THE PEACE CORPS MASTER'S INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM IN THE MITIGATION OF NATURAL GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS: FOSTERING INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS AND CAPACITY BUILDING THROUGH SOCIAL GEOLOGY

The Peace Corps Master's International (PCMI) program in the Mitigation of Natural Geological Hazards at Michigan Tech is a unique program that combines Masters-level research on natural hazards and Peace Corps service. Since its inception in 2004, 23 students have entered the program, working in 8 different countries on hydrologic and geologic hazards, including: volcanic hazards, landslides, water resource characterization and protection, and local risk perception. The 2-year PC assignment allows students to develop in-depth research projects were they live, and to build language and cultural skills. They work with local counterparts and scientists to build technical capacity in the host country. They attract scientific visitors who do specialized research. They acquire skills including: project design, budget and management, team building, data set acquisition, assimilation and analysis, ability to develop long term strategies for multidimensional problems, and the ability to work in diverse conditions.

Fuego volcano, Guatemala is a persistently active composite volcano that erupts high-Al basalt, often explosively. Guatemalan scientists identified Fuego as a site for a PCMI volunteer due to its activity and the number of people living within the hazard zones of the volcano. A volunteer went there in 2005 and observed eruptive behavior, built local volcano monitoring capacity and taught community members and school children about volcanic hazards and grassroots mitigation techniques. A seismic and acoustic station operated during the final 6 months. A repeating pattern of behavior was observed: 1) long periods of passive effusion and subordinate strombolian explosions, followed by 2) paroxysmal eruptions lasting 24-48 hours that produced sustained eruptive columns, pyroclastic flows, and long lava flows, and finally 3) a period of discrete degassing explosions with no lava effusion. The sequence was observed 5 times. This work has spawned investigations of eruption dynamics and conduit characterization, and another PCMI volunteer at Fuego. The goal of this research is a more complete understanding of how Fuego works so that more precise monitoring tools can be developed for local scientists to utilize in tracking Fuego's eruptive behavior and mitigating eruptive hazards to local communities.