Monitoring Active Volcanoes

A meeting of the Volcanic Studies Group was held at Burlington House on 6 December 1989, to review establkhed and innovative techniques used in monitoring active volcanoes. Ten of the fourteen papers offered were presented orally. The meeting was topical, being held on the eve of the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, and at the end of a decade which saw the worst series of volcanic crises and disasters since 1902 (Tilling 1989). During the 1980s, three major volcanic events at Mount St Helens, USA (1980); El Chichon, Mexico (1982); and Nevado del Ruiz, Columbia (1985), accounted for over 25 OOO deaths. These and volcano-related phenomena, both increased the level of volcanological research, and raised the public awareness of the problems associated with living on or near active volcanoes