VolcaKnowledge VolcaKnowledge Podcast

We finish this season with a focus on training the next generation of geoscience communicators. We're joined by Sharon Backhouse, Director of the GeoTenerife research and training program based in Canary Islands. We talk about the program and also delve into tourism on volcanic islands, geo-sustainability, and public education of risk and hazards.



I (Sharon) am a journalist and an ardent lover of communication and the Canary Islands. We set up GeoTenerife over a decade ago to provide quality learning experiences for international students and showcase these dramatic volcanic islands in the Atlantic we are so passionate about. We have evolved into a science training and research company, collaborating with a range of local, national and international institutions and experts, running field trips and training camps. 

We make all of our research output freely available online via our project VolcanoStories. We focus on the three hot issues where we believe change is most needed: La Palma and the response to the 2021 eruption and reconstruction; volcanic readiness in the Canary Islands and sustainable tourism. We self-funded Lava Bombs, a film about the impacts of the 2021 eruption in Cumbre Vieja, to enable the lessons learned here to travel far and wide to advocate for change in the face of any future event. Shortly we will release Lava Bombs 2 on the reconstruction. 

As a communicator, I strive to forge communication links between the key stakeholders: politicians, scientists, emergency managers, residents and the press. We all speak and hear differently, and it's vital to ensure messaging is helpful, particularly in times of crisis. We run free courses and events for residents, and interactive sessions where they can meet and question decisionmakers.

We were at IAVCEI in New Zealand to show and run a panel discussion on Lava Bombs and will run various sessions at COV12 to bring all those voices to stakeholders in Guatemala and the wider community. The topics we tackle are emotive and difficult, but we advocate for constructive discussion and listening to ensure all viewpoints are respected and strive for change where necessary. All our training courses include a SciComm training element. Science is at its best when it's unlocked from closed academic circles at the service of the people. We empower our students to go out into the world and communicate effectively across boundaries.



Website: www.geotenerife.com

VolcanoStories: https://geotenerife.com/volcanostories/

Socials - Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok: @GeoTenerife

Lava Bombs:www.lavabombsfilm.com 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lavabombsfilm7918

What was your first geology or earth science class? Did you have someone that was an influence in your path? We're joined by community college geology professor Edith Rojas to talk about her personal journey from Nicaragua to the USA, changing career paths, and now passing on geological inspiration to a new diverse generation.


Edith Rojas Salazar (she/her/ella) is an associate professor of Geology at College of the Desert. Edith’s area of expertise is volcanics and geochronology. Professor Rojas is a dynamic force in the geology field nestled in the picturesque Coachella Valley. As a passionate Latina Immigrant, professor Rojas brings a unique perspective to her role, infusing her love for science with a commitment to diversity and accessibility. Her dedication extends beyond the classroom as she engages in science communication initiatives,  striving to break down barriers and make STEM fields more inclusive. 

Instagram: @Latina_geologist

X: @LatinaGeologist

Did you know that there are volcanoes in Australia?! Well, it's time to take a journey down under for fascinating insight into the history of Australia's volcanoes, the importance of indigenous aboriginal history, and bringing together that knowledge with new physical scientific data.... and Dr. Heather Handley is the perfect guide for this journey!


Dr. Heather Handley is an Associate Professor Volcanic Hazards and Geoscience Communication, University of Twente and Adjunct Associate Professor Monash University. Heather’s research takes a multidisciplinary approach to better understand how volcanoes work in order to reduce the risk from volcanic hazards. She is Co-Founder of the Earth Futures Festival, an international film and video festival uniting the arts and science to showcase the role of geoscience in sustainable development. Heather strongly advocates for Women in STEM, diversity and inclusion and is Co-Founder and Inaugural President of the Women in Earth and Environmental Science Australasia (@WOMEESA) Network. In her spare time she is writing a book on Australia’s little known but absolutely amazing volcanoes. 

Twitter: @heatherkhandley @FacultyITC @MonashEAE

Website: https://www.heatherhandley.com/

Video games and volcanoes... who knew?! Ed and Jazmin take us through their gaming experiences as trained volcano scientists, and how they blended their two loves into educational research assessing the accuracy of geology in video games. No surprise, some are more accurate than others! What memories of volcanoes do YOU have in video games?


Ed McGowan (he/him) is a PhD researcher at the University of Leicester. His project focuses on using geochemistry to correlate ancient caldera-forming pyroclastic flow deposits and determine their source vent location within the English Lake District. Additionally, Ed investigates geology within popular video games and how they could be used as an educational tool.

Twitter - @The_Volcano_Guy

Blue Sky - @thevolcanoguy

Website – www.volcanoguyblogs.com

Dr Jazmin Scarlett (she/her) is a Flood Resilience Officer, involved helping communities prepare, respond and recover from flooding, maintenance of the flood warning service and reviewing flood alert and warning thresholds and assisting the Area Incident Team in emergency management.

BlueSky - @grumpyvolcano.bsky.social



Video Games and volcanoes:

Paper - https://gc.copernicus.org/articles/4/11/2021/

Blogpost - https://phdvolcanology.wordpress.com/tag/videogame/

Paper - https://gc.copernicus.org/articles/5/325/2022/

Iceland is a country of great volcanic interest with three eruptions in one area since 2021, which has been a hotspot for tourism. We speak with Jorge Montalvo about educating and informing the public safely in one of the most popular volcanic countries in the world. Let's meet Jorge - Geologist, Secondary School Teacher, and Science Communicator.


I am a Colombian-born Icelandic geologist with a lot of interest in Natural Hazards (particularly volcanic hazards) and how to mitigate their negative impact on vulnerable populations. My inspirations for this career path were the eruptions at Nevado del Ruiz in 1985 and Heimaey in 1973. In recent years, I have been mostly involved in research and teaching at High School level here in Iceland. I am currently on a slightly different path but aiming at, eventually, making my way into Civil Protection.

IG: @gordo21is

Twitter: @gordo21_Island

ResearchGate: Jorge Montalvo-Jónsson

LinkedIn: Jorge Montalvo

We're joined this week by Anais Vásconez Müller from Ecuador to talk about a personal journey from growing up inside a volcanic caldera to becoming a volcanologist working at a observatory studying the same volcano! What a circle!


My name is Anais Vásconez Müller (she/her) and I am a German-Ecuadorian hybrid who after an internship at IG-EPN in Ecuador in 2016 decided that I wanted to be a volcanologist. Since I had spent lots of my childhood inside the Pululahua crater, I wrote both my bachelor's and my master's theses about this volcanic complex. Two years after obtaining a MSc in Volcanology at the University of Bristol, in 2022, I finally got the job I had been aiming for at IG-EPN and now work on monitoring and analyzing volcanic ash.



ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anais-Vasconez-Mueller