Saving Lives Worldwide by Training International Volcano Scientists plus 1 more

[USGS Newsroom <oc_web@xxxxxxxx>]

Title: USGS Newsroom

Saving Lives Worldwide by Training International Volcano Scientists plus 1 more

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Saving Lives Worldwide by Training International Volcano Scientists

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Scientists and technicians who work at volcano observatories in nine countries are visiting Mount St. Helens and the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Science Center's Cascades Volcano Observatory this week to learn techniques for monitoring active volcanoes. Organized by the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hilo, with support from the VSC-managed joint USGS-USAID Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, the annual program has been training foreign scientists for 22 years. This year's class includes volcano scientists from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Canada, Indonesia, Italy, and Papua New Guinea.

The International Training Program in Volcano Hazards Monitoring is designed to assist other nations in attaining self-sufficiency in monitoring volcanoes and reducing the risks from eruptions. Through in-class instruction at two USGS volcano observatories, and field exercises in Hawaiʻi and at Mount St. Helens, U.S. scientists are providing training on monitoring methods, data analysis and interpretation, and volcanic hazard assessment, and participants are taught about the use and maintenance of volcano monitoring instruments. Additionally, participants learn about focusing on forecasting and rapid response during volcanic crises, and how to work with governing officials and the news media to save lives and property.

"Science diplomacy, building friendships, and collaboration between the U.S. and other nations through joint scientific work and training can ultimately save many thousands of lives in nations with active volcanoes," said USGS geologist and VDAP chief, John Pallister. "Avoiding a major volcano disaster through mitigation and advance training is not only better for humanitarian reasons, but it can also be more cost effective than providing foreign aid after a disaster."

The annual summer course usually takes place only on the Island of Hawaiʻi at the University in Hilo, the USGS VSC Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and in the field on the slopes of Kīlauea Volcano. This year, in an added component to the course, students are visiting the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash. and doing field work at Mount St. Helens to give them the experience of working with a geologically different (more explosive) type of volcano.

"Bringing the class to CVO and including field sessions at Mount St. Helens to complement the Hawaiʻi experience takes advantage of two superb natural laboratories for the study of active volcanism," said Don Thomas, director of CSAV. "Mount St. Helens has a strong legacy and reputation worldwide as a teaching volcano." One of this year's participants noted that he is among the second generation from his country to visit and study modern monitoring techniques at Mount St. Helens.

Providing critical training to international scientists began at HVO, leading to the creation of CSAV to continue the legacy. Since 1990 roughly 200 scientists and civil workers from 25 countries have received training in volcano monitoring methods through CSAV. HVO continues to provide instructors and field experiences for the courses, and VDAP has a long-term partnership with CSAV, providing instructors and co-sponsoring participants from developing countries. VDAP scientists are based at CVO in Washington, so with CSAV course instructors visiting CVO for the first time, there is an opportunity for professional scientific exchanges among researchers who don’t often have a chance to collaborate face to face. For many of the students, attending this training is a rare chance to share their experiences and challenges with other participants from around the world.

VDAP is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. Since 1985, VDAP has worked to reduce fatalities and economic losses in countries experiencing volcano emergencies. At the request of host countries, and working through USAID, an experienced team of USGS scientists can rapidly respond to developing volcanic crises worldwide, and provide consultation, assistance with forecasting, remote sensing data, and monitoring equipment. VDAP teams work in the background, providing support to their hosts who are the responsible parties for hazard communication. Between crises, VDAP scientists work with international partners to build and improve volcano-monitoring systems and to conduct joint activities, including workshops and on-the-job training, to reduce volcanic risk and improve understanding of volcanic hazards. 

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Description: (for ALL photos): Participants in the 2013 summer "International Training Program in Volcano Hazards Monitoring" organized by the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hilo, with support from the USGS-USAID Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, visit the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory after having just spent time at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

USGS volcano scientist, Andy Lockhart discusses telemetry options with Syegi Kunrat of Indonesia.(Larger image)	Domenico Mangione (Italy) and Celina Kattan (El Salvador) assemble the framework of a telemetry station in the parking lot of the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory.(Larger image)
The CSAV International training group practices assembling telemetry stations at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory.(Larger image)	International members of the 2013 CSAV volcano monitoring summer training class pose at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory sign.(Larger image)
Mikhail Herry from Papua New Guinea, (wearing a CSAV shirt) watches as McChesney demonstrates how to test a battery in the field.(Larger image)

Nesting Gulf Loggerheads Face Offshore Risks

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 08:09 AM PDT

Long-Range Nesting Patterns Reveal New Habitats and Risks

DAVIE, Fla.-- Threatened loggerhead sea turtles in the northern Gulf of Mexico can travel distances up to several hundred miles and visit offshore habitats between nesting events in a single season, taking them through waters impacted by oil and fishing industries. 

Evidence from a U.S. Geological Survey study challenges the widely-held view that sea turtles remain near one beach throughout the nesting season and suggests the threatened species may require broader habitat protection to recover. The findings also cast new uncertainties on current estimates of the size of the species’ Gulf of Mexico subpopulation. 

“This is the first study to locate and quantify in-water habitat use by female loggerheads in the Northern Gulf of Mexico subpopulation during their reproductive periods,” said lead author Kristen Hart, a USGS research ecologist. “Our tracking results show they depend on a much broader range of habitat during this critical part of their lives than was previously thought to be required.” 

The study reveals detailed loggerhead movements during “inter-nesting” periods, showing patterns that vary for individual turtles. Generally, this period begins when a female returns from open seas around May and lasts roughly until September. Up until now, efforts to protect the species generally centered on beaches with high nesting activity under the assumption that once turtles had nested on those beaches, they either remained in their immediate vicinity or migrated back out to sea. 

“The satellite data and our observations on the ground tell the same story: loggerheads in this subpopulation nest at multiple beaches, sometimes hundreds of miles apart,” said Hart. “Some of the females we captured and tagged on beaches in Alabama traveled over 250 miles to nest in Florida, where we recaptured them. Likewise, we also captured some females in Alabama that had previously been tagged at the Florida site in earlier breeding years.”  

Researchers used the same statistical technique for analyzing their movements that enabled them to pinpoint loggerhead feeding hotspots at sea last year and, more recently, locate Kemp’s ridley feeding grounds in the Northern Gulf by differentiating between behavioral modes. They analyzed where 39 adult female sea turtles went after they nested on beaches in Alabama and Florida between 2010 and 2012 to learn where they spent time in the water during the breeding season before migrating back to sea. 

“We were surprised to find a lot of variation in their behavior,” said co-author and USGS biologist Meg Lamont.  “On average, the tagged turtles visited areas about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from shore and moved about 28 kilometers (17 miles) to nest at another beach. Several of them journeyed more than 200 kilometers (124) miles to nest at additional beaches, while others simply cruised back out to sea after the first nest.”  

The results of the study explain a mystery that had puzzled Lamont, who has 16 years of data from the St. Joseph Peninsula in Florida showing that few of the nesting loggerheads they tagged returned to nest again on the Peninsula. “We didn’t know whether they were dying or simply nesting elsewhere,” explained Lamont, “Now we know they aren’t as faithful to one nesting site as was once thought.”  

One of the turtles that Lamont tagged in 2002 appeared at Hart’s site in Alabama, nearly a decade later. In fact, the researchers saw several turtles nesting both in Alabama and the St. Joseph Peninsula (roughly 250 miles apart) within a period of just two weeks.  

“These data show it is not sufficient to just protect habitat around high density nesting beaches – such as the St. Joseph Peninsula – because many turtles that nest on the Peninsula use the entire region from the eastern Florida Panhandle to Louisiana,” said Lamont.

There could also be fewer female loggerheads nesting in the northern Gulf of Mexico than current estimates suggest because they are calculated using nest numbers. “Our research shows that the same turtle could easily deposit eggs in Alabama and Florida if nests are separated by about 2 weeks,” said Hart. “Population numbers based on nest counts may therefore be biased upwards if nests at the two sites were assumed to have come from two different females.”  

The study also noted that the areas the loggerheads used during the inter-nesting period overlapped with human uses, such as shrimp trawling and oil and gas platforms. A map showing sea turtle habitat use in relation to these activities can be found in the article, “Movements and Habitat-Use of Loggerhead Sea Turtles in the Northern Gulf of Mexico during the Reproductive Period,” which was published July 3 in the journal PLOS One.

“We are working towards defining areas where sea turtles concentrate their activities at sea, effectively building a map of in-water turtle hotspots,” said Hart. “The more we know about their habitat use, the more questions are raised about their behavior and ability to adapt. We hope to build a better understanding of how frequently turtles return to these same locations, and whether or not they move to new habitats when those locations are impacted. This type of information would be extremely valuable for developing management strategies to help in population recovery.”