;
• critical evaluation of current and competing ideas about eruption mechanisms and eruption precursors;
• analysis and synthesis of separate lines of investigation from observational volcanology to theoretical modelling of eruptive processes, to understand volcanic hazards and to design mitigation strategies.

Practical and Transferable Outcomes:

• critical evaluation of information, ideas and interpretations;
• evaluation of practical emergency responses and hazard mitigation strategies during volcanic crises;
• effective communication of crisis information to non-specialists;
• use of the internet as an information source;
• effective communication of information in writing.

CONTENT

The course covers the dynamics of volcanic processes from theoretical and observational volcanology, and includes study of:

• effusions of lava flows and domes;
• explosive eruptions: phreatic, strombolian, hawaiian, vulcanian and plinian;
• magma rheology and dynamics;
• fracturing of volcanoes;
• eruption forecasting;
• hazard evaluation and mitigation.