A Geographical Information System for mapping eruption risk at Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion Island
Abstract
Piton de la Fournaise, situated on La Reunion island, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It has been the subject of continuous surveillance since the start of the 1980s, in particular on account of the potential economic stakes. Spatial knowledge concerning the eruptive risk for the management of volcanic hazard is a major challenge. It requires knowledge of past events, and implies the need to relate different eruptive phenomena, such as lava flows, cones and fissures, and also earth tremors providing warning signs for eruption. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are widely recognised for the management of spatial data and natural hazard mapping. This chapter thus sets out to presents the different stages in the design of the GIS developped in the Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise, and its interest in the spatial analysis of volcanic hazard.