Freshman Seminar: Volcanoes and Civilization

Responding to a crises: Summer of 2001, Sicily, Italy

In the Summer of 2001 there was a major eruption of Mt. Etna on Sicily.

Using the list of compiled attributes we are interested in investigating about volcanoes, search the internet for information about the volcano and its recent effects on the nearby population. Try to get as much information you can about the volcano prior to coming to class. Use the internet, the library and news reports. See if you can address the following points:

• What kind of lava is flowing out?
• What is the tectonic setting?
• What is the history of eruptions at Etna?
• What other volcanoes are this similar to this one?
• How does this volcano compare to the disaster at Nyirangongo?
• How did the local population respond to the disaster? Was there a difference in the response to that in Goma?

Write your responses down to hand in and be prepared for a group discussion.