Being a volcanologist who works on Mount Etna since 25 years, I limit my comments to the part dealing with this volcano, which is cited as a volcano at "very high threat level" in the program, and has allegedly killed "tens of thousands" in past centuries. Etna is certainly a very active, and also densely populated volcano, which is problematic, but not in the way as is indicated in the program. In real life, Etna is known to have killed 77 people during the entire, 2700-years long period of documented history, and these were all in the wrong place at the wrong time, watching eruptions at close range or visiting craters which suddenly unleashed small but deadly (for them) explosions. In 1669, a large eruption destroyed a number of villages and a small part of the city of Catania, without one single known death. Since then, only one village has been destroyed by an eruption of Etna, also this time without loss of human lives: Mascali, in 1928. All this is well documented and the information is freely accessible on authoritative sources on the Internet, which were apparently overlooked by the producers of this program.
"Volcano Time Bomb" proceeds to show a volcanologist coming in from Sheffield to do the lonesome hero part, using the local volcanologists as mere helpers to launch a (faked) alarm. In reality, the local volcanologists - a very experienced team of which I am proud to be part - do the work routinely all the time. A very dense and highly sophisticated network of modern instruments, from seismographs to GPS to radiometers and radar station to thermal cameras is run continuously by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Osservatorio Etneo on Etna and other Sicilian volcanoes, capturing virtually every sign that the volcano gives before, while and after it erupts. These signals arrive in real-time in the Operations Room of the institute, which is manned around the clock, 24/7, on every single day. Responses to changes in the monitored parameters are immediately communicated to the pertinent authorities and updates are provided to the public via internet channels. All this is an immense team effort, and modern volcanology is a team effort; the lone heroes are legends of the past.
All of the program is playing a high-adrenaline, sensationalistic and catastrophist vibe. Right at the start, it says volcanoes are "capable of devastating our planet." Well, they possibly are (though eruptions having a really devastating impact on the planet are exceptionally rare), but in the meantime human beings ARE devastating their planet. Obviously the program provides a healthy dose of "super"volcanism, because that's the word that should frighten the living daylights out of the spectators.
So you want to learn about volcanoes? Better watch some good old 1980s or 1990s program on volcanoes (many of these are easily found on the Internet) - maybe the technology applied in volcano monitoring was a far cry from what it is today, the animations are crude and it's not in HD and stereo, but the general information provided in those old goodies is often far better and more accurate.
"Volcano Time Bomb" proceeds to show a volcanologist coming in from Sheffield to do the lonesome hero part, using the local volcanologists as mere helpers to launch a (faked) alarm. In reality, the local volcanologists - a very experienced team of which I am proud to be part - do the work routinely all the time. A very dense and highly sophisticated network of modern instruments, from seismographs to GPS to radiometers and radar station to thermal cameras is run continuously by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Osservatorio Etneo on Etna and other Sicilian volcanoes, capturing virtually every sign that the volcano gives before, while and after it erupts. These signals arrive in real-time in the Operations Room of the institute, which is manned around the clock, 24/7, on every single day. Responses to changes in the monitored parameters are immediately communicated to the pertinent authorities and updates are provided to the public via internet channels. All this is an immense team effort, and modern volcanology is a team effort; the lone heroes are legends of the past.
All of the program is playing a high-adrenaline, sensationalistic and catastrophist vibe. Right at the start, it says volcanoes are "capable of devastating our planet." Well, they possibly are (though eruptions having a really devastating impact on the planet are exceptionally rare), but in the meantime human beings ARE devastating their planet. Obviously the program provides a healthy dose of "super"volcanism, because that's the word that should frighten the living daylights out of the spectators.
So you want to learn about volcanoes? Better watch some good old 1980s or 1990s program on volcanoes (many of these are easily found on the Internet) - maybe the technology applied in volcano monitoring was a far cry from what it is today, the animations are crude and it's not in HD and stereo, but the general information provided in those old goodies is often far better and more accurate.
