NEMOH Final Conference
Léna Cauchie and Samantha Engwell – NEMOH fellow
After spending a week on the slopes of Etna, the NEMOH fellows travelled to Catania for the final NEMOH conference. The day before the conference, the fellows were invited on a tour of INGV Catania volcano observatory where they learnt of the eruptive history of Etna and the response procedures implemented during an eruptive crisis. The fellows were given a tour of the control room where monitoring of the volcano occurs, and were introduced to the techniques used to observe the volcano.
The final conference, held at Palazzo Platamone in Catania, between the 15th and the 18th of November, gave the fellows the opportunity to present their research, and to put that research in context regarding volcano science in general, and applications for investigating volcanic hazard in particular. During the final NEMOH conference, each NEMOH fellow presented the research conducted during their fellowships, spanning research fields from analogue experiments to volcanic hazards, and from numerical modeling of volcanic interiors and eruption plume dynamics to volcano seismology.
These presentations were interspersed with seminal presentations from international leaders in both academia and industry, with presentations covering a range of topics from hazard analysis and volcano monitoring, to the utilisation of volcanoes for power. The presentation sessions were followed by a discussion led by the NEMOH fellows highlighting the contribution to our understanding of volcanic systems, while identifying areas and issues for future research. Key discussions were centred on the need to bridge between different techniques and disciplines, and the discrepancy between the way in which science is conducted compared to the methods used to communicate results. Each day was completed with a poster session to enable further discussion between the participants, often leading to future collaborations.
The NEMOH final conference served to highlight the amount of work conducted, the collaborations formed, and the experiences and opportunities made available to the fellows during the 4 years of the NEMOH project. The conference concluded with a social dinner in Catania on the 18th of November, where we met officially for the last time as NEMOH members, knowing that lifelong friendships and collaborations had been made, and with the intention of continued development as the next generation of European volcanologists.
