Skip to content

Ethics in Volcanology: Collaboration, Communities and Commitment

Amy Donovan, others to be added

Abstract

This paper uses relevant bodies of literature and results from surveys and interviews to examine the challenges and opportunities of a volcanology ethical code. It incorporates insights from geoethics (a growing body of literature that examines the role of ethics in geology more broadly and includes the ethical management of resources, scientific knowledge and disaster risk, among other things), feminist studies (which focusses on the experiences and voices of marginalised groups) and social studies of science (which examines the role of science in and as society). These are combined with results from several surveys and interviews to think through some of the key challenges for volcanologists in the modern research, operational and media landscape. Communities have access to information from many sources, and often lack the skills to discern trustworthy from untrustworthy sources. This places the onus on scientists to think through their own positions, the power dynamics in which they operate and the potential for misinterpretation and misuse of results. There are key considerations concerning how projects are managed, how research interacts with society (e.g. collaboration and the inclusion of observatories, for example), communication practices and who is involved (e.g. what role, if any, do academics have in volcanic crises?), how and when affected communities are engaged with in the research process if at all, and how power dynamics are negotiated both within and beyond the scientific community.