Volcano Terrain Project

UPDATE: Any donation over $50 gets you an actual 3D printed model of any volcano on Earth.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide live near active volcanoes and the potential hazards include landslides, mudflows, and tsunamis, not to mention the eruption itself. Protecting the public is as much about low tech solutions such as education and outreach as it is about collecting and analyzing data from the volcano. Hazard maps can show people where the danger is, but a 3D model can show them why.

I'm a volcanologist and have been 3D printing volcanic topography to help public officials in Costa Rica and El Salvador more effectively convey hazard information to the public, but I cannot meet the current demand without your help. The requested funds will be used to purchase a high quality 3D printer, which will reduce our cost of printing each model over 90%, as well as fund the printing and delivery of these models for the forseeable future.

Models will be provided at no cost to any scientist, educator, or policy maker involved in working to make life near volcanoes as safe as possible.