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Volcanology

Volcanological research in Cambridge flourishes across the University and is networked through Cambridge Volcanology. The Department of Geography is one of the discipline’s main hubs along with the Department of Earth Sciences. Research interests range from magmatic evolution, degassing and eruption to impacts of volcanism on the Earth system and society, and to the role of scientific expertise in risk management. Many of the studies underway sit at the interface between volcanology and other disciplines, including atmospheric science, archaeology, environmental history, engineering, and science and technology studies. Methodologies include field observation using a variety of thermal imaging, spectroscopic and radar equipment; numerical simulation; physical volcanology; sediment coring and tephrastratigraphy; dendrochronology; petrology and geochemistry.

Research projects

Research projects currently being undertaken on this theme include:

Tomorrow's Cities

Tomorrow's Cities

Tomorrow's Cities is a GCRF Interdisciplinary Hub managed from the University of Edinburgh. It is working across four global cities (Nairobi, Quito, Istanbul and Kathmandu) to bring multi-hazard disaster risk management to the centre of urban planning and development.

ERC IMAGINE: Geographical Imaginations and the (geo)politics of volcanic risk: cultures, knowledges, actions 2019-2024

ERC IMAGINE: Geographical Imaginations and the (geo)politics of volcanic risk: cultures, knowledges, actions 2019-2024

This project investigates the intertwined human and environmental geographies of borderland volcanic areas in Latin America and East Africa. It combines human geographical theories of the earth with approaches from science and technology studies to think about volcanic places and spaces undergoing rapid environmental change, and seeks to integrate new theoretical ideas with disaster risk reduction in developing contexts.

Into the Inferno

Into the Inferno

A film by Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer. Screened at the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival (international première), Rome Film Festival, DOC NYC, Cambridge Film Festival, all in 2016.

Mount Paektu Research Centre

Mount Paektu Research Centre

This project has been running in earnest since 2013 and involves many partners in the DPR Korea, PR China, the UK and USA. It is focused on understanding the origins, deep structure, past eruptions, and hazards of Mount Paektu (aka Changbaishan or Tianchi volcano), which is situated on the international border between DPR Korea and the PR China.

Book: Eruptions that shook the world

Book: Eruptions that shook the world

A primary aim of this book is to examine the claims that volcanism shaped prehistoric and historic social trajectories. To do this, we need to look at how volcanoes act on a very large scale, and how often do they do it. The book also delves into the deeper geological record to explore the links between volcanism and mass extinctions identified in the fossil record.

Earlier projects