Natural hazard

Mount Saint Helens 40 years later – May 18, 1980: for everything to stay the same, everything must change

Stefano Alberti June 22, 2020

Mount Saint Helens today image as captured from Google Earth.

Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it! Just a few words radioed by volcanologist David ‘Dave’ Johnston on May 18, 1980, to USGS headquarter in Vancouver, Washington State. It was 8:32 a.m., and a few hours later he lost his life during the (in)famous Mount Saint Helens eruption. That day, exactly forty years ago, the eruption of Mount St. Helen upset the world. It all started with a collapse on the nor ...[Read More]

NH Medallists episode III – Claire Horwell and her interdisciplinary work on volcanic emission hazards for human health

Vale Cigala June 8, 2020

Yogyakarta city, Indonesia, with Merapi in the background. Merapi is an active volcano and Yogyakarta with its 2.4 million inhabitants is only about 28 km away. Photo credit: Claire J. Horwell with permission.

In today’s interview, we talk with Prof. Claire J. Horwell. Claire has been awarded the 2020 Plinius Medal for her outstanding interdisciplinary research on the respiratory health implications of inhaling volcanic emissions, and other particulates. my research focuses on protecting communities from exposures to potentially harmful airborne particulates Hi Claire, can you please briefly introduce ...[Read More]

#shareEGU20 afterthoughts about virtual conferencing

Vale Cigala May 25, 2020

Thoughts of the participants to the NH Division ECS Virtual Reception on Zoom hosted during the #shareEGU20 week.

It’s 2020 and a new coronavirus has spread all over the world-changing most if not all our habits. In a few weeks, we’ve seen adaptations to living in a world with this pandemic, from many points of view. Science reacted and adapted very quickly, sharing research and opening dialogues using online tools. Similarly, the EGU General Assembly that usually hosts every year around 15,000 people i ...[Read More]

NH medallists Episode II – John Clague & his passion for Natural Hazard

Gabriele Amato May 11, 2020

John Clague leading a 'School of Rocks' field trip for the Hope Mountain Centre for Outdoor Learning (July 2014). Photo provided by John Clague.

In today’s interview, we talk with Prof John J. Clague, who was awarded the 2020 Sergey Soloviev Medal for his remarkable scientific contributions in fundamental and applied research on earthquakes, tsunamis, outburst floods and landslides, directed towards risk reduction for the benefit of societies. Hi John, can you please briefly introduce yourself, telling your main research focus and wh ...[Read More]