Review of the U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program (2000) / Chapter Skim
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7 Principal Conclusions and Recommendations
7 Principal Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 103-114
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From page 103... ...
The committee's views with respect to these questions are summarized below and at the end of Chapters 2, 3, and 4. Basic research in the VHP, although reasonably well integrated, is being threatened by budgetary and personnel constraints, which may diminish the program's ability to meet appropriate scientific goals.
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From page 104... ...
On the other hand, the monitoring methods currently employed in the VHP seem to be well integrated and applied to achieve hazards mitigation. Crisis response procedures at VHP observatories are well integrated and applied to hazards mitigation.
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From page 105... ...
Such assurance can come from internal USGS programmatic oversight and from careful structuring and enforcement of the annual performance plans of individual research scientists. Basic research in the VHP is being threatened by budgetary and personnel constraints, which may diminish the program's ability to meet appropriate scientific goals.
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From page 106... ...
More active collaborations, coupled with an extramural grant program for academic researchers overseen partly or completely by the VHP, would help ensure that more investigations that are directly relevant to the program's mission would be carried out. HAZARD ASSESSMENT Voicano hazard assessment aims to determine where and when future volcano hazards will occur and their potential severity.
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From page 107... ...
Probabilistic approaches are relatively recent additions to the VHP assessment repertoire, but they have received more attention lately because of their obvious utility in communicating with civil defense authorities and the general public. The committee strongly encourages the VHP to develop a balanced assessment program that takes advantage of the full range of techniques available to vo1tcanologists today.
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From page 108... ...
The combined seismic-deformation approach, which has traditionally been the core of VHP monitoring, tracks phenomena to provide ample warnings of impending eruptions on most volcanoes. The report Priorities for the Volcano Hazards Program 1999-2003 (~USGS, 1999)
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From page 109... ...
Most of the VHP's remote sensing work is centered at AVO, where satellite data are used to identify thermal anomalies and track eruption plumes and where inclement weather makes traditional observations of volcanoes more difficult. Remote sensing data are becoming integrated only slowly into the monitoring strategies of the other VHP observatories.
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From page 110... ...
The committee also considered the potential value to volcano monitoring of two existing remote sensing programs based outside the VHP, the Hazard Support System and the Center for Integration of Natural Disaster Infonnation. The classified nature of the data and the fact that military priorities control which observations are made mean that VHP personnel have limited access and must work through the DOD.
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From page 111... ...
The stated VHP goal of carefully documenting actual volcanic crises and responses is extremely important if the maximum information is to be obtained from any given eruption and is strongly endorsed by the committee. This issue demands close monitoring, coordination, and allocation of staff time by the relevant scientists in charge to ensure that such information is forthcoming.
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From page 112... ...
The importance of technicians to the VHP in many ways equals that of scientists. These individuals have highly eclectic backgrounds and in many cases have participated in several decades' worth of crisis response, especially as VDAP has expanded.
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From page 113... ...
In the observatory environment, volcano monitoring, hazard assessment, and communication with civil authorities may be most important, but during periods of volcano unrest and newly evolving activity, volcano crisis response assumes special priority. A major issue that underlies any discussion of VHP priority setting and accountability is the lack of a clear and consistent management structure.
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From page 114... ...
The problem is particularly acute when unpublished studies involve volcano hazard assessments that could have a direct bearing on the safety of people and property. The committee urges that high priority be given to the timeliness of scientific publication.
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