Random Stuff

• "Most volcanic eruptions pose little risk to life as it is possible to predict, monitor, and warn people of their hazardous impacts."
• Primary volcanic hazards


  • Spew hot, dangerous gases
  • Ash
  • Lava
  • Rock
  • Pyroclastic flow
• Secondary volcanic hazards


  • Lahars
  • Jokulhlaups
  • Tsunamis
  • Liquefaction
• Carbon dioxide and fluorine


  Gases toxic to humans
• Ash fall


  Crop failure, animal death, human illness
• Nevado del Ruiz eruption in Columbia, 25,000 people died, villages destroyed, lahars caused by pyroclastic flows, slow evacuation due to dark, thunderstorms, unprepared


  1985
• 2010 Eyjafallajokull eruption, southern Iceland


  No deaths, effective warning system, scientists predicted the eruption, 500 evacuated, close observation, evacuation prevented deaths through prediction and warning
• Eyjafallajokull eruption


  100,000 flights cancelled, $1.7billion loss in revenue, 20 farms destroyed by flooding and ash, loss of land for agriculture, airlines lost $130 million/day
• Volcanic eruptions

  • Severe damage to infrastructure, factories, etc
• Volcanic eruptions

  Disrupt natural habitats, destroy animals and plants
• Volcanic gases

  • Sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen fluoride
• Sulfur dioxide

  Causes acid rain and air pollution
• Volcanic aerosols


  Deplete earth's ozone layer, cause global cooling
• Volcanic eruptions

  Cause water pollution through chemical changes
• Volcanic eruptions

  Kill nearby animals
• Oil, gas, mining industries in the Arctic


  • Drilling wells and roads
  • Thaw permafrost
  • Vehicles damage soil
  • Infrastructure development leads to habitat destruction, pollution, and contributes to climate change
  • Toxic spills
• Trans-Alaskan pipeline


  • One of largest pipelines in the world, 800 miles, attracts tourists
  • Heat radiation melts permafrost
  • Bacteria growth
  • Cracks lead to oil spills
• Seismic blasts in the Arctic


  Have effects on land and wildlife, but bring jobs and needed infrastructure, affect migration patterns
• Tourism in the Arctic


  • Boats disrupt animals, affecting hunting for local people
  • Boat movement breaks ice
  • Pollution - noise and litter
  • Congestion
  • Cultural dilution
  • Environmental degradation
  • Conflict between local activities and recreation
• Alaska, Sweden and Finland attract more than 2 million tourists per year
• Tourism in the Arctic

  Overwhelms small communities, increased carbon footprint, waste and pollution, not enough infrastructure, increased rate of global warming, lack of respect for local culture
• Sustainable tourism

  Use natural resources responsibly, minimise consumption pollution and waste, respect local cultures
• Indigenous use of the Arctic tundra


  • Hunt local animals - caribou, geese
  • Fish for trouts
  • Harvest native plants
  • Use tundra fauna to make houses
• Melting permafrost in the Arctic


  Destroys foundation, erodes seashore, delays winter hunting for indigenous people
• Arctic management approaches


  • Business as usual
  • Arctic framework (Arctic Council consults indigenous communities on sustainability, manages shipping, fishing rights, territorial claims)
  • Arctic global sanctuary (Greenpeace, no country owns Arctic, treaty to leave untouched)