In 2000, the late Dr. Richard V. Fisher, scientist emeritus of University of California Santa Barbara, approached USGS volcanologists to explore what he could do to help prepare volcano-hazard educational material for the benefit of people having to deal with active and erupting volcanoes. By creating an online resource Dr. Fisher and the partners listed below hope people can learn to prepare and protect themselves from future volcanic ashfall.
In a separate development, the experiences from the 1995–1996 Ruapehu (New Zealand) eruptions by Dr. David Johnston and Dr. Bruce Houghton of the University of Hawai`i, Manoa (at that time of GNS Science) highlighted the need for real-time information on the consequences of volcano hazards.
The initial material for this Web site was developed by Jennifer Adleman and Steven Brantley of the U.S. Geological Survey, David Johnston, Richard Fisher and Bruce Houghton.
The site has been edited and expanded over time by Steven Brantley, David Johnston and later Thomas Wilson (University of Canterbury), Carol Stewart (Joint Centre for Disaster Research - Massey University/GNS Science), Kristi Wallace and David Damby (U.S. Geological Survey), and Graham Leonard (GNS Science).
This web site is coordinated by the USGS Volcano Hazards Program and hosted on a USGS server. Principle contact: Kristi Wallace (kwallace@usgs.gov) and David Damby (ddamby@usgs.gov)
Principal contact: Graham Leonard (G.Leonard@gns.cri.nz)
Cities on Volcanoes Commission: Commission leader: Graham Leonard (G.Leonard@gns.cri.nz)
Principal contact: Claire Horwell (claire.horwell@durham.ac.uk)
Principal contact: Carol Stewart (c.stewart1@massey.ac.nz)
Principal contact: Thomas Wilson (thomas.wilson@canterbury.ac.nz)
It is our hope that new information can be added to this website based on the contributions from people who have experienced ashfall. Please contact us if you have documented the effects of ash and have taken the steps to remove ash and reduce its effects on equipment, vehicles, utilities, and various economic activities. If you would like to contribute new material to this website, please Email Us, or click on the 'Contact Us' link on the upper right of this page.