Volcanoes are among the most dynamic and visually spectacular natural features on the Earth's surface. In Alaska, volcanoes are an integral part of the landscape and culture, with more than 70 volcanoes and volcanic fields active throughout history. Monitoring of these volcanoes is carried out by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) using a suite of methods and tools in the fields of remote sensing, seismology, geodesy and geology that produce large volumes of geospatial data. The evolving capabilities of Google Earth and KML have provided a user-friendly interface and information-rich context in which this data can be displayed simultaneously and dynamically, providing new opportunities for communication with other scientists, emergency managers and the general public. I will provide an overview of AVO's operations and demonstrate our use, and that of the broader volcanology community, of Google Earth.

Speaker: John E. Bailey
John E. Bailey, Alaska Volcano Observatory and Arctic Computing Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks

John Bailey majored in physics and space science at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. After a year working and traveling around the world, he attended the University of Hawaii, where he earned a master's and doctorate in geology and geophysics, focusing on physical and remote sensing volcanology. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Arctic Regional Computing Center, involved in operations and research at the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Fairbanks, Alaska. His current interests include the development of KML as a visualization tool for volcanoes and other scientific datasets.

Please take the opportunity to connect and share this video with your friends and family if you find it useful.