Active Volcanoes of China


Book Description

China is home to more than a dozen volcanoes that have erupted during the Holocene. Recent activity, such as the eruption of Ashikule in 1951 and unrest of Changbaishan during 2002–05, highlights the potential for future volcanic unrest and eruptions in the country. In 1999, a National Volcano Monitoring Network was established, inaugurating a programme of research and surveillance to understand the history and activity of China’s volcanoes. Much progress has been made since, advancing understanding in the areas of geology, geochemistry and geophysics, and supporting hazard mitigation planning. This Special Publication reports the wide-ranging outcomes of this work for the first time to the international community.




Applications of Non-Pollen Palynomorphs


Book Description

This long-awaited book about non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) aims to cover gaps in our knowledge of these abundant but understudied palynological remains. NPPs, such as fungal spores, testate amoebae, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and animal remains, are routinely recovered from palynological preparations of marine or terrestrial material, from Proterozoic to recent geological times. This book gives the reader a comprehensive overview of the different types of NPPs, with examples from diverse time periods and environments. It provides guidance on sample preparation to maximize the recovery of these NPPs, detailed information on their diversity and ecological affinity, clarification on the nomenclature and demonstrates their value as environmental indicators. This volume will become the reference guide for any student, academic or practitioner interested in everything else in their palynological preparations.




Eruptions that Shook the World


Book Description

What does it take for a volcanic eruption to really shake the world? Did volcanic eruptions extinguish the dinosaurs, or help humans to evolve, only to decimate their populations with a super-eruption 73,000 years ago? Did they contribute to the ebb and flow of ancient empires, the French Revolution and the rise of fascism in Europe in the 19th century? These are some of the claims made for volcanic cataclysm. Volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer explores rich geological, historical, archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records (such as ice cores and tree rings) to tell the stories behind some of the greatest volcanic events of the past quarter of a billion years. He shows how a forensic approach to volcanology reveals the richness and complexity behind cause and effect, and argues that important lessons for future catastrophe risk management can be drawn from understanding events that took place even at the dawn of human origins.




Volcanic Hazards


Book Description

Volcanic Hazards: A Sourcebook on the Effects of Eruptions provides a comprehensive discussion of volcanic eruptions and their effects. This volume provides background data on volcanic activity with attention directed specifically at those types of activity and those characteristics which are hazardous. It establishes the direct effects of volcanic eruptions on humans in terms of death and injuries, and social aspects such as perception of eruption hazards, evacuation, panic, looting, and religious beliefs. It discusses the indirect consequences of volcanic eruptions for humans by illustrating the effects on buildings, utilities, communication networks and machinery, agriculture, and commercial activity. This book should be of interest to planners, engineers, city administrators, agriculturalists, and emergency services personnel who must deal with the effects of volcanic hazards; to volcanologists and geologists who did not know eruptions affected so many things; to geographers, environmentalists, and natural hazard scientists who are interested in the interrelatedness of phenomena; and to citizens who have experienced, or might yet experience, some of these effects.







Volcano Deformation


Book Description

Volcanoes and eruptions are dramatic surface man telemetry and processing, and volcano-deformation ifestations of dynamic processes within the Earth, source models over the past three decades. There has mostly but not exclusively localized along the been a virtual explosion of volcano-geodesy studies boundaries of Earth's relentlessly shifting tectonic and in the modeling and interpretation of ground plates. Anyone who has witnessed volcanic activity deformation data. Nonetheless, other than selective, has to be impressed by the variety and complexity of brief summaries in journal articles and general visible eruptive phenomena. Equally complex, works on volcano-monitoring and hazards mitiga however, if not even more so, are the geophysical, tion (e. g. , UNESCO, 1972; Agnew, 1986; Scarpa geochemical, and hydrothermal processes that occur and Tilling, 1996), a modern, comprehensive treat underground - commonly undetectable by the ment of volcano geodesy and its applications was human senses - before, during, and after eruptions. non-existent, until now. Experience at volcanoes worldwide has shown that, In the mid-1990s, when Daniel Dzurisin (DZ to at volcanoes with adequate instrumental monitor friends and colleagues) was serving as the Scientist ing, nearly all eruptions are preceded and accom in-Charge of the USGS Cascades Volcano Observa panied by measurable changes in the physical and tory (CVO), I first learned of his dream to write a (or) chemical state of the volcanic system. While book on volcano geodesy.




Myth of the Social Volcano


Book Description

This book reports the results of the first systematic nationwide survey in China of the attitudes that ordinary Chinese citizens have toward increased inequalities generated by the market reform program launched in 1978.




Multiscale Seismic Tomography


Book Description

This book on multiscale seismic tomography, written by one of the leaders in the field, is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professionals in Earth and planetary sciences who need to broaden their horizons about seismotectonics, volcanism, and interior structure and dynamics of the Earth and Moon. It describes the state-of-the-art in seismic tomography, with emphasis on the new findings obtained by applying tomographic methods in local, regional, and global scales for understanding the generating mechanism of large and great earthquakes such as the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0), crustal and upper mantle structure, origin of active arc volcanoes and intraplate volcanoes including hotspots, heterogeneous structure of subduction zones, fate of subducting slabs, origin of mantle plumes, mantle convection, and deep Earth dynamics. The first lunar tomography and its implications for the mechanism of deep moonquakes and lunar evolution are also introduced.




Monitoring and Mitigation of Volcano Hazards


Book Description

By the year 2000, the number of people at risk from volcanic hazards is likely to increase to around half a billion. Since 1980, significant advances have been made in volcano monitoring, the data from which provides the sole scientific basis for eruption prediction. Here, internationally renowned and highly experienced specialists provide 25 comprehensive articles covering a wide range of related topics: monitoring techniques and data analysis; modelling of monitoring data and eruptive phenomena; volcanic hazards and risk assessment; and volcanic emergency management. Selected case histories of recent volcanic disasters, such as Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, demonstrate that effective communication - between scientists, civil authorities, the media and the population at risk - is essential to reducing the danger.