Table Of ContentEarthquakes and Volcanic
Activity on Islands
This volume examines the impact of and responses to historic earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions in the Azores. Study is placed in the contexts of: the
history and geography of this fascinating archipelago; progress being made in
predicting future events and policies of disaster risk reduction.
This is the only volume to consider the earthquake and volcanic histories
of the Azores across the whole archipelago and is based, not only on contem-
porary published research, but also on the detailed study of archival source
materials. The authors seek to show how extreme environmental events, as
expressed through eruptions, earthquakes and related processes operating in
the past may be considered using both complementary scientific and social
scientific perspectives in order to reveal the ways in which Azorean society
has been shaped by both an isolated location in the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean and the ever present threat of environmental uncertainty. Chapter 2,
which analyses in depth the geology and tectonics of the islands is of more
specialist interest, but technical terms are fully explained so as to widen the
accessibility of this material.
Figure 0.1 Furnas. Photo by Rúben Cabral.
The audience for this volume includes all those who are interested in the
geology, geography, history and hazard responses in the Azores. It is written,
not just for the educated general reader, but for the specialist earth scientist
and hazard researcher.
David Chester is a graduate of the universities of Durham and Aberdeen
and for many years he has carried out research on disasters, particularly those
produced by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. He is currently Professor
Emeritus at Liverpool Hope University and a Senior Fellow at the University
of Liverpool.
Angus Duncan has a degree in Geology from Durham University and a
PhD in Volcanic Geology from University College London. He has worked
on volcanoes in Southern Italy and then the Azores for over 45 years. He
retired as Professor in Volcanology from the University of Bedfordshire in
2013 and subsequently was an Honorary Research Fellow at the University
of Liverpool.
Rui Coutinho graduated in Geology from the University of Coimbra, ob-
tained his MSc in Applied and Economic Geology from the University of
Lisbon and holds a PhD in Geology specialising in volcanology from the
University of the Azores. He is an Assistant Professor in the University of the
Azores and a member of the Institute for Research in Volcanology and Risk
Assessment (IVAR).
Nicolau Wallenstein has a degree in Geology from the University of
Oporto and a PhD in Geology, specialising in volcanology, from the Uni-
versity of the Azores. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the University
of the Azores, coordinates the MSc course in Volcanology and Geological
Risks and is a member of the Institute for Research in Volcanology and Risk
Assessment (IVAR).
Routledge Studies in Hazards, Disaster Risk and Climate
Change
Series Editor: Ilan Kelman, Reader in Risk, Resilience and Global Health at
the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) and the Institute for Global
Health (IGH), University College London (UCL)
This series provides a forum for original and vibrant research. It offers con-
tributions from each of these communities as well as innovative titles that
examine the links between hazards, disasters and climate change, to bring
these schools of thought closer together. This series promotes interdiscipli-
nary scholarly work that is empirically and theoretically informed, with titles
reflecting the wealth of research being undertaken in these diverse and ex-
citing fields.
Crisis and Emergency Management in the Arctic
Navigating Complex Environments
Edited by Natalia Andreassen and Odd Jarl Borch
Disaster Deaths
Trends, Causes and Determinants
Bimal Kanti Paul
Disasters and Life in Anticipation of Slow Calamity
Perspectives from the Colombian Andes
Reidar Staupe-Delgado
The Invention of Disaster
Power and Knowledge in Discourses on Hazard and Vulnerability
JC Gaillard
Earthquakes and Volcanic Activity on Islands
History and Contemporary Perspectives from the Azores
David Chester, Angus Duncan, Rui Coutinho and Nicolau Wallenstein
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.
com/Routledge-Studies-in-Hazards-Disaster-Risk-and-Climate-Change/
book-series/HDC
Earthquakes and Volcanic
Activity on Islands
History and Contemporary Perspectives
from the Azores
David Chester, Angus Duncan,
Rui Coutinho and Nicolau Wallenstein
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 David Chester, Angus Duncan, Rui Coutinho and Nicolau
Wallenstein
The right of David Chester, Angus Duncan, Rui Coutinho and
Nicolau Wallenstein to be identified as authors of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-13678-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-13964-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-02800-7 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429028007
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xv
Preface xvii
1 The Azores and the Azoreans 1
2 The tectonic and geological background 31
3 Historical eruptions and earthquakes 60
4 Evaluation and prediction of hazards 136
5 Coping with disasters in the Azores 168
6 Conclusion: developing policies of disaster risk reduction 221
Index 251
Figures
0.1 Furnas. Photo by Rúben Cabral i
1.1 Azores: General location map 2
1.2 Potential natural vegetation (PNV) on São Miguel, Terceira
and Faial. Based on Elias et al. 2016, Phytocoenolgia 46 (2),
Figure 3, p. 117, Copyright permission Professor Rui Elias.
Additional information from: Tutin 1953; Dias 1996 and
field and air-photo research by the authors. The PNV was a
concept developed by Reinhold Tüxen (1956), to describe
the expected state of mature vegetation in the absence of
human intervention 7
1.3 Land use of São Miguel, Terceira and Faial. Simplified from
information in Anon 2007 and the field observations by
the authors 14
2.1 Azores: tectonic setting adapted from Carmo et al. 2015,
Figure 6.1, p. 66. Copyright permission Geological Society
of London, with additions and amendments 31
2.2 Volcanoes of São Miguel and the location of historic
eruptions. This figure was published in Guest et al. 1999,
Figure 1, p. 2, Copyright p ermission Elsevier, with additions
and amendments 39
2.3 Location map: São Jorge. This figure was published in
Wallenstein et al. 2018, Figure 1, p. 166, Copyright
permission Elsevier 47
2.4 Location map: Terceira. This figure was published in
Zanon and Pimentel 2015, Figure 1, p. 796, Copyright
Mineralogical Society of America. Additions and
amendments from Gertisser et al. 2010, Figure 1c, p. 135
and other sources 48
3.1 Location of historical eruptions. Based on various sources 62
3.2 Location of the epicentres of destructive historical
earthquakes. Based on information from Gaspar et al. 2015,
Figure 4.3, p. 37. Copyright permission G eological Society
of London 70
