BSC GEOGRAPHY

AWARD: FIRST CLASS HONOURS

 

My dissertation, entitled Volcanic Risk Perception, Territory and Hazard Maps on the island of Tenerife was supervised by Associate Professor Kevin Grove (profile here). 

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Thesis abstract:

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The volcanic island of Tenerife has been dormant for over 100 years, but with the potential for a future large-scale eruption it is important to investigate residents' volcanic risk perceptions as such studies can help in understanding how they will respond to future warnings. Using a volcanic hazard map of the island, this study investigates the influence such hazard zones have on the risk perception of the population to the local volcanic hazard. In order to examine such an influence, a mixed methodological approach was employed that incorporated: questionnaire surveys, textual analysis of key policies, participant observation, landscape analysis and an interview during the first two weeks of July 2013. Personal volcanic risk perception was found to be low across the island with several other social and economic issues listed as a problem more often than volcanoes, thus the territory of the hazard zones does not appear to influence risk perception whilst the immediate territory of the home and local area does. With the exception of zone 10, participants felt they trusted the government as their source of information about the volcano and evacuation procedures yet there is some doubt over the effectiveness of the emergency plan's education programmes.