Alaska Volcano Observatory
| Alaska Volcano Observatory | |
|---|---|
| Category: | research Institute |
| Carrier: | USGS , UAFGI , ADGGS |
| Consist: | since April 1, 1988 |
| Legal form of the carrier: | Federal agency, state educational institution, state agency |
| Seat of the wearer: | Anchorage , Fairbanks , Reston |
| Membership: | World organization of volcano observatories |
| Facility location: | Anchorage |
| Branch office: | Fairbanks |
| Type of research: | applied Science |
| Subjects: | earth sciences |
| Areas of expertise: | Volcanology , geology , seismology , geodesy , geochemistry , hydrology , remote sensing , petrology |
| Basic funding: | $ 3.5 million (2014, pro-rata carrier) |
| Management: | John A. Power , scientist-in-charge |
| Employee: | 47 (as of end of 2015) |
| Homepage: | www.avo.alaska.edu |
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) is responsible for monitoring and researching volcanic and seismic activities in the US state of Alaska . These result - at the northern end of the Pacific ring of fire - from the subduction of the Pacific under the North American lithospheric plate .
It is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI) and the Geological & Geophysical Surveys of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADGGS). The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a member of the World organization of volcano observatories - a commission of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior in the International Union for Geodesy and Geophysics .
The Institute
history
The facility was officially launched on April 1, 1988 under the influence of the eruption that had occurred two years earlier on Mount St. Augustine . A major contributor to this was Ted Stevens , Republican Senator from Alaska, who secured generous financial approvals on the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations . When Mount Redoubt erupted comparatively violently in December 1989 , the new facility - apart from the everyday routine - appeared for the first time with forecasts and warnings. The distinctive silhouette of this Plinian eruption found its way into the logo of the observatory.
Other early highlights in the work of the AVO were the eruption of Mount Spurr in 1992 and that of the Russian Klyuchevskaya Sopka on Kamchatka in 1994, whose ash cloud affected international air traffic over Alaska.
construction
Since the Alaska Volcano Observatory can be viewed more as a program or project than as a stationary institute, its individual departments are not centralized, but are widely scattered. It is made up of:
- a surveillance, research and crisis center in the USGS building in Anchorage
- a center for seismic recordings and evaluations used by the UAFGI and the USGS and petrological research facilities in Fairbanks
- additional laboratories and offices - are equally used by ADGGS and UAFGI - in Fairbanks and in USGS offices in Anchorage, Vancouver (Washington) and Menlo Park ( California ).
The director (“scientist-in-charge” = SIC) sits in the first facility. Currently this is John A. Power . He coordinates the work, ensures smooth processes and is responsible for quick and comprehensive communication - both internally to all stakeholders and externally to the public. He also keeps an eye on the fact that the AVO's activities are summarized and published in regular bi-monthly reports. The various departments have to keep him up to date, but otherwise act relatively independently. In the event of increased volcanic activity - especially in the event of eruptions with a potential risk to human life or damage to the economy - the directive force is bundled at the SIC in Anchorage and the local crisis center is then the first point of contact for government authorities, media representatives and citizens with regard to the eruption and risk assessment .
In addition, a geologist from the AVO, as a member of the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), is responsible for the scientific exchange with colleagues at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky .
The AVO describes itself as a “very extensive family”: Several sponsors at different locations contribute staff. Some scientists work full-time, some part-time, and still others do important work, but only receive operating costs, allowances or travel expenses. At the moment (as of the end of 2015) there are 47 employees in 22 full-time equivalent positions.
tasks
The most urgent task is to monitor ( monitoring ) and research of about 40 active volcanoes in the state, of which break out every year an average of three to five. The point is to predict outbreaks, implement security measures for the population and record the activity in databases.
The AVO mainly focuses on the Alaska Peninsula , the central Aleutian Islands and the region around the Cook Inlet . These areas are most vulnerable because they are more densely populated than the rest of the country; important international flight routes also run there; there is an oil, gas and fishing industry, and tourism also plays an important role.
Among other things, the employees of the various working groups collect data, evaluate it, conduct risk assessments, carry out geological mapping and calculate the paths along which ash clouds will move under the influence of meteorological phenomena. There is seismic monitoring in real time at numerous volcanoes and many webcams are installed, the live streams of which are mostly made publicly accessible. Slope deformations of some volcanoes can also be determined in real time, which often indicates the intrusion of near-surface magmas and thus imminent eruptions. In addition, the AVO operates a system for the detection of eruptive thunderstorms . The network of seismic stations is largely submerged in the ground and solar-powered . Depending on the weather conditions, sightseeing flights (some with landings on the ice) are used to get an overview of the activities of the elongated volcanic chain of Alaska. The experts carry out airborne SO 2 and CO 2 measurements at irregular intervals . The continuous collection of seismic data at the volcanoes of Cook Inlet - in combination with the other monitoring methods - allows the AVO to forecast eruptions there several weeks in advance. A first notice of ejective ash eruptions can normally be published within ten minutes of the start of the eruption.
Around 17 active volcanoes in Alaska are not subject to any observation by the AVO - be it due to inaccessibility or because their remote location poses no danger even in the event of an eruption. In these cases, the observatory relies on reports from aircrews (via the Federal Aviation Administration ), satellite imagery (via the National Weather Service ), and local observations from fishermen, residents, military personnel or employees of the United States Coast Guard , the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Park Service .
Via the USGS Volcano Hazards Program, volcanologists from the AVO - if requested - also support colleagues around the world with research and advice on eruptions on other continents. For example, teams from Alaska were on site during the eruptions of the Philippine Pinatubo in 1991 and the Soufrière Hills on the British Caribbean island of Montserrat in 1995.
financing
Scientific investigations and observation excursions are very costly, as they require complex logistics in the vastness of Alaska, which is often poorly developed in terms of infrastructure. In order to cover the financial needs of the AVO, state, federal and university funds are used - depending on the sponsorship.
For several years now, the Alaska Volcano Observatory has been confronted with increasing budget cuts, which are also the subject of controversy in the media. For example, in 2008, US Congress tied funding of $ 2.5 million expired . This also meant that the associated subsidies from the Federal Aviation Administration were no longer applicable . In February 2009, then denounced Bobby Jindal , the Republican governor of Louisiana , government spending on volcano observations. By 2011, the AVO received $ 3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act . However, this money did not flow into daily routine work. In the spring of 2013 it became known that the AVO had to close seismic measuring stations at five volcanoes due to its insufficient financial resources, which enabled real-time tracking of eruptions. In addition, the plan was abandoned to install such a station on Mount Cleveland . Repairs to outdated or defective equipment - more than 80 of more than 200 stations were in need of repair according to the employees - had to be postponed. This also posed a risk to air traffic, since the flight captains are dependent on the data on any ash clouds for a safe passage. In addition, the tight budget led to staff cuts. In order to be able to make better use of the low financial resources, the working priorities of the ISO were reorganized in February 2014. From then on, surveillance was to be concentrated primarily on the five most dangerous volcanoes in the state - Mount Spurr , Mount St. Augustine , Mount Redoubt , Mount Akutan and Mount Makushin . In that year the budget for the observatory was only 3.5 million US dollars, whereas in 2008 it had been nine million US dollars.
Thanks to aid funding from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program, AVO employees were able to start repairing several seismic stations in the summer of 2015 - among others at Mount Aniakchak , Mount Westdahl , Shishaldin , Mount Gareloi and Mount Tanaga . In October of the same year, 176 of the original 216 measuring points were working again. At around the same time, Maria Cantwell , Democratic Senator from Washington , and Lisa Murkowski , Republican Senator from Alaska, presented a joint and thus non-partisan bill that is intended to improve the financing of volcanological facilities and continue to ensure early warning systems for eruptions (“The National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring Program Act ").
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.avo.alaska.edu/about/staff.php
- ↑ Alex Gimarc: "Alaska Volcano Observatory Funding" . On March 29, 2014 on anchoragedailyplanet.com . Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ "Federal budget cuts pare real-time monitoring of Alaska's volcanoes" . May 14, 2013 on oregonlive.com ( The Oregonian ). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ Zaz Hollander: "Alaska volcano monitors failing after years of federal funding cuts" . February 24, 2014 on adn.com ( Anchorage Daily News ). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Alex Gimarc: "Alaska Volcano Observatory Funding" . On March 29, 2014 on anchoragedailyplanet.com . Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ "Alaska Volcano Observatory repairs seismic monitors" . On October 16, 2015 on adn.com ( Anchorage Daily News ). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ "Cantwell and Murkowski Introduce Volcano Monitoring Bill" . On October 6, 2015 at cantwell.senate.gov . Retrieved December 12, 2015.