From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scientist who studies volcanoes
A
volcanologist
, or
volcano scientist
, is a
geologist
who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of
volcanoes
.
[1]
Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor
volcanic eruptions
, collect eruptive products including
tephra
(such as
ash
or
pumice
),
rock
and
lava
samples. One major focus of inquiry in recent times is the prediction of eruptions to alleviate the impact on surrounding populations and monitor
natural hazards
associated with volcanic activity.
[2]
[3]
Geologists who research volcanic materials that make up the solid Earth are referred to as igneous petrologists.
Etymology
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]
The word
volcanologist
(or
vulcanologist
) is derived from the English
volcanology
(
volcano
+
-logy
), which was derived from the French
volcanologie
(or vulcanologie), which was further derived from the French word
volcan
(volcano), which was even further derived from
Vulcanus
, the Latin name of the Roman god of
fire
and
metalworking
. The Latin word is of
Estrucan
origin, but unknown meaning.
Job overview
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]
Job Description
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]
Volcanologists research many aspects of volcanic processes to better understand planetary formation or to monitor current and future
volcanic eruptions
in order to protect citizens living in volcanic hazard zones.
[4]
[5]
Volcanologists work at universities, museums or other national research institutes (often including volcano observatories), or in industry. Volcanologists working in academia will be usually involved in teaching geology classes if based at a university (
lecturer
or
professor
), running of laboratory experiments, data collection, and writing of scientific
peer-reviewed
papers for the scientific community to critique and advance knowledge and discovery. Volcanologists working for volcano observatories and museums work in close collaboration with academic researchers, but day-to-day tasks may also include the collection and curation of volcanic samples, writing of reports from monitoring stations, and public outreach relating to volcanic hazards and climate change
Sub-disciplines of volcanology
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]
- Igneous petrologist
- Physical volcanogist - someone who typically studies the physical characteristics of volcanic ash deposits and rocks.
- Experimental petrologist - someone who simulates volcanic and magmatic processes in a laboratory (are often specialists in
thermodynamics
applied to Earth processes).
- Geochemist - those who study the chemical composition of volcanic rocks and gases (see also
isotope geochemistry
). Geochemists often use
mass spectrometry
and
electron microprobe
analysis to understand the pre-eruption history of volcanic rocks and how fast eruptions occur.
- Volcano geophysicist (or volcano
seismologist
)
- Planetary volcanologist - someone who studies volcanic processes on other planetary bodies.
History
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Notable volcanologists (currently active)
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]
- Haraldur Sigurdsson
(1939-), Icelandic volcanologist and geochemist
- Bill McGuire
(born 1954)
- Keith Rowley
(born 1949; Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago since 2015)
- Robert Stephen John Sparks
Chaning Wills Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the
University of Bristol
.
- Donald B. Dingwell
(born 1958 in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada) is a geoscientist, the director of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Ordinarius for Mineralogy and Petrology of the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
- Katharine Cashman
is an American volcanologist, professor of
volcanology
at the
University of Bristol
- Terry Plank
an American geochemist, volcanologist and professor of Earth science at Columbia College,
Columbia University
, and the
Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory
- Richard Arculus
is an Australian petrologist and volcanologist, formerly a professor of the School of Earth Sciences at the
Australian National University
.
- Rosaly Lopes
(born 8 January 1957 in
Rio de Janeiro
,
Brazil
) is a Senior Scientist at NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
specializing in planetary
geology
and volcanology
- Clive Oppenheimer
(born 1964) is a British volcanologist, and Professor of Volcanology in the Department of Geography of the
University of Cambridge
- Tamsin Mather
British Professor of Earth Sciences at the Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Oxford
. She studies volcanic processes and their impacts on the Earth's environment and has appeared on the television and radio
- Marie Edmonds
(born 14 September 1975) is a Professor of volcanology and geology at the
University of Cambridge
whose research focuses on the physics and chemistry of volcanic eruptions and magmatism and understanding volatile cycling in the solid Earth as mediated by
plate tectonics
- Jani Radebaugh
American planetary scientist and professor of geology at
Brigham Young University
- Lindy Elkins-Tanton
, planetary scientist and professor with expertise in planet formation and evolution. She is the Director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at
Arizona State University
(ASU) in
Tempe, Arizona
, Principal Investigator of NASA's
Psyche mission
, and former director of the
Carnegie Institution for Science
's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism.
- Jenni Barclay
, professor of
volcanology
at the
University of East Anglia
. She works on ways to mitigate volcanic risks, the interactions between rainfall and volcanic activity and the communication of volcanic hazards in the
Caribbean
- Claire Horwell
, professor of Geohealth in the Department of Earth Sciences and Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience at
Durham University
and the founding Director of the
International Volcanic Health Hazard Network
(IVHHN). She studies the health hazards of natural and industrial mineral dusts
Notable volcanologists
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- Plato
(428?348 BC)
- Pliny the Elder
(23?79 AD)
- Pliny the Younger
(61 ?
c.
113 AD
)
- George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
(1707?1788)
- James Hutton
(1726?1797)
- Deodat Gratet de Dolomieu
(1750?1801)
- George Julius Poulett Scrope
(1797?1876)
- Giuseppe Mercalli
(1850?1914)
- Pope Pius XI
(1857-1939), Catholic pope who wrote an authoritative work on Italian volcanic systems earlier in his life
- Alfred Lacroix
(1863?1948)
- Frank A. Perret
(1867?1943)
- Thomas Jaggar
(1871?1953), founder of the
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
- Alfred Rittmann
(1893?1980)
- Sigurður Þorarinsson
(1912?1983),
- Haroun Tazieff
(1914?1998), advisor to the
French Government
and
Jacques Cousteau
- George P. L. Walker
(1926?2005), pioneering volcanologist who transformed the subject into a quantitative science
- Katia and Maurice Krafft
(1942?1991 and 1946?1991, respectively), died at
Mount Unzen
in
Japan
, 1991
- Peter Francis
(1944?1999)
- David A. Johnston
(1949?1980), killed during the
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
- Harry Glicken
(1958?1991), died at
Mount Unzen
in
Japan
by
pyroclastic flow
, 1991
- Bruce Houghton
(1950-)
See also
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References
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External links
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