The Harvard Business Club of Ottawa is pleased to extend MIT Alumni Club's invitation to all Harvard University Club members and friends to attend Dr. Brian Cousens' presentation, on November 20, 2007 .

MIT Club of Ottawa Meeting

November 20, 2007

Location: Al's Steakhouse, 327 Elgin (free parking in the back-- access from Lewis)

Time: 6:30pm, dinner at 7:00pm

Cost: $35.00 (includes choice of meal + tea/coffee). Drinks and Desert extra. Vegetarian or other

special meals available with a few days notice.

Speaker: Dr. Brian Cousens

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Earth Sciences Carleton University

Speaking on: Active Volcanism on Earth and Volcanic Hazards

Nearly twenty percent of the Earth's human population lives within eruption-distance of an active

volcano. Volcanic soils are very fertile, and farming can often extend well up the flanks of a volcanic

edifice. Some volcanoes, such as those that form the Hawaiian islands, erupt fairly passively and

generally do not constitute a hazard to life but can cause significant property damage. Other volcanoes,

such as those in Indonesia and western North America, can erupt suddenly and explosively and

constitute a huge hazard to the surrounding population. This talk will outline the geological hazards

associated with four types of volcanoes: shield, composite, cinder cone and caldera. Hazards at shield

volcanoes include lava flows, volcanic gases, faults and slumps. Cinder cone eruptions not usually life-

threatening, but the example of Paricutin in Mexico demonstrates the economic impact these eruptions

can have. Composite volcanoes are much more dangerous, commonly producing swiftly-moving

clouds of hot gas, lava fragments, and volcanic ash called pyroclastic flows or nuee ardentes. The great

height of most composite volcanoes makes them susceptible to landslides, and snow and ice capping

these volcanoes can melt during an eruption to produce fast-moving mudflows. Ash from composite

volcano eruptions can be injected high into the atmosphere, and these fine particles can block sunlight

and influence global climate. Calderas are produced after a large eruption when magma from a shallow

magma chamber is evacuated, leaving a space that allows roof rocks to collapse downwards.

Recent caldera-related eruptions at Yellowstone National Park produced 4000 times the volume of

volcanic materials erupted by Mt. St. Helens in 1980, and partially-solidified magma still exists beneath

Yellowstone making this region a large volcanic hazard. Finally, we need to think geologically: Is it

reasonable to allow the city of Naples to continue to grow around the base of Mount Vesuvius,

ignoring the lessons of Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Brian Cousens grew up on the West Island of Montreal, and obtained his B.Sc. in Geology at McGill

University in 1979. He then moved to Vancouver, obtaining his M.Sc. in Geological Sciences and

Oceanography at UBC in 1982, and then worked as a Research Assistant in the Oceanography

department for three years.

Brian decided to move to sunny California in 1985, and obtained his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences at

the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1990.

After a two-year appointment as a Visiting Researcher at the Université de Montréal, Brian moved to

Ottawa to take up a Research Associate position and Postdoctoral Fellowship at Carleton University.

He was appointed as a Research Adjunct Professor in 1997. Between 1997 and 2007, Brian has

taught several different Introductory Geology courses offered by the Earth Sciences department at

Carleton, as well as advanced courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels at Carleton and the

University of Ottawa. In July 2007, Brian was appointed to an Assistant Professor position in Earth

Sciences at Carleton.

Brian conducts research on volcanoes along the west coast of North America, on the sea floor in the

northern Pacific Ocean, at Hawaii, and in the Northwest Territories.

RSVP: Please contact Dave Amundsen, preferably no later than Nov. 17, if you wish to attend. Email:

dave@math.carleton.ca, or phone: 520-2600 ext.

2135.

Web page: http://mitottawa.ncf.ca/