PubTalk 12/2004 — Probing Volcanoes

Advances in Understanding and Coping with their Hazards

by Robert L. Christiansen and Robert I. Tilling, Volcanologists

• The development of plate tectonic theory in the 1960s shed new light on the origins of volcanoes
• Mount St. Helens' spectacular 1980 eruption stimulated much productive new research
• Frequent eruptive activity in Hawaii provides a natural laboratory for understanding active volcanoes
• Deciphering "lifestyles" of volcanoes helps to assess their hazards and mitigate risks
• A unique USGS volcano "SWAT" team deals with volcano crises around the world
• What might the future bring--in volcanic eruptions and in our understanding of them?