HR: 0800h
AN: ED41B-02 [Abstracts]
TI: Field Courses for Volcanic Hazards Mapping at Parícutinand Jorullo Volcanoes (Mexico)
AU: * Victoria Morales, A
EM: victoria@servidor.unam.mx
AF: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000,
Coyoacán, México, DF 04510, Mexico
AU: Delgado Granados, H
EM: hugo@tonatiuh.igeofcu.unam.mx
AF: Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000,
Coyoacán, México, DF 04510, Mexico
AU: Roberge, J
EM: roberge@geofisica.unam.mx
AF: Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000,
Coyoacán, México, DF 04510, Mexico
AU: Farraz Montes, I A
EM: abimelec@servidor.unam.mx
AF: Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000,
Coyoacán, México, DF 04510, Mexico
AU: Linares López, C
EM: linaresc@geofisica.unam.mx
AF: Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000,
Coyoacán, México, DF 04510, Mexico
AB:
During the last decades, Mexico has suffered several geologic phenomena-related disasters. The eruption of El
Chichón volcano in 1982 killed >2000 people and left a large number of homeless populations and severe
economic damages. The best way to avoid and mitigate disasters and their effects is by making geologic hazards
maps. In volcanic areas these maps should show in a simplified fashion, but based on the largest geologic
background possible, the probable (or likely) distribution in time and space of the products related to a variety of
volcanic processes and events, according to likely magnitude scenarios documented on actual events at a
particular volcano or a different one with similar features to the volcano used for calibration and weighing geologic
background. Construction of hazards maps requires compilation and acquisition of a large amount of geological
data in order to obtain the physical parameters needed to calibrate and perform controlled simulation of volcanic
events under different magnitude-scenarios in order to establish forecasts. These forecasts are needed by the
authorities to plan human settlements, infrastructure, and economic development. The problem is that needs are
overwhelmingly faster than the adjustments of university programs to include courses. At the Earth Science
División of the Faculty of Engineering at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the students have
a good background that permits to learn the methodologies for hazards map construction but no courses on
hazards evaluations. Therefore, under the support of the university's Program to Support Innovation and
Improvement of Teaching (PAPIME, Programa de Apoyo para la Innovación y Mejoramiento de la
Enseñanza) a series of field-based intensive courses allow the Earth science students to learn what kind of
data to acquire, how to record, and process in order to carry out hazards evaluations. This training ends with
hazards maps that can be used immediately by the authorities after proper review by peers. This project has been
running for two years and hazards maps for the region of Parícutin and Jorullo volcanoes have been carried
out. The students have been applying their knowledge and got results in a very short time and at the same time
socially very important.
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0840 Evaluation and assessment
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly