Coming up May 23rd through 27th of 2020, the Cities on Volcanoes 11 brings the world’s top volcanologists to Greece for the first time. The conferences and workshops of “Volcanoes and Society: environment, health, and hazards” will welcome many of the world’s foremost experts to Heraklion, Crete.
Organized by the International Association of Volcanology Cities, the Volcanoes Commission and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the University of Crete, and the region’s Natural History Museum, and other key organizations, the “Volcanoes and Society: environment, health and hazards” session will be the first rendition hosted by Greece.
For volcanologists and other scientists presenting or attending the conference, the 2020 Heraklion Conference will allow worldwide volcanologists and decision-makers to exchange about the up-to-date scientific advances in understanding how volcanoes work, how forecasting their eruptions and how mitigating their environmental and societal impacts. In addition to Santorini, a few other active volcanoes of the Hellenic arc (Milos, Nisyros, Methana) are interesting targets for field excursions related to the Conference.
The COV conferences are intended to promote multi-disciplinary approaches to hazards and mitigating factors. According to the mission statement:
“The Cities and Volcanoes Commission aims to provide a linkage between the volcanology community and emergency managers, to serve as a conduit for the exchange of ideas and experience between volcano cities, and promote multi-disciplinary applied research, involving the collaboration of physical and social scientists and city officials.”
The site of the main conference will be the 5-star Aquila Atlantis Hotel just a few meters from the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. Parallel conference sessions will also be held at the Capsis Astoria Hotel, which is also within a few steps of the museum. The list of all the pre, main, and post-conference sessions and activities it too long to list here. Readers can plan their visits or participation by reading the official conference agenda here (PDF).
The conference will feature a far-reaching series of symposiums including Volcano Observatory work and monitoring; SYMPOSIUM 2 Physical Sciences; SYMPOSIUM 3 Civil protection, education, community members, news media, citizen science, hazards and risk specialists; and other detailed presentations/discussions.
Of particular interest to archaeologists, historians, and stakeholders on Crete, will be the special session “Bronze Age Cities and the Volcano of Thera” symposium. This session by Professor Jan Driessen Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium and his colleague Dr. Irene Nikolakopoulou Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete will address the cataclysmic Thera eruption in the mid-second millennium BC, and the aftereffects on Minoan Crete.
Heraklion bears a special significance because of the Minoan centers and how the region of Crete was dramatically impacted by the around 1627 BC cataclysm of Santorini (Thera) volcano (VEI 6-7, 60 km3 of DRE magma).
Pre-conference workshops and field trips are scheduled for 17-22 May 2020, while post-conference workshops and trips will take place 28-32 May. There will also be parallel events and workshops for kids including treasure hunts and learning excursions about Heraklion organized by the Natural History Museum in collaboration with the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
The deadline for abstract submissions for the conference is on January 20th. For more information, readers should contact the organizing secretariat at +30 210 6833600 or email: info@citiesonvolcanoes11.com
