Do the economic benefits of living near a volcano outweigh the dangers?
By Sophie Gadsdon
Conclusion
- Globally there are many economic benefits of living near a volcano, such as providing jobs, community income and global income.
- Nonetheless, most of these benefits are global and the local communities are suffering. Local communities face greater risk of the dangers involved than other countries do.
- Overall, I think the economic benefits do outweigh the dangers in most cases, however, more needs to be done to improve greater management of these dangers.
Benefits: Other Uses
- Good for agriculture - high soil fertility
- Previously used for building materials
- Used for household cleaners and hand soaps
Benefits: Beauty Products
- Volcanic ash clay is best known for its use in beauty products, also known as sodium bentonite clay.
- Used for healing both internal and external illnesses.
- The forms it can be provided in:
- Externally - skin cream, skin maks, muds, skin exfoliators and cosmetics, hair care products.
- Internally - water soluble powder, liquid, tablets.
Benefits: Tourism
Implications: Risk of Eruptions and loss of life
Example: Eyjafjallajökull 2010
- People are attracted to geothermal/volcanic areas due to the excitement and unpredictability these landforms.
- Many areas take advantage of their location and set up different attractions to enable tourists to have the chance to experience it in a more extreme way.
- E.g Yellowstone and Iceland.
Major economic impacts -
- Damages to infrastructure
- 100,000 flights cancelled over 8 days
- Sporting events cancelled
- Agricultural loss
- Local water supplies
contaminated with fluoride
- Total loss of £80 million.
Benefits: Mining
Implications: Dangerous working environment
- However, there are factors which control the economic viability of ore deposits.
- Examples where volcanic mining provides minerals in abundance:
- Indonesia - Kawah Ljen
- Colombia - Galeras Volcanoes
- Papua New Guinea -
- Undersea Volcanoes
- Indonesia Example - up to 12 hour days in toxic conditions, with barely any health and safety regulations.
Implications: Economic losses through damage
Benefits: Mining
- Volcanic eruptions can trigger further natural hazards, such as earthquakes, fast floods, mud slides and rock falls, which all cause great damag to communities.
- The economic impact this has can often be too much to repair, especially for less developed countries.
Implications: Fall in tourism
Background -
- Many different types of geological ore deposits can be mined in various parts of the world.
- These are classified into metallic, non-metallic and fossil fuel deposits.
- These form through the magma under hydromagmatic settings, where the water flushes through and draws the metals out, creating the metal ores.
- The 'precious' minerals that are in solution within the magma are too low to be mined unless the magma hardens.
- It is the process of smelting which allows these to be mined in higher concentration.
- Areas which have worked hard to maintain a tourist industry in a volcanic area can suffer following an eruption.
- Often damage to community.
- Tourists may feel nervous to return.
Key Questions:
Types of Volcanic Setting:
1.) Why types of economic benefits do volcanoes provide?
- Mining
- Tourism
- Beauty Products
- Other Uses
2.) What are the dangers associated with living/working within a volcanic area?
- Risk of Eruptions and loss of life
- Dangerous working environment
- Economic losses through damage
- Loss of tourism
3.) Do these economic benefits provided prove that the utilization of volcanoes for economic benefit is worth the potential risk?
Types of Volcanic Eruption:
Effusive Eruption - "a type of volcanic eruption in which lava steadily flows out of a volcano onto the ground"
Explosive Eruption - "magma is torn apart as it rises and reaches the surface in pieces known as pyroclasts"
"Mafic" - used to describe silicate minerals, magmas, and rocks which are relatively high in the heavier elements.
"Felsic" - used to describe silicate materials, magmas, and rock which have a lower percentage of the heavier elements.