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Other Activities


Workshop: Fuji Volcano

Fuji Volcano: Products of large-scale historic eruptions (864 and 1707 AD) and disaster mitigation plans for future eruption
Dates: November 25 (Sun.) - 27 (Tue.) (3 days)
Sponsors: Mt. Fuji Sabo Office (MLIT), Volcanic Disaster Mitigation Council of Mt. Fuji, Volcanological Society of Japan
Contact person: S. Aramaki: aramaki.shigeo@fine.ocn.ne.jp
Participants: 40 (max.)
Cost: Shown in excursion C4

Description:

This workshop commemorates the 300th anniversary of the 1707 great eruption of Fuji Volcano. It will consist of a morning science and technical session and afternoon hazard mitigation activities by local citizens and agencies. Although Fuji has not erupted in the last 300 years, recent occurrences of long-period earthquake swarms have prompted the initiation of large-scale disaster mitigation programs, the largest ever in scale in Japan as far as volcanic disasters are concerned. These programs will be reviewed in the workshop and experts from abroad are particularly welcome to participate. Also, local activities related to volcanic disaster mitigation will be presented through drills and student performances.

The second and third days will include a visit to very large-scale experimental grounds on sabo engineering especially dedicated to debris flow damages caused by Fuji Volcano. This is a model experimental station operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation of the Japanese government. Also, a historic lava flow field of 864 AD including many lava tunnels will be visited. The third day will be spent mostly on the pyroclastic fall deposits of the 1707 eruption, one of Fuji's largest eruptive events. The damage caused by the eruption as well as reclaimed devastated area will be visited.

Persons hoping to participate in this workshop must register for post-conference excursion C4.


Workshop: Eruption forecasting through the Bayesian Event Tree: Moving from theory to practice with the software package BET_EF

Date & Venue: November 18 (Sun.), afternoon, Shimabara Fukko Arena
Conveners: Warner Marzocchi and Jacopo Selva; INGV
Contact person: W. Marzocchi: marzocchi@bo.ingv.it

This workshop aims to present BET_EF, a free software package (OS Windows) that allows graphically supported computing of short- to long-term eruption forecasting by merging all the available information, such as theoretical models, a priori beliefs, monitoring measures, and any kind of past data, all of them provided by the end user. BET_EF deals with short- and long-term forecasting; therefore, it can be useful in many practical aspects, such as land-use planning and during volcanic emergencies.

The workshop will be organized in three parts:

Part 1.
A short introduction to the BET model: We show the technical details of the code and its practical utility.
Part 2.
How to install BET_EF: The code will be distributed for free to participants. We will also assist participants with laptops.
Part 3.
How BET works: Several tutorials will be run to show how volcanological information is uploaded and how BET_EF works in practical cases, i.e., during emergencies.


Work Shop: Second International Workshop on Acoustic Remote Sensing of Volcanoes (IWARS)

Date: November 18 (Sun.) (1 day)
Venue:Shimabara Kanko Hotel Kowakien (less than 20 min. from main hotels on foot or shuttle bus will be available from key stops)
Cost: 4000 yen (Note: should apply directly to Dr. Milton Garces)
Include: lunch and coffee breaks
Contact Person: Dr. Milton Garces (milton@isla.hawaii.edu)

Sponsored by:
Geological Survey of Canada
National Center for Physical Acoustics, University of Mississippi
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
Infrasound Laboratory, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Laboratory for Atmospheric Acoustics, University of California, San Diego
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)

Description:

The rapidly growing Global Infrasound Network, which includes regional array networks as well as stations that are part of the International Monitoring System, has revitalized the application of infrasound technology to natural hazard monitoring.

Volcanic eruptions produce a broad spectrum of acoustic signals that can be used by observatories and government agencies to assess volcanic hazard and disseminate updated information. This workshop presents the state of the art of infrasonic remote sensing over regional to telesonic distances, and discusses existing measurement, analysis, and data dissemination procedures that can be incorporated into civil defense and aviation applications as well as into research programs. We introduce the fundamentals of sound propagation, review recording and data analysis techniques, and discuss applications using acoustic observations of different eruption styles. We also consider how to design a robust system and the interpretive tools needed to transform a raw acoustic data stream into useful notification and operational products.

WOVO meeting

The World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) will host two meetings at Tsukumo Hotel in Shimabara on the evening on November 20 (Tue.) - a general WOVO meeting, and a meeting of the WOVOdat steering committee. If you are interested and would like to contribute to the agendas, please contact WOVO through their web site: http://www.wovo.org

IVHHN meeting

Date: November 22 (Thu) Evening
Contact Person: Claire Horwell (chor05@esc.cam.ac.jp)

The International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN) will hold its fourth annual meeting at COV5. IVHHN aims to develop understanding of the health effects of volcanic emissions, to develop international guidelines for the public and scientists on volcanic health hazards and to disseminate this information internationally. IVHHN currently has more than 30 expert members and over 150 corresponding members, with expertise from varied disciplines including volcanology, mineralogy, epidemiology, toxicology, physical chemistry, medicine, and occupational health. The workshop will review the progress of IVHHN, including recent achievements and work in progress and will involve an open discussion of future work and collaborations. There will also be short presentations on projects completed be IVHHN over the last year. The workshop is open to all conference delegates who may be interested in learning more about this rapidly emerging field of volcanic hazard assessment. We invite and encourage delegates to submit abstracts for presentations on volcanic health hazards to Session 1-3: "Health hazards of co-existing with active volcanoes".

Additional activities with local people

Parallel with the scientific program, local people and municipal and governmental organizations are planning several forums as activities of Cities on Volcanoes 5. These people and organizations are settled on and around volcanoes and have experienced recent volcanic disasters (for example, in Miyakejima or Hokkaido). The forums are related to the sabo (sediment control) program, traditions of volcanic disasters, educational programs for children, mass communication and so on. Participation in these forums should be seen as a kind of outreach activity for volcanologists. Exchanging our experiences, we will discuss the prevention and reduction of volcanic disasters, the importance of passing down our experiences to younger generations, the role of mass communication, what volcano education should consist of, and so on. Although these forums will be basically operated in Japanese, simultaneous translation between Japanese and English will be provided. Participants may join these forums without any extra fees.

Presently, the following activities have been fixed:

  1. Forum networking people living on and around volcanoes
    Local people will exchange their experiences during the last eruption and disaster at Unzen.
  2. International between scientists and people who have experienced volcanic disasters
    Local people will discuss their experiences and fears of pyroclastic and debris flows during the Unzen eruption.
  3. Film presentation of volcanic disasters
    Videos will be shown of volcanic eruptions and on prevention of volcanic disasters, in memory of Katia and Maurice Kraft and Harry Glicken.
  4. Kid's volcano workshop
    Children will present what they have learned related to volcanoes, life and environment.
  5. "Kitchen" volcanoes
    This is a program that seeks to encourage children's interests in volcanology and disaster prevention by showing easy experiments using foods and materials familiar to them.
  6. Volcano forum with local people and mass media
    This forum will aim at verifying what is truly important information for local people during volcanic crises and non-crises.

Social Events

The city of Shimabara is preparing some social events for participants during the conference. A schedule will be provided on the COV5 website and in the program.

Accompanying Persons' Program

There is no set program for accompanying persons; however, there will be a tourist desk set up in the conference venue.


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