Bill McGuire
Volcanologist, climate scientist and activist, keynote speaker and writer of popular science and speculative fiction.
Popular science Books
GEOPHYSICAL AND CLIMATE HAZARDS: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION
Bill McGuire Pbk 160pp OUP (2024) ISBN 0192874535
In this Very Short Introduction Bill McGuire takes a fresh look at our sometimes perilous planet, and evaluates the causes and consequences of what used to be thought of as 'natural' hazards through the prism of planetary heating and the continuing destabilising of our climate. Our world has always been a dangerous and deadly place, and storms, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic blasts have taken an enormous toll on lives and livelihoods throughout recorded history and before. In the past, such events were regarded first as acts of God, or gods, and later as simply a consequence of hazardous natural phenomena that are a normal part of how our planet works. In recent decades, however, this picture has changed. Relentless global heating, arising from the 2.4 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere as a result of human activities, has completely altered the 'natural' hazard landscape. There has long been a debate about whether - due to the influence of societal and economic factors - there is such a thing as a truly natural disaster. Now, the debate has moved on to whether or not the hazards that cause them can any longer be described as entirely natural. Our damaged climate has driven an explosion of extreme weather, which has become ever more apparent in recent years via the super-charging of storms, floods, heatwaves and wildfires. The fingerprints of global heating can be detected even in individual events that would have been extremely unlikely to have happened, or even been impossible, in its absence. Meanwhile earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions continue to plague communities and take lives, while even here there are links with a changing climate that have the potential to magnify their occurrence and impacts.
HOTHOUSE EARTH: AN INHABITANT'S GUIDE
Bill McGuire Pbk 192pp Icon (2022) ISBN 1785789201
Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant's Guide provides a post-COP26 perspective on the climate emergency, acknowledging that it is now practically impossible to keep this side of the 1.5°C dangerous climate change guardrail. The upshot is that we can no longer dodge the arrival of disastrous, all-pervasive, climate breakdown that will come as a hammer blow to global society and economy. Bill McGuire, Professor of Geophysical and Climate Hazards, explains the science behind the climate crisis and for the first time presents a blunt but authentic picture of the sort of world our children will grow old in, and our grandchildren grow up in; a world that we catch only glimpses of in today's blistering heatwaves, calamitous wildfires and ruinous floods and droughts. Bleak though it is, the picture is one we must all face up to, if only to spur genuine action - even at this late stage - to stop a harrowing future becoming a truly cataclysmic one.
GLOBAL CATASTROPHES: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION - SECOND EDITION
Bill McGuire Pbk 152pp OUP (2014 ) ISBN 0198715935
Life on earth will come to an end. It's just a matter of when. Global Catastrophes: a Very Short Introduction focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet and our species in the future, and looks at both the probability of these events happening and our chances of survival. Coverage extends from discussion of the likely consequences of the current climate change to the inevitable destruction of the earth in the far future, when it is enveloped by a giant, bloated sun.
WAKING THE GIANT: HOW A CHANGING CLIMATE TRIGGERS EARTHQUAKES, TSUNAMIS AND VOLCANOES
Bill McGuire Pbk 320pp OUP (2013) ISBN: 0199678754
An astonishing transformation over the last 20,000 years has seen our planet flip from a frigid wasteland into the temperate world upon which our civilisation has grown and thrived. This most dynamic episode in Earth history saw the crust bouncing and bending in response to the melting of the great ice sheets and the filling of the ocean basins; triggering earthquakes, spawning tsunamis and provoking a lively response from the world’s volcanoes. Now there are signs that human-induced climate change is encouraging the sleeping giant beneath our feet to stir once again. Could it be that we are on track to bequeath to our children and their children not only a far hotter world, but also a more geologically dangerous one? The ground beneath our feet may seem safe and solid, but earthquakes, volcanic blasts and other hazardous natural phenomena leave us in no doubt that this isn’t the case. The Earth is a dynamic planet of shifting tectonic plates that is responsive to change, particularly when there is a dramatic climate transition. We know that at the end of the last Ice Age, as the great glaciers disappeared, the release in pressure allowed the crust beneath to bounce back. At the same time, staggering volumes of melt water poured into the ocean basins, warping and bending the crust around their margins. The resulting tossing and turning provoked a huge resurgence in volcanic activity, seismic shocks, and monstrous landslides—the last both above the waves and below. The frightening truth is that temperature rises expected this century are in line with those at the end of the Ice Age. All the signs, warns geophysical hazard specialist Bill McGuire, are that unmitigated climate change due to human activities could bring about a comparable response. Using evidence accumulated from studies of the recent history of our planet, and gleaned from current observations and modelling, he argues convincingly that we ignore at our peril the threats presented by climate change and the waking giant beneath our feet.
SEVEN YEARS TO SAVE THE PLANET: THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Bill McGuire Pbk : 240 pp Weidenfeld & Nicolson (2008) ISBN0297853368
We live at a pivotal time in human history. While most of us go about our daily business oblivious to the unprecedented environmental changes taking place around us, our world is poised at a critical tipping point beyond which we will bequeath to our children and our children’s children a world of environmental degradation, economic breakdown and social chaos. A ruined planet, sweltering beneath a carbon-soaked atmosphere, plundered of its resources, and shorn of many of its iconic (and not so iconic) species will be our legacy. Unless, that is, we take drastic and immediate action to diminish our emissions of the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, that are inexorably transforming a generally benign climate into a volatile and overheated maelstrom. The timeframe to take action is desperately short if my four-year old son, along with all of his generation, is not to face the prospect of an increasingly uncomfortable and insecure life on a planet growing ever more inhospitable. The truth is that we e have just seven years to save the planet, at least as we have come to know it; a tiny and rapidly closing window of opportunity within which to counteract the polluting activities of more than 200 years of industrialisation. Seven Years to Save the Planet opens with an examination of where exactly we are now with respect to climate change; what it is, how human activities are causing it, and how it is already changing our planet. Part two looks ahead to the planet our children and their children will inhabit, and to the predicted impacts of unfettered climate change on their lives and their world. Part three focuses on what all of us can do as individuals to help bring emissions to heel, and stresses that, by acting in concert, we really can make a difference. In part four, I look at what others are doing, and should be doing, to tackle climate change, including national governments, big business and the scientific community. The finale addresses the 64,000 dollar question – is it already too late? Is our world doomed, whatever we do, to a sweltering future of climate mayhem, of economic collapse and social breakdown, or is there still time to build a successful and sustainable future for our race?
NATURAL DISASTERS: GET UP CLOSE TO EARTH-SHATTERING NATURAL FORCES
Bill McGuire Hbk 32pp Kingfisher (2007) Inside Access childrens' series ISBN 0753414200
"Inside Access" takes the reader on an exciting, interactive journey through favourite subjects. With lift-up flaps, superb images and the assistance of an authoritative yet friendly guide, in-depth information is presented in a richly visual and irresistible way. "Natural Disasters" follows Dan Quake, a dynamic expert who flies around the world in search of Earth's most dramatic natural phenomena. The book has global coverage and touches on key curriculum areas, such as meteorology, climate change and plate tectonics. These topics are carefully explained for the younger reader, and a glossary provides clear definitions.
SURVIVING ARMAGEDDON: SOLUTIONS FOR A THREATENED PLANET
Bill McGuire Pbk : 256pp OUP (2007 ) ISBN 019280572X
What do earthquakes, magma, asteroid 1950DA, and global warming have in common? All are very real natural disasters, already under way; all are also the focus of intensive work by scientists, aimed at preventing, predicting, or at least limiting their impact on civilization. Using the latest chilling data and taking care to draw a clear line between scientific fact and fiction, McGuire discusses the various ways that scientists have already started to prepare for survival. Solutions on earth range from 'space reflectors' to prevent global warming, to pressure-relieving 'robot excavators' to stop volcanic eruptions. In space, NASA is developing rocket motors to gently nudge asteroids out of Earth's path, and plans to have all threatening asteroids larger than 1km detected by 2008, thereby enabling us to predict possible collisions up to 2880. The book provides the strategies to the problems we face, and concludes optimistically with ways in which we can use technology to protect our society and planet from global catastrophe.
GUIDE TO GLOBAL HAZARDS
Robert Kovach & Bill McGuire Pbk 256pp Philip's (2003) ISBN 0540083887
This pocket-sized reference looks at the many and various threats to life on Earth from disasters that threaten large regions or the whole globe. It should be useful to geography and social studies students and to all readers interested in politics, current affairs and the environment. The book discusses the many hazards that face us, taking each in turn: earthquakes, volcanoes, weather (including hurricanes and tornadoes), snow and ice, floods, tidal waves and tsunamis, forest fires, drought and famine, epidemic disease, pollution and habitat loss, climate change (including El Nino and global warming), and cosmic disasters (such as meteor strikes). Each section describes the phenomenon, with clear text and illustrations, and gives case-histories of some of the world's most terrifying and destructive cataclysms, focusing on both the human and the geophysical aspects of these tragedies. There is much emphasis on the future and the very real threats to the lives and well-being of not just individuals and communities but humanity as a whole. Areas prone to particular hazards (such as earthquake zones, volcanic regions, flood zones) are illustrated and mapped.
A GUIDE TO THE END OF THE WORLD: EVERYTHING YOU NEVER WANTED TO KNOW
Bill McGuire Pbk 212pp OUP (2003) ISBN 0192804529
The Earth is an extraordinarily fragile place, which is fraught with danger - a tiny rock hurtling through space, wracked by violent crustal movements and subject to dramatic climatic changes as the Earth's geophysical and orbital circumstances vary. Only 10,000 years after the last Ice Age, the Earth is sweltering in some of the highest temperatures it has ever seen. Overpopulation and the relentless exploitation of natural resources, combined with rising temperatures and sea levels induced by greenhouse gases, are increasing the likelihood of natural catastrophes, from continuing El Ninos, to large-scale glacial melting, to mega-tsunami.
RAGING PLANET: EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANOES AND THE TECTONIC THREAT TO LIFE ON EARTH
Bill McGuire Hbk 144pp Apple Press (2002) ISBN 1840923598
A gripping analysis of the global tectonic instability that puts living things at risk from some of Nature's most powerful forces. Stunning on-the-spot photographs of volcanoes and earthquakes, together with graphics and charts, highlight the facts, figures and disaster zones. Answers the questions you need to know: Where are the danger zones? How much warning will we have? How likely are we to experience a catastrophic event in our lifetimes? These and other urgent questions are addressed in this fascinating journey to the centre of the Earth by leading volcanologist Bill McGuire, director of the Benfield Hazard Research Centre in London, and one of the world's foremost authorities on global tectonic hazards.
APOCALYPSE: A NATURAL HISTORY OF GLOBAL DISASTERS
Bill McGuire Pbk 256pp Cassell (1999) ISBN0304352098
Just as the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse symbolize the end of the world, so there are four real catastrophes lying in wait for the human race: A volcanic blast powerful enough to devastate a continent and change the Earth’s climate A giant wave capable of destroying entire cities along the coastline of the Pacific or Atlantic A cataclysmic earthquake that could destroy the world’s economy An asteroid impact that would kill a billion people and take our civilisation back to the Dark Ages Modern society has developed during an unusually quiet geological period in the Earth’s history, with no major natural catastrophes to disrupt the growth and progress of the human race. But global devastation occurred many times before the emergence of civilisation and we would be foolhardy to ignore the omnipotence of nature. This timely and authoritative book identifies in accurate and frightening detail the four catastrophes that await us. Such geophysical turmoil will be beyond any previous human experience, and will have major implications for the future of civilisation as we know it.
We need to rewild the climate; rewinding atmospheric carbon levels and global average temperatures to pre-industrial times.
Image: Vincent van Zeijst, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Video
Behaviour Change for the Climate - Introducing the Fair Lifestyle Targets
Scientists for Global Responsibility - 02 Feb 2024 - Duration 3 mins
Global, transformational action is needed over the next few years to prevent the climate crisis becoming much worse. Governments and large corporations should bear the largest responsibility for the world’s collective failure to implement sufficient measures to tackle the problem so far. A major sticking point, however, is resistance from mainly wealthier consumers to the lifestyle changes necessary to stay within the 1.5°C temperature goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Indeed, it is the consumption patterns of the richest 10% of the world’s inhabitants that lead to approximately half of all global greenhouse gas emissions. To meet this resistance, SGR has devised a set of 10 evidence-based lifestyle changes that are compatible with the 1.5°C goal by 2030. In this video, Charlie Gardner, Rupert Read, Vicki Hird and Bill McGuire introduce the campaign. Sign up to the targets that you are able to at the link below and share the campaign with your friends, family, and colleagues.
HOTHOUSE EARTH: AN INHABITANT’S GUIDE
Hay Festival - 30 May 2023 - Duration 45 mins
Our planet is in peril, and we can no longer dodge the arrival of disastrous, all-pervasive, climate breakdown that will come as a hammer blow to global society and economy. Bill McGuire, professor of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London, offers a post-COP26 perspective on the climate emergency, acknowledging that it is now practically impossible to keep this side of the 1.5°C dangerous climate change guardrail, and presenting a blunt but authentic picture of the sort of world our children will grow old in, and our grandchildren will grow up in. In conversation with Jane Davidson, Chair of Wales Net Zero 2035, Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country.
Kiri Meets Bill
Climate Science Translated - 19 Mar 2023 - Duration 5 mins
Comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean helps Professor Bill McGuire spell out the actual risks of climate change, pulling zero punches, and using highly unscientific language throughout. The film is part of an ongoing project to help the climate science cut through to the public.
Climate Tipping Points
The Smart Cookies Podcast - 21 Nov 2022 - Duration 4 mins
We talk about the unknown dangers of Climate Breakdown, the Planet's Tipping Points, Denialism, COP27, Doomerism and a possible way out of the mess we've created
Telling The Truth About The Climate Emergency
Global Governance Futures - 20 Jan 2022 - Duration 51 mins
Professor Bill McGuire joins us to discuss the latest climate science, geoengineering and why he embraces the label ‘alarmist’. Brace yourselves for a no holds barred account of the climate science, as Bill spells out why dangerous pervasive climate breakdown is now all but inevitable. This is not a counsel of despair though, but rather a call for a serious, sober reckoning with our predicament and what we can still do to mitigate the worst impacts. On the way, we also explore the widening chasm between the climate science and political action, the serious, fun and even therapeutic pleasures of writing speculative fiction, the strange absence of public education on the climate emergency, as well as the importance of speaking up in the face of climate denialism, including among friends and colleagues.
La Palma Mega Tsunami
BBC Mega Tsunami Documentary - 9 Oct 2021 - Duration 6 mins
This BBC documentary examines the possibility of a La Palma mega tsunami caused by a volcanic eruption and landslide into the sea. A La Palma tsunami could be more devastating than the recent Boxing Day and Pacific Ocean tsunamis that devastated the Indian Ocean and east coast of Japan.
The Hazards of Geoengineering
ScientistsWarning - 21 Dec 2020 - Duration 36 mins
Dr. Alison Green talks to Professor Bill McGuire about the need for scientists to speak up about the climate and ecological crisis, about geoengineering - what it is and why we should care - and his new novel, 'Skyseed', a terrifying yet realistic tale of geoengineering gone wrong.
Global Heating and Climate Catastrophe
The SGR Responsible Science Conference - 16 Nov 2019
Scientists behaving responsibly: should science walk the talk on climate breakdown?
Waking The Giant
Lecture - The Geological Society - London - 7 Dec 2016 - Duration 49 mins
How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes.
Audio
HOTHOUSE EARTH: AN INHABITANT'S GUIDE
Medway River Lit Festival
Podcast interview with Bill about Hothouse Earth (between minutes 3.55 and 15.17)
Pledges and Progress
BBC Sounds - Rethink Climate Series - 2 Jan 2023 - Duration 42 mins
In the first programme in this series Amol Rajan and guests examine the pledges that have been made on climate change and how far we have gone towards meeting them. What has worked to reduce greenhouse gasses and what’s not working, including the role of COP. Is the commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees the right one?
Climate Breakdown
BBC Science Focus - Instant Genius Podcast - 14 Nov 2022 - Duration 21 mins
In this episode of Instant Genius Bill McGuire discusses why it is now practically impossible for us to keep climate change on the right side of the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement. He also explains what the Earth could look like in 2100 and what we can do to mitigate the worst impacts.
The Boxing Day Tsunami
BBC Radio 4 - The Reunion Series - 8 Apr 2022 - Duration 42 mins
In 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a massive tsunami. Waves as high as 100ft hit the shoreline of Banda Aceh in Indonesia, killing more than 100,000 people and pounding the city into rubble. Then huge waves rolled over coastlines in Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka, killing tens of thousands more. In total, nearly 230,000 people died, making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern history.
Waking The Giant
Hay Festival - 5 June 2012 - Duration 45 mins
How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Chaired by Rosie Boycott.
The Vajont Dam
BBC Radio 4 Disasters in Waiting Series - 9 Aug 2000 - Duration 24 mins
The Vajont Dam Disaster in Italy 1963 remains the worst dam disaster of all time. British geologist and hazard expert Bill McGuire explores three natural disasters of the last century and asks if history could repeat itself elsewhere? The Vajont Dam disaster killed over 1,900 people after a megatsunami caused by a landslide destroyed several villages and towns.
Mount Pelee Eruption
BBC Radio 4 Disasters in Waiting Series - 8 Aug 2000 - Duration 24 mins
British geologist and hazard expert Bill McGuire explores three natural disasters of the last century and asks if history could repeat itself elsewhere? In the first programme he examines the eruption of Mount Pelee volcano on Martinique.
Events
Writer Talk: Bill McGuire Rochester Library, 7-8.45pm Bill McGuire is an academic, activist, broadcaster, and best-selling popular science and speculative fiction writer. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Geophysical and Climate Hazards at University College London. His non-fiction book ‘Hothouse Earth’ provides a ‘steely-eyed view on how we can cope with a hothouse world’.
How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. A talk by Professor Bill McGuire.
Academic books
OBSERVING THE VOLCANO WORLD
Edited by Carina Fearnley, Deanne Bird, Gill Jolly, Katherine Haynes and Bill McGuire Hardcover 771 pages Publisher Springer International (2018) ISBN: 3319440950
First, the book explores the unique nature of volcanic hazards, which makes them a particularly challenging threat to forecast and manage, due in part to their varying spatial and temporal characteristics. Second, it presents lessons learned on how to best manage volcanic events based on a number of crises that have shaped our understanding of volcanic hazards and crises management. Third, it discusses the diverse and wide-ranging aspects of communication involved in crises, which merge old practices and new technologies to accommodate an increasingly challenging and globalised world. The information and insights presented here are essential to tapping established knowledge, moving towards more robust volcanic crises management, and understanding how the volcanic world is perceived from a range of standpoints and contexts around the globe.
CLIMATE FORCING OF GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS
Edited by Bill McGuire & Mark Maslin Hardcover 326 pages Publisher Wiley-Blackwell (2013) ISBN: 0470658657
Climate Forcing of Geological Hazards provides a valuable new insight into how climate change is able to influence, modulate and trigger geological and geomorphological phenomena, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and landslides; ultimately increasing the risk of natural hazards in a warmer world. Taken together, the chapters build a panorama of a field of research that is only now becoming recognized as important in the context of the likely impacts and implications of anthropogenic climate change. The observations, analyses and interpretations presented in the volume reinforce the idea that a changing climate does not simply involve the atmosphere and hydrosphere, but also elicits potentially hazardous responses from the solid Earth, or geosphere. Climate Forcing of Geological Hazards is targeted particularly at academics, graduate students and professionals with an interest in environmental change and natural hazards. As such, we are hopeful that it will encourage further investigation of those mechanisms by which contemporary climate change may drive potentially hazardous geological and geomorphological activity, and of the future ramifications for society and economy.
WORLD ATLAS OF NATURAL HAZARDS
W.J. McGuire, O. Willetts, P. Burton, & C. Kilburn Hardcover: 128 pages Publisher: Hodder Arnold (27 Aug 2004) Language English ISBN-10: 034076405
In the opening year of the new millennium, an astonishing one in every thirty people on the planet were affected by floods, storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural phenomena. Rapid-onset geophysical hazards (natural hazards or geohazards) have always exacted a devastating toll on society, both in terms of damage to property and infrastructure and loss of life. During the last millennium it is estimated that over 12 million deaths resulted from over one hundred thousand natural catastrophes triggered by geohazards. In the 20th century alone, the numbers of lives lost may be as high as 3.5 million, and there is little sign, at present, of the situation improving. In fact, the last three decades have seen a dramatic and worrying escalation, both in the numbers of natural catastrophes caused by geohazards, and in the accompanying economic and insured losses. This is partly due to the increasing concentration of both people and wealth in regions of high vulnerability, but the situation is exacerbated by extreme events associated with climate change and by direct human action such as deforestation and urbanisation. The World Atlas of Natural Hazards presents an authoritative yet accessible picture of the perils our planet and our society currently face and a view of the range and scale of threats that may be expected in the new century and beyond. The atlas incorporates a narrative that is driven by maps, images and graphics to paint portraits of natural hazards in space and time, the manner in which they impinge upon our society, and what we can do to avoid, mitigate, or manage their worst excesses. New research that sheds light on processes and mechanisms is addressed, along with established and innovative methodologies designed to limit the impact of natural hazards and reduce associated risk. The book opens with an introduction to the historical development of hazard and risk mapping and closes with a sober assessment of prospects for the future.
NATURAL HAZARDS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
W.J. McGuire, I. Mason , & C. Kilburn Paperback: 202 pages Publisher: Hodder Arnold (2 Jan 2002) Language English ISBN-10: 0340742208 Text book for senior undergraduates and postgraduates
The changing relationships between hazard and environmental change are examined from the recent geological past to the present day, allowing for discussion of the lessons to be learned from the past in predicting and understanding future hazards. This book highlights and critically evaluates the accumulating evidence for an intimate link between natural hazards - both in terms of type and frequency - and environmental change. This link is examined from two viewpoints: firstly, how environmental change can contribute to an increased level of hazardous natural phenomena, and secondly, how natural hazards themselves may lead to environmental change, on a local, regional, or even global scale.
ITALIAN VOLCANOES
Chris Kilburn & Bill McGuire - Hardcover: 166 pages Publisher: Terra Publishing (13 Aug 2001) Language English ISBN-10: 1903544041
Based on intimate knowledge and extensive research, Italian Volcanoes provides a complete introductory guide to one of the world’s best known and most intensively studied volcanic areas. It is a unique guide to volcanic geology and an exciting introduction to how volcanoes work. Italy is the classic country for exploring volcanoes. Eruptions at Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, Etna, Stromboli and Vulcano have shaped the course of European history and fired the revolution that transformed volcanology into a modern science. Recent effusions on Etna have inspired pioneering attempts to control lava flows. Smouldering Vesuvius, home to more than 600,000 people, is among the most dangerous volcanoes on Earth. Twelve detailed itineraries have been specially chosen to highlight the spectrum of volcanic products, their threat to human activity and their importance to understanding how volcanoes behave. The tours include world-famous locations as well as unusual sites off the beaten track. They are supported by comprehensive selections of additional locations for creating self-tailored excursions, key internet sites for discovering the latest news on each volcano’s activity, and useful tips on when to go and how to get there. Richly illustrated with maps and photographs, this guide is ideal for all geologists, amateur and professional, and also for visitors to Italy who have been captivated by some of the world’s most spectacular volcanoes.
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF GEOLOGICAL CATASTROPHES
(Geological Society Special Publication) W.J. McGuire (Editor), Dafydd Griffiths (Editor), P.L. Hancock (Editor), Iain Stewart (Editor) Hardcover: 440 pages Publisher: Geological Society Publishing House (7 April 2000) Language English ISBN-10: 1862390622
Archaeology is playing an increasingly important role in unravelling the details of geological catastrophes that occurred in the past few millennia. This collection of papers addresses both established and innovative archaeological methods and techniques, and their application in examining the impact of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This comprehensive volume includes case studies from around the world, such as Europe, Africa, SE Asia, Central and North America; covering historical and archaeological aspects of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Although the bulk of the collection views earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as agents of destruction, the volume also considers their potential benefits to past cultures - providing materials for tools, building and sculpture, and even the fertile environmental conditions on which society depended. New geophysical, geological, and archaeological methods and techniques are described and the application of these new ideas presented, providing improved knowledge of these ancient catastrophes. There is a strong focus on arguably the most prominent geological catastrophe in the archaeological record - the Bronze Age eruption of Thera (Santorini, Greece) and its consequent regional impacts on Minoan culture. This multidisciplinary text is of benefit to academic researchers and educators in archaeology, palaeoseismology and volcanology alike.
VOLCANO INSTABILITY ON THE EARTH AND OTHER PLANETS
(Geological Society Special Publication) W.J. McGuire (Editor), A.P. Jones (Editor), J Neuberg (Editor) Hardcover: 390 pages Publisher: Geological Society Publishing House (15 April 1996) Language English ISBN-10: 1897799608
Since the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, edifice instability and collapse have been recognised at numerous volcanoes, both currently active and within the geological record, and the phenomena are now recognised as normal occurrences within the life-cycles of all types of volcano. This volume contains a selection of papers, which together form a representative cross-section of contemporary research into volcano instability both on Earth and other terrestrial bodies in the Solar System. The papers are broadly grouped, with the first two summarising contemporary issues and addressing the development of volcano instability within the solar system. The following five papers focus upon the different ways in which a volcanic edifice may be destabilised and experience structural failure, while the succeeding four papers examine instability monitoring and hazard implications. The bulk of the volume is devoted to the description and discussion of instability-related processes and products at specific volcanoes or volcanic regions, both submarine and subaerial and on Mars and Venus, while the final paper examines instabilities within the plumbing system of Stromboli volcano.
MONITORING ACTIVE VOLCANOES
W.J. McGuire (Editor), etc. (Editor), J.B. Murray (Editor), Christopher J. Kilburn (Editor) Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Routledge (30 Mar 1995) Language English ISBN-10: 1857280369
Monitoring active volcanoes is a comprehensive text which addresses the importance of volcano surveillance in the context of forecasting eruptive activity and mitigating its effects. The spectacular and climactic eruption of Mount St Helens in May 1980 heralded not only the worst series of volcanic disasters since the early years of this century but also an increase in the level and quality of scientific research aimed at understanding better how volcanoes function and how their detrimental effects on society can be mitigated. A critical element in the achievement of these goals lies in the development and operation of volcano monitoring techniques and procedures aimed at providing a greater understanding of the nature of volcanic "plumbing" systems, and the ability to generate better-constrained predictions about the form and timing of future eruptive behaviour. All the techniques currently in use in volcano monitoring around the world are systematically discussed in the book, including not only the traditional core of seismic and ground deformation monitoring, but also more innovative techniques involving, for example, the recording of microgravity and micromagnetic variations, and the changing compositions of volcanic gases and liquids. The increasingly important role of Earth observation satellites is stressed, particularly with regard to the recently acquired capabilities for measuring surface deformation, recognising thermal anomalies, and monitoring gas and ash plumes from space-based platforms. Incorporating the most up-to-date research, "Monitoring active volcanoes" provides an invaluable insight into how and why volcanoes are monitored. As such, it constitutes essential reading for not only professional volcanologists and geophysicists but also postgraduates in these fields, and for all Earth scientists with an interest in one of the planet's most enigmatic and destructive phenomena.