| You are cordially invited to attend a public symposium. Explosive Volcanism in Human History: Environmental Crises - Past and Future? Wednesday, January 17, 2001 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology 33rd and Spruce Streets Co-Sponsored by: The Center for Ancient Studies The Institute for Environmental Studies, and The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Introduction Volcanism as an Environmental Hazard Dr. Robert Giegengack University of Pennsylvania Modern Observations of Catastrophic Volcanic Eruptions Dr. Katharine V. Cashman University of Oregon Vesuvius-Impact: Direct and Indirect Dr. Rudolf Winkes Brown University The Excavations at Thera: A Revolution in our Knowledge of Bronze Age Greece Dr. Philip Betancourt Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania Closing Remarks Question and Answer Period 6:00 P.M. Reception (Separate Fee) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Since long before the dawn of Written history, human societies have lived in close proximity to active and dormant volcanoes. We have no record of many societies that must have been destroyed by catastrophic eruptions of neighboring volcanoes, but evidence survives from enough such events to persuade us that explosive volcanism has been a principal environmental hazard to human societies for a long time. Eyewitness accounts and painstaking archaeological reconstructions have taught us something about the terror and chaos that prevailed in the seconds before people were overwhelmed by clouds of incandescent gas, showers of heated ash, and/or enormous waves from the open sea. But it is only in the very recent past that volcanologists have learned enough about the processes that control the timing, location, and intensity of volcanic eruptions to enable us cautiously to suggest that we may be on the verge of predicting future volcanic disasters in time to minimize loss of human life. On January 17, Katharine Cashman will describe two volcanic events for which extensive geological and geophysical data have been compiled: the explosive destruction on August 26, 1883, of the mountain that was Krakatoa in the strait between Indonesia and Sumatra, and the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State on May 18, 1890. Much of the modern science of volcanology is based on the records of those two events. Rudolph Winkes will tell us what science has learned from generations of Excavation at the classic sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Philip Betancours will describe for us the archaeological evidence from which he has been able to reconstruct the last moments of the island of Santorini, destroyed in an event which many historians believe was the inspiration for the legend of Atlantis. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Program Reservation Explosive Volcanism in Human History Environmental Crises-Past and Future? Name: Address: City, State, Zip: Daytime Phone: Email: Please reserve the following for Wednesday, January 17, 2001: _____________ @ lecture. FREE _____________ @ reception. $15 per person. $12 Museum member Total Amount Enclosed $ ___________ Do you require special assistance? ___________ Make checks payable to Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania or use your credit card: Type of Card: ______________________ Card Number: ________________________________ Expiration Date: _________________ Name as it appears on the credit card: ____________________________________ Card holder signature: _________________________________________________ Please FAX reservation coupon to (215) 573-4263 or mail to: Events Office, University of Pennsylvania Museum, 33rd and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324 For More information call: The Museum Events Office at 215-898-4890 The Institute for Environmental Studies at 215-573-3164 Institute for Environmental Studies Department of Earth & Environmental Science University of Pennsylvania 240 S. 33rd Street - 256 Hayden Hall Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316 (t) 215-573-3164 (f) 215-573-9145 http://www.sas.upenn.edu/earth/ies.html |
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