Presentation by Brian Cousens, Professor and Chair, Department of Earth Sciences

Being able to predict the occurrence to two earth sciences phenomena – earthquakes and volcanic eruptions – is of great importance to society. Sudden volcanic eruptions, commonly explosive, can cause extensive property damage and death to local populations. Volcanic eruptions are difficult to predict unless the geological history of the volcano is well known and if monitoring instruments are deployed around the volcano.

Volcanoes with nearby volcano observatories are well understood, such as Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, and warnings of activity at the volcano can be delivered to the public in a matter of hours. But most volcanoes lack such detailed monitoring. In this talk, Prof. Cousens will discuss how volcanologists evaluate the danger of a volcano erupting, and the high-tech tools they use to do so.

About the Science Café:

Explore science through Carleton University’s popular Science Café series, held twice a month during the fall and winter terms at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library at 1049 Bank Street (at Aylmer Ave in Old Ottawa South). Each café begins at 6:30 p.m. with a 20-minute talk by a scientist followed by a 40-minute open question and answer period.