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Scientific Symposia

Symposia are sorted by theme. Click the arrows to see symposia details.   

If you wish to contact any of the Symposia Convenors, please email iavcei2023@confer.co.nz in the first instance and your email will be re-directed.

Bubbles play a pivotal role in driving, modulating, and recording volcanic and magmatic processes. They drive eruptions by providing the buoyancy that mobilizes magma from its crustal storage and propels it upwards through the volcanic plumbing system. They modulate the style, intensity, and impact of eruptions by altering the rheology of magma and lava flows, and by creating the over-pressure that causes explosive fragmentation. They record and reveal the history of magma ascent through the textures they create in eruptive products, through their capacity to fractionate, transport, and release the volatile species they contain, and as sources of geophysical signals. Bubbles have relevance, therefore, across the breadth of volcanic and magmatic studies, and act as a common point of reference around which we aim to stimulate interdisciplinary discussion.

We invite contributions from researchers and practitioners whose work addresses any aspect of the role of bubbles in magma, including studies of bubbles themselves, and broader studies of magmatic and volcanic processes in which the behaviour of bubbles plays a role. Topic areas include, but are not limited to:

  1. The physics of bubbles in magma – bubble formation, growth, resorption, deformation, interaction, coalescence, bursting, and their influence on thermal, mechanical and other physical properties of magma.
  2. The effect of bubbles on volcanic processes – magma mobilization, ascent, convection, mingling, rheology, degassing, outgassing, permeability, fragmentation, and transport of volatiles.
  3. The role of bubbles as informers on pre-, syn-, and post-eruptive processes – vesicle size, shape, and spatial distributions, spatial distribution of dissolved volatiles, gas geochemistry, bubbles as sources of infrasound and seismicity.

We anticipate contributions that adopt a wide range of field, experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches, and particularly encourage contributions that employ novel research methodologies, or that bridge across traditional disciplinary areas.

From a magma chamber to the Earth’s surface, the physical properties of ascending magmas change dramatically through bubble nucleation and growth, outgassing, groundmass crystallization, glass transition, and fragmentation. These processes are recorded by petrographic features in erupted materials, such as microstructures of bubbles and groundmass crystals, compositional zoning of phenocrysts, and volatiles in melt inclusions of phenocrysts and matrix glasses. Conversely, the physical properties of the actual multiphase magmas are affected by bubbles, volatiles, and crystals. Moreover, the totality of these processes influences the eruptive style of volcanoes and the patterns of the geophysical observations at the surface. 

Approaches employed analyses of microstructures and physical properties of erupted materials in recent studies are diverse, ranging from atomic-scale analyses of melt structures and high-resolution chemical analyses to geodetic observation coupled with the excess-pressure calculation of the magma feeding system. The aim of this session, therefore, is to bring together recent advances in different fields and discuss what we have achieved on the eruption processes so far, and to foresee the future direction. We welcome contributions from a wide range of scientific disciplines, including petrographic analyses of natural samples, laboratory simulation experiments of eruptive processes, interpretations of eruption processes on the basis of geophysical observations, and numerical modeling of magma ascent processes.

Our understanding of the eruption dynamics of silicic magmas has evolved over the last ten years, largely due to observations made during and after the eruptions of Chaitén (2008-2009), Cordón Caulle (2011-2013), and Havre (2012). Pre-existing models of silicic volcanism have been unable to reconcile direct observations made during these eruptions, such as previously unseen “hybrid” activity where the eruption style was simultaneously explosive and effusive, and new styles of silicic lava flow emplacement. However, questions remain regarding how applicable new observations are to future and historic eruptions. Evidence of conditions during volcanic eruptions are preserved in the products of volcanic eruptions. By integrating field and laboratory measurements of pyroclasts and lava, a better understanding of conduit dynamics and the relationship between explosive and effusive styles can be gained. The goal of this session is to share the current understanding of the eruption of silicic magmas through field and laboratory measurements leading to a better understanding of explosive and effusive eruption dynamics of silicic magmas. 

Volcanic systems involve a range of dynamic processes that trigger eruption and govern magma ascent. Eruption can be triggered by several mechanisms, such as rapid intrusion of fresh magma and mixing in the magma storage zone. Once the eruption is triggered, several interdependent processes take place during magma ascent from a crustal storage region to the surface, shaping the nature of eruptions and associated phenomena. These processes include crystallisation, degassing, fragmentation and possible fluid migration in and out of the plumbing system. Understanding and quantifying the triggering mechanisms and processes that occur during magma ascent is of critical importance for improving prediction of eruption style, evolution, and duration. However, despite advances in the characterisation of individual magmatic processes, our understanding of their two-way interactions and the consequent control on volcanic activity remains limited. This session invites contributions that address this topic, preferably through integration of at least two approaches, such as experimental, numerical, observational, and/or analytical/petrological. 

Seismic, geodetic, and gas signals of unrest observed during eruption run-up give unique insights into the timing and depth of key precursory events. However, translating these signals measured at the surface to magmatic processes operating at depth can be challenging. Petrologic tools provide alternative observations that are sensitive to magmatic processes occurring in the subsurface and can be mapped to time, using diffusion chronometers or age dating, and space, using geobarometers. However, it remains challenging to leverage these petrologic observations into information that can improve our ability to monitor unrest in these systems. Studies combining multiple geochemical and/or geophysical datasets can move beyond the limitations of a single approach, leading to new insights into controls on the timing and style of volcanic eruption. These examples provide unparalleled knowledge for linking deep processes with surficial monitoring. However, the number of well-monitored eruptions is small, while the geological record of volcanic eruptions is vast. Therefore, another key approach to improving understanding of precursory magmatic activity is the study of eruptions in the historic and geologic record that lack monitoring data, with the ultimate goal of inferring what the corresponding geophysical signal(s) may have been. This session welcomes all studies aimed at linking multiple data sets to improve our understanding of volcanic unrest and eruption. 

Steam-driven ─hydrothermal or phreatic─ eruptions occur frequently at active volcanoes, within geothermal areas and in rather pristine environments. Alteration of host-rocks can lead to significant changes in the physical properties of rocks (e.g. porosity, permeability strength). Pressure and temperature perturbations may result in the near-instantaneous vaporization of groundwater, or of pressurized hot fluids trapped in pores and cracks within the upper parts of shallow hydrothermal system. Decompression and flashing/expansion of fluids can blast rocks apart leading to mixed gas-liquid jets, pyroclastic density currents and lateral blasts, often accompanied by distal ballistic ejection. These eruptions pose serious threats in areas increasingly exploited for tourism and geothermal power generation, or for populated areas.

Due to the complex and still largely unknown interaction of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems, steam-driven eruptions are yet unpredictable. The incomplete stratigraphic records, limited understanding of explosive failure processes and the lack of precursors in monitoring signals result in unreliable scientific models to forecast locations, triggering, and magnitude of such eruptions.  

This session invites contributions from a broad range of disciplines (field geology, geophysics, geochemistry, physical and numerical modelling and laboratory experiments) that can provide an improved understanding of mechanisms of steam-driven eruption triggering as well as precursory signals of this in hydrothermal aquifers. We aim to foster discussion on lessons learned from recent and past events, to summarize our current state of knowledge and discuss future research directions related to phreatic and hydrothermal eruptions.  

Explosive volcanic eruptions are powerful manifestations of geologically short-lived yet landscape-shaping events. To date, the start, duration, and style of eruptions cannot be forecasted precisely enough to allow for holistic hazard mitigation. Processes including shear and gas exsolution produce significant textural changes in rising magma. Eventually, intrinsic and extrinsic forces may fragment magma and eject clasts of variable size, shape and nature into the atmosphere or ocean. Depending on eruption style and ambient conditions, pyroclasts and lithics are dispersed by a plethora of forces in eruption plumes and/or ground-hugging density currents.

As magma priming and fragmentation cannot be observed directly, improving our understanding of explosive eruptions requires an integrative approach including geophysical monitoring and direct observations as well as petrological, textural and sedimentological studies. We look forward to contributions that advance our mechanistic and quantitative understanding of explosive eruptions through field, experimental, numerical modelling, or analytical approaches. 

Geological, geophysical and geochemical monitoring data provide the best insights we have into the status of a volcanic system. However, forecasts of the timing, location, size, and style of eruption based on these data are fundamentally uncertain. A statistical approach is required to work with them, and information useful to decision makers. Forecast uncertainty arises for a number of reasons. The physical and chemical processes controlling eruptive behaviour are inherently stochastic. Monitoring data is limited, ambiguous, and erroneous. Geological records are incomplete. And our models that relate changes in any of these to the likelihood, timing, and nature of future activity are wrong. Consequently, more reliable and useful quantitative forecasting will require developments in a range of statistical methods and understanding. This session is looking for contributions that address statistical issues in volcano monitoring and eruption forecasting. Topics could include: optimization of monitoring networks (for single volcanoes or across volcanic regions) to provide most useful forecasting information; approaches to deal with an absence of baseline monitoring data; forecasting changes in eruption style or the end of eruption; adjusting forecasts to account for missing data; the integration of ‘physics-based’ and empirical forecasting models; and tools to allow better decisions to made on the basis of uncertain forecasts. 

Sudden explosive eruptions of small magnitude (VEI 1-3) occur frequently around the world. Small eruptions are more frequent than large eruptions, allowing more opportunities to study them.  The eruptions occur with little or no warning. Hence they are extremely hazardous for persons in the vicinity of the crater, including local residents, scientists, civil protection personnel, and tourists. The occurrence of small, sudden eruptions could indicate that larger events will follow. Rapid analysis and interpretation of eruptive data are thus necessary for hazard assessment. The eruptions have a range of attributes, including phreatic (e.g., Ontake, Japan, 2014), phreatomagmatic (e.g., Poás, Costa Rica, 2017), and magmatic (e.g., Stromboli, Italy, 2019). We solicit contributions that deal with the following issues. (1) What are the underlying mechanisms driving these eruptions, including preparatory processes from the mantle to the surface, prior to an eruption? (2) What if any precursors occur before these eruptions, and are these forecast or hindcast? (3) What is the way forward in terms of improved forecasting of these eruptions? (4) What new methodologies/experiments/studies are needed to better characterize and understand these eruptions? (5) How are people best protected from and informed about these types of eruptions? 

Growing evidence suggests that mush systems can build up over protracted periods and yet catastrophically switch to a state of unrest and eruption on near-instantaneous timescales, posing a major challenge for volcano monitoring efforts. Understanding the birth, growth and potential mobilisation of mush systems is hence of major interest in volcanology, and requires a comprehensive approach to the study of magma transport, storage and differentiation through the crust. Crucially, the rates, depths and complexities inherent to magmatic plumbing systems have a major impact on the behaviour, duration and intensity of ensuing volcanic eruptions. 

We invite a wide range of contributions including field, petrographic, geochemical, experimental, numerical and/or geophysical approaches to constrain the spatio-temporal evolution of mush systems and the key processes that lead to eruption. We encourage combinations of conventional methodologies with innovative techniques to interrogate petrological and geochemical records and their links to monitoring data.   

Subaqueous eruptions involve the entire range of magma compositions and the volumes of external water involved vary by orders of magnitude. While interaction of magma with water and/or wet sediments during volcanic eruptions is common in subaqueous, emergent, coastal and glacial settings, water has fundamental effects on eruption style that are only partially understood. Large volumes of ash from subaerial eruptions can also enter oceans and lakes where transport and deposition is strongly influenced by interaction with water. Water depth, physical properties of water and available volumes of water and/or ice all contribute to, or modify eruption and transport processes relative to subaerial settings. Field studies, advances in marine exploration, as well as experimental and theoretical work have expanded knowledge. However, gaps in our understanding of eruption styles, explosivity, and transport processes remain, and analogies with subaerial volcanism are limited. This session aims to bring together researchers interested in volcanic eruption, transport and depositional processes in modern and ancient settings that involved interaction with or deposition in external water. Field-based and other observational, laboratory or theoretical contributions on all aspects of magma-water interactions (explosive and effusive), magma-sediment interactions and tephra transport and deposition in subaqueous settings are welcome.   

Volcaniclastic aprons or ring plains develop around volcanic centres of all sizes and types by deposition of syn- and post-eruptive volcaniclastic material, minor primary products and sedimentary deposits. These successions represent valuable archives that hold a detailed record of volcanic and other landscape-shaping events and often provide the only means to reconstruct the long-term volcanic history of a region. The ability to accurately interpret the origin, transport and emplacement processes of the observed deposits is thus crucial to better understand the nature, magnitude and frequency of future volcanic hazards, including the potential for catastrophic edifice failure. Variations within the comprised lithofacies can also be linked to the key influences on ring-plain accumulation and landscape evolution, including the respective controls of volcanic activity, climate and geomorphic setting. While ancient to modern volcaniclastic records indicate that mass-wasting processes pose significant, often enduring secondary hazards that are common in volcanic landscapes, non-volcanic environments can also experience smaller-scale but potentially increasingly more frequent sediment remobilisation and landscape adjustment events in response to e.g. large wildfires, droughts and landslides. 

This session provides a forum for discussing long-term volcanic behaviour recorded in volcaniclastic sequences and recent advances in quantifying initiation thresholds, frequency and magnitude of the full spectrum of secondary volcaniclastic processes. We invite contributions that address all aspects of volcaniclastic sedimentation, from field data collection aimed at interpreting transport and emplacement processes of volcanic mass flows and reconstructing volcanic histories to application of statistical and computer models focused on quantifying secondary volcanic hazards. 

This session explores and celebrates the rewards, successes, and challenges of working with stakeholders and non-academic partners towards scientific outcomes are useful, useable, and used. We solicit contributions that (1) highlight examples of research informed by stakeholder engagement through to co-created research, (2) provide tips and strategies for effective and productive collaboration and knowledge implementation, (3) share approaches for building trust and nurturing long-lasting partnerships, and/or (4) reflections on ensuring science directly benefits society. We welcome contributions from scientists, stakeholders, and observers. 

Effective communication of science and risk and science information pre-, during, and post- a volcanic crisis is vital for volcanic risk management planning, mitigation, response, recovery and resilience building activities. This scientific information can range from technical risk assessments, to impact projections, simulations of physical processes, forecasts and warnings, economic projections, and outcomes of recovery and adaption decision-making tools. A range of agencies and individuals are involved in this communication, from public individuals through to risk management agencies and policy makers, as well as other scientists and technical agencies. The value of this information is vital to inform decision-making at each of these levels, and should ideally directly address the needs of the decision maker. Such a goal is desired through participatory and other ways to developing science (including citizen science) that adopt a decision-relevant and demand- led approach to scientific research and communication with, rather than to, individuals and agencies. 

In this session, we are seeking contributions that outline case study examples, primary research, or systematic reviews, that identify lessons that can improve the effective communication of volcanic risk and science, forecasts and warnings, and the range of uncertainties (both epistemic and stochastic). We are particularly interested in lessons drawn from a multi-hazard perspective, participatory or citizen science approaches, and other forms of knowledge transfer. Finally, empirical studies that explore and evaluate effective communication products are strongly welcomed. 

While communication is rarely straightforward, some topics are more challenging than others. In this session, we seek to learn from our community’s broad expertise in communicating topics that are particularly hard to convey, either because of public knowledge, risk perception, messaging fatigue, or our own scientific uncertainty.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • How to communicate about low-probability, high-impact hazards, such as large-scale caldera eruptions;
  • How to communicate about high-impact, low-visibility hazards, such as harmful gas emissions and prolonged ashfall;
  • How to communicate uncertainty in crisis or calm, to strengthen trust and build credibility;
  • How to understand and communicate relevant social science, such as risk perception and health impacts, within the volcanology community; and
  • How to address misinformation and mistakes, whether ours or someone else’s.

We can learn from both successes and failures. We hope this session will bring the volcanology community together to share how communication of difficult topics can serve at-risk communities, the interested public, researchers, agencies, and outreach efforts. 

Volcano observatories (VO) provide critical information and interpretation about the status and potential activity of the volcanoes within their area of responsibility that inform local and national decision making to help reduce disaster risk and manage crises. For aviation and transboundary hazards, reporting may be directed more widely. In addition, there is an ever-increasing international audience of stakeholders including national governments, international humanitarian organizations, the private sector, researchers of various disciplines, the media, and an interested and more involved global public. These stakeholders and others, all use volcanic activity information provided by VOs. International stakeholders use the information and data in various ways, including to provide situational awareness, make decisions, interpret satellite data, and populate large open-source databases of volcanism. In some cases (e.g. earth observation, VAACs, the public) valuable observations and additional data can be collected and sent back to observatories during a crisis. The aim of this session is to share perspectives, approaches, and lessons learned in communicating information on volcanic activity to a variety of audiences beyond the national scale, highlighting success stories and opportunities. To foster knowledge exchange and exploration of the theme, the talks will be followed by a discussion at the end of the session.  

Volcanic unrest, volcanic eruptions and their aftermath are associated with multiple primary and secondary hazards, which pose short- to long-term threats to people and property. Experience has shown that success in the management of volcanic risks strongly correlates with the degree to which proactive policies of risk reduction are in place before an eruption begins. Such policies should ideally be developed based on comprehensive analysis of the volcanic risk encompassing the full spectrum of volcanic primary hazards (e.g. pyroclastic density currents, lava flows, tephra accumulation and dispersal, gas emissions) and interacting hazards (e.g. lahars triggered by intense rainfall) as well as associated vulnerabilities (e.g. physical, systemic, social, economic, institutional). Risk associated with volcanic eruptions has been recognized as complex and dynamic for many decades, yet still no comprehensive methods for vulnerability and risk analysis are widely accepted. Currently several initiatives are attempting to develop models and methodologies to assess volcanic risk. We welcome contributions presenting strategies for the assessment of exposure, vulnerability and risk; discussing ways of identifying and characterizing elements at risk; combining hazard, exposure and vulnerability; presenting vulnerability and risk assessment in a multi-hazard setting; describing how to benefit from local knowledge through participatory risk assessment; and showing how dynamic vulnerability and risk assessments should be carried out to implement useful mitigation measures. 

Volcanic eruptions pose a considerable threat to the wellbeing and livelihoods of communities living near active volcanoes. Notably, a range of human health conditions may arise from exposure to eruptive and passive degassing, ashfall, and resuspension of deposited material, particularly since ash and gases can be transported over great distances. Human physical health can also be affected in various ways, including fatalities and injuries from pyroclastic flows/surges, lava flows and ballistic projectiles, whereas exposure to fine-grained ash and gases can exacerbate or potentially induce respiratory diseases and symptoms, and cause eye and skin irritation. Other, more indirect, effects include contamination of water supplies and loss of crops, and psychological distress related to the eruption crisis.

New Zealand has a number of active volcanoes and volcanic fields, which have the potential for eruption in the foreseeable future. Consideration of such hazards, and those from geothermal fields such as the Rotorua Geothermal Field, are of importance because of their potential impact on population health and the overall economy of New Zealand. Co-ordinated, multi-disciplinary efforts are needed to assess and successfully prepare for health hazards associated with volcanic phenomena, and to provide timely advice to anxious populations and emergency managers during volcanic crises. 

In this session, we welcome submission of abstracts from a broad range of disciplines relating to human health in volcanic areas, including: i) community exposure and protection, ii) health hazard and impact assessment (mineralogical, toxicological, clinical and epidemiological studies), iii) air and water quality monitoring and forecasting, iv) risk assessment and hazard management, including modelling studies predicting health impacts from future eruptions, v) community preparedness and response to volcanic eruptions. 

This session is sponsored by the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network, an IAVCEI Commission (www.ivhhn.org). 

When faced with questions about future eruptive activity at a particular volcano, volcanologists often seek out analogous volcanoes or similar patterns of past unrest for comparison and inference. Analog sets of volcanoes or eruptions can be especially helpful when dealing with data poor volcanoes. However, identifying the most appropriate sets of potential analogs remains a significant challenge. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach for identifying analogs because: (1) the physical-chemical processes that justify the volcano analogy can have very varied scales in time and space (e.g. magma generation/differentiation versus fragmentation); (2) different types of analogs may be required depending on the target (e.g. volcano, unrest episode, or eruption) and purpose of the analog analysis. For example, questions about the potential size of future eruptions may require analog sets of volcanoes with similar morphologies, chemistries, and eruptive behavior; whereas, questions about lahar hazard might require analog sets of volcanoes with similar climates, snow and ice cover, and slope topography. Finally, the data sources used to identify the analog sets may also be diverse: global databases of volcanoes, unrest, and eruptions; local monitoring data; expert knowledge; and other datasets. This session seeks contributions that explore ways in which to identify analog sets of volcanoes and their patterns of unrest or eruption; that consider the diversity of parameters that could be used for analog identification; and that investigate the appropriateness of analog sets.   

Understanding volcanic impacts and how to reduce or manage their effects forms a cornerstone of volcanic disaster risk reduction. Multi-volcanic hazards occurring simultaneously and/or sequentially can be challenging to assess, as is managing the likely impacts. Volcanic ash, gas and acid rain are hazards which often occur together and collectively have the largest footprint of all volcanic phenomena: they are most likely to affect the greatest number of people. 

This session aims to explore how science can improve management of volcanic impacts through timely communication, field and laboratory-based assessment of impacts and mitigation measures, and the translation and application of this knowledge into volcanic risk management approaches. This includes exploring approaches to assess direct impacts of ashfall on communities (e.g., health, infrastructure, agriculture, transportation) and the longer-term effects of disruption (including ash remobilisation) as well as follow-up measures to communicate and better prepare communities. Ashfall impacts and mitigation measures are common to all explosive volcanic regions of the world and, thus, ongoing efforts are using global studies to populate and update public resources, such as the Volcanic Ash Impacts & Mitigation website and the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network website, in preparation for your next eruption.

We invite volcano scientists, city and emergency managers, environmental monitoring agencies and health professionals to work together to: 

  • Share current knowledge and new research concerning impacts and mitigation resources for ash, gas and acid rain. 
  • Share case studies of recent eruptions where civil authorities grappled with the combined impact of ash, gas, and acid rain, exploring key lessons and implications for best practice.

This session is sponsored by the IAVCEI Cities and Volcanoes Commission, International Volcanic Health Hazard Network, and the Volcanic Ashfall Impacts Working Group.

Effective volcanic risk management depends strongly on the degree of proactive policies of risk reduction. Ideally, these policies should be developed based on comprehensive volcanic risk assessments, which are completed with careful data collection such satellite and ground-based observations, subsequent modeling of the hazard uncertainties and elements at risk, and ultimately estimating the associated vulnerability. In reality, this rarely occurs. Instead, policies are commonly made based on incomplete hazard assessments and without careful consideration of exposure and vulnerability. At many active volcanoes, the data necessary to classify vulnerability is insufficiently catalogued, requiring the development of new methods to improve exposure information. In addition, models of lava flow processes able to identify interactions between volcanic hazard and vulnerability are limited by many sources of uncertainty. We welcome contributions showing how hazard modeling and risk assessment can be combined to increase preparedness and implement mitigation measures. 

Robust quantification of volcanic hazard requires an assessment, not only of the probability of the eruption onset, size and location; but also of the probability of occurrence of hazardous phenomena (pyroclastic flows, lava flows, lahars) as well as of their potential intensity (flow depth, speed, dynamic pressure) in space and time. This represents the basis for risk assessment around volcanoes and are best answered via probabilistic hazard analysis. Many physical and statistical models, each with advantages and disadvantages, can describe the impacts from various hazardous phenomena. Stochastic inputs, such as eruption and environmental parameters, can be included in different ways. However, the large parameter space created by the combination of eruption properties, volcanic phenomena and environmental conditions form a challenge to quantitative hazard assessment. The estimation of exposure and transition from hazard intensity to outcomes (risk) is also difficult under uncertainties and in a multi-hazard environment.

We seek contributions addressing the challenges to probabilistic quantification of hazard and risk. The sessions focus is on providing quantitative information for decision-making under uncertainty, for hazard and risk management, mitigation and land-use planning. This can include methodologies for long-term eruption forecasts; probabilistic assessment of hazard, exposure, risk and economic trajectories; scenario design for civil defence exercises; simulation, mapping and uncertainty quantification. We particularly welcome contributions that address multi-hazard interactions, compare and/or evaluate different approaches, or apply new methods in the calculation of volcanic hazard and risk.  

Volcanic islands are beautiful by nature, but present a range of challenges when it comes to understanding and mitigating the risks of their volcanoes. From the availability of data for hazard assessment, to the design and implementation of proximal or remote monitoring networks, the methods employed elsewhere often need to be assessed and adapted for the small island context. Furthermore, when it comes to planning and execution of emergency response measures, limited available land can impact on the social and cultural response to any volcanic activity. Geographical isolation, or indeed proximity to international borders can necessitate wide spanning, integrated emergency response measures involving external agencies or neighbouring countries.

Volcanic islands are also commonly being developed for their natural resources for example tourism and georesources including geothermal exploration as well as their products e.g. sand mining. There is an inherent challenge with balancing sustainable economic development, with potential environmental impacts, cultural impacts and levels of population at risk to volcanic hazards where land is at a premium. Conserving the environment around the volcano can be difficult because of the competing land use requirements, and any pre-existing dependence for livelihoods around the volcano, or improper land use can increase the risk and limit existing mitigation strategies. These challenges, however, also represent opportunities, to develop unique strategies, methods, policy and technologies to tackle them. 

The objective of this session is to bring together ideas on challenges, opportunities and best practice for understanding and managing risk on volcanic islands. We encourage multidisciplinary submissions that exchange ideas on their unique island setting, but also provide opportunities to learn from others, with a view to promoting future resilience to volcanic hazards in a small island setting. 

Tephra damages buildings, water and power supplies, it disrupts transportation (including aviation) and farming activities, and fine-grained ash poses a health risk to humans and animals. Additionally, ash can continue to pose a hazard for many years after an eruption as deposits are remobilized by the wind. 

Our ability to assess the hazards associated with tephra can be improved through the dedicated development of numerical modelling, observations and monitoring techniques (e.g. satellite retrievals, lidar, radar and acoustic data). We can then build resilience and preparedness by understanding the potential activity scenarios prior to an event; this requires comprehensive assessments of previous activity based on field studies and geophysical measurements, and the use of numerical modelling to determine the ensemble of possible scenarios. During eruptions real-time forecasting can benefit from data assimilation, using observations to initialize numerical models and validate predictions.  

We welcome contributions which present recent work aimed at improving our resilience to tephra impacts. In particular, we are interested in those studies which combine numerical modelling, geophysical monitoring and field observations. We are also interested in contributions which discuss forecasting strategies both prior to and during explosive eruptions.

Many long-dormant volcanoes (i.e., volcanoes that are not currently erupting but are likely to erupt again) have created landscapes of beauty and fertility that have attracted settlements, infrastructure and tourism. Eruptions may be very large in magnitude, but hundreds or even thousands of years apart, and beyond living memory. However, every few decades, such volcanoes may become restless, causing concern around whether unrest will lead to eruption. It can be challenging for communities and decision-makers to understand the likelihood and potential consequences of volcanic activity, and how to plan for such events.From a physical science perspective, we can research the history of the volcano through its geological record, image and model the magma plumbing system, study signs of unrest and carry out probabilistic forecasts of eruptions and impacts. From a social science perspective, we can research societal response to volcanic activity, and carry out risk mitigation solutions, including planning, education, preparedness, and risk communication. Bridging the interface between the physical and social sciences is crucial to better prepare society for volcanic activity.

We will learn how teams from around the world are increasing their understanding of these volcanoes and building resilience. We encourage participation by anyone involved in studies related to long-dormant but highly hazardous volcanoes (e.g. Long Valley, Phlegraean Fields, Taupo, Yellowstone, Toba, Fuji, Chiliques).

Topics of interest may include:
  • understanding the state of dormant volcanic systems and the probabilities of renewed unrest and/or eruption
  • geophysical and geochemical monitoring for evidence of unrest
  • developing scenarios or probabilistic impact assessments
  • understanding community risk perceptions and responses to forecasts
  • enhancing preparedness and/or adaptation
  • developing innovative educational programmes
  • co-production of knowledge between scientists, indigenous peoples, emergency managers, and/or communities at long-dormant volcanoes. 
End-to-end interdisciplinary case studies, research programmes, and application of findings are welcome.

Volcanic hazard maps are visual, spatial depictions of the areas that could be potentially impacted by volcanic phenomena. They can represent a common reference point for discussion and mitigation of volcanic risk when developed, communicated, and used appropriately, as they put all parties quite literally “on the same page” of hazard information. Although most volcanic hazard maps show similar types of content, such as hazard footprints, they vary greatly in input data, communication style, appearance, visual design and their purpose.

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazard and Risk has a working group dedicated to hazard mapping and discussing how we can best use maps to communicate hazard in the future. This session welcomes research around the development, use and effectiveness of volcanic hazard and risk maps. We encourage submissions that address new and novel techniques and frameworks used to develop maps for long term hazard assessment and for use during volcanic crises, comparisons between versions of hazard maps at a single volcano, and experiences regarding how hazard maps are interpreted and used by diverse audiences during volcanic activity. We also welcome case studies where stakeholders have been engaged during the map making process, highlighting what worked and what did not, as well as examples of where event trees and expert elicitation have been used to inform hazard maps. The session aims to provide an overview of what hazard and risk maps could look like in the future, based on examples from around the world.  

Volcanic flows (e.g. PDCs, debris avalanches, lahars, lava flows) are complex, multiphase phenomena that vary on temporal and spatial scales and that pose significant hazards to both life-safety and to the built environment. Flow hazards can be described using various hazard intensity metrics, such as temperature, velocity, density, and water content. The relationship between multiple metrics is not always known, leading to a tendency to treat each characteristic as independent when modelling. Additionally, the relationship between these metrics and possible damage must be established for accurate impact assessments. We solicit contributions that seek to improve volcanic flow vulnerability models, especially those that consider multiple hazard intensity metrics and/or damage characteristics. We also welcome diverse (e.g. analogue, numerical, theoretical, statistical, or field-based) process-focused studies that support the development of such models. This symposium aims to prompt discussions on approaches for linking process- and impact-focused studies in the context of volcanic flows.  

Submarine and coastal volcanoes are able to generate tsunamis through a range of different, often interacting, mechanisms (e.g. flank or caldera collapse, pyroclastic density currents, submarine eruptions). In turn, tsunamis substantially expand the radius of destruction of volcanic eruptions potentially causing fatalities hundreds of kilometres from the source. Almost all of the thirty-six thousand deaths caused by the 1883 eruption of Krakatau were caused by tsunamis generated by the eruption (most likely through pyroclastic flows). More recently, the December 2018 eruption of Anak Krakatau caused a flank collapse which generated a tsunami killing 437 people and injuring over 14,000. Not all submarine and coastal volcanoes cause tsunamis, however. Understanding the hazard due to volcanic tsunamis requires understanding the generation mechanisms which necessitates bringing together a wide range of multidisciplinary knowledge; information on deposits from past events, field measurements from recent events, physical experiments, theoretical and numerical studies can all help enhance our understanding of this phenomenon.  In this session we welcome oral and poster presentations on the latest research on all aspects of volcanic tsunamis. 

The SW Pacific is geologically complex consisting of a series of active and dormant oceanic island arc and back-arc systems that have undergone numerous phases of activity. The late-Tertiary and the Quaternary has seen periods of intense tectonic activity in the region, particularly in Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands with frequent volcanic activity being experienced. To the north, the Samoan Islands, a series of youthful volcanic seamounts has also experienced periods of volcanic activity. Explosive and effusive volcanic activity has occurred in most of the countries, and is still continuing today. Associated with this activity; a range of volcanic hazards have affected many local communities. How then, can the small nations of SW Pacific best position themselves for coping with future volcanic disasters, and increase their resilience, particularly at the local community level? The region also offers a less traditional approach to studying volcanic hazard, risk, and risk management in the form of stories and oral history. Data derived from oral history, sits alongside scientific data and allows opportunities for inclusive working with indigenous people.
We invite papers that outline what work has been done or being undertaken in the SW Pacific region. Papers would include studies of individual volcanic systems and their activity, the status of the risk mechanisms within the region and volcanic hazard risk solutions that could or have been be used to reduce the risk to communities in the region form future activity.  

Strategic goals for NASA's space exploration program include improving knowledge of environmental requirements for habitability by developing tools for detecting life, developing tools for determining the relative habitability of present or ancient environments, and exploring analogue environments on Earth. Field-based testing of new technology and science operational scenarios therefore represents a core component of realizing the next generation planetary mission concepts to Earth-like planets, such as Mars. This session will focus on the results of field-based, remote sensing, and numerical modeling approaches to investigate volcanic landscapes on Earth as analogues for other planetary bodies. These results will help to inform "Future Thinking" of how best to design and realize future spacecraft missions to assess the habitability of extra-terrestrial environments, as well as the links between plutonic, volcanic, and atmospheric systems. The scope of the session will include the study of effusive and explosive eruption products, as well as hydrothermal systems, astrobiology, volcano tectonics, and volcanic impacts on atmospheric conditions and climate using traditional field-methods, state-of-the-art robotics, remote sensing, laboratory analyses, and models. IAVCEI 2021 represents an ideal forum for developing interdisciplinary research in Earth and Planetary Sciences, and this session will help to connect researchers in both fields. Researchers are encouraged to present the results of their work to highlight emerging technologies and fundamental challenges in planetary analogue research, provide insight into geologic processes and comparative planetology, and critically assess methods for both human and robotic exploration of volcanic environments. Combining these themes will promote knowledge transfer between terrestrial and planetary volcanologists to spark new discussion, innovation, and discovery.  

Geodetic data are a critical component of understanding volcanic unrest. Both deformation and gravity monitoring data at multiple spatial and temporal scales are available for hundreds of volcanoes worldwide.  Here we invite presentations discussing broad applications of volcano geodesy to global volcanoes, but also studies of individual systems that can have implications for understanding volcanic processes through development of improved techniques, integration of multidisciplinary data or modeling, and impacts on forecasting volcanic activity.

Although most prominent at divergent plate boundaries, interactions between magmatic and tectonic processes occur in all volcanic regions across different tectonic settings (compressional, extensional and strike-slip). Magmatic-tectonic interactions occur at different temporal and spatial scales, from short-term (days to years) interactions between magmatic systems and earthquakes on nearby faults, to long-term (kyr to Myr) lithosphere-scale interactions between stresses, tectonic structure, and magmatism. 

Feedbacks between tectonics and magmatism can influence the timing, style and location of volcanism, faulting, and geothermal systems. Deciphering these feedbacks allows informed interpretations of volcano unrest and seismo-tectonic activity. Examples of interactions between magmatic and tectonic processes include: (1) static and dynamic stress transfer leading to triggering or destabilising effects (e.g., earthquakes triggering volcanic eruptions or vice versa); (2) the influence of magmatic fluids in overpressure and in earthquake generation; (3) the combined influence of gravity, tectonic structure, and magma transport on surface stability and caldera collapse; (4) tectonic structure, stress regime, and lithosphere rheology impacting magma transport, eruption volume and style, and the long term evolution of a volcanic system; and (5) the influence of magma-tectonic processes on volatile flux and fluid circulation (e.g., hydrothermal fields). 

In this session, we solicit contributions exploring the interactions between magmatic and tectonic processes, particularly multidisciplinary studies that integrate volcanology, structural geology, geodesy, geochemistry, seismology, numerical and analogue modelling. 

Intraoceanic arcs represent one of the most important interfaces between the Earth’s interior, surface and atmosphere. As a result of tectonic plate processes oceanic plates are subducted, metamorphsed and devolatilized, resulting in melting of the mantle wedge and volcanic arc magmatism at the Earth’s surface. Arc magmas are a product of multiple components derived from the subducting slab and ambient mantle, with relative contributions from each varying significantly from the arc front to the backarc.

For this session, we invite contributions from relevant fields of geosciences that study tectono-magmatic and volcanological processes in convergent margin settings with a focus on the Eocene to recent Tonga-Kermadec-arc Lau-Havre-backarc system north of New Zealand. We aim at a multidisciplinary session to provide a holistic perspective on magmatism at subduction zones.

The near-surface environment in volcanic provinces is a dynamic place. Volcanic eruptions produce deposits that episodically cover the surface, while intrusions cause localized uplift. Constructional topography guides mass wasting and the pathways of water and/or ice, while the frequency and magnitude of volcanism controls erosion efficiency as a function of magmatic style. Basaltic lava flows are initially permeable and armor the surface to fluvial erosion, but are highly geochemically reactive. More inert silicic tephra can increase sediment transport and erosion rates, or flatten topography for super eruptions. Beneath the surface, deviatoric stresses associated with magma transport as well as climate and tectonics can be significant enough to modulate subsequent magmatism. The near-surface temperature field can differ significantly from a globally averaged geotherm. Both stress and temperature influence surface topography through time. Interpreting volcanic landscapes requires integrating episodic eruptions and intrusive magmatic uplift with pre-existing topography and geology, erosion by rivers and glaciers, biota, and regional tectonics. We are interested in submissions that explore volcanic-landscape interactions on any scale. This includes magmatic landscape construction and erosion, post-eruption environmental recovery, fluvial and hillslope response following sequences of eruptions, glacier-volcano interactions, volcano ecology, and any other connection between the surface environment and volcanic systems.  

Continental rifts represent zones of incipient to advanced lithospheric breakup, leading to the onset of oceanic spreading. The vast majority of continental rifts are associated with magmatism and account for ca. 10% of Earth’s active volcanoes. Rift volcanoes have historically been less active than arc volcanoes, and are therefore comparatively understudied, with many questions remaining on the magnitudes and timescales of activity, compositional controls on eruptive style, their interaction with extensional tectonics, and the related hazards and environmental impacts.

Most magmatism associated with continental rifts has a highly alkaline nature, is often associated with carbonatite melts, and represents an important reservoir of incompatible trace elements, including rare earths. In failed rifts, fossilized magmatic intrusions offer economically significant concentrations of critical metals which are increasingly important for modern technology. In active volcanic rifts, often hosting large calderas, extensive geothermal reservoirs are actively explored and exploited as a renewable energy resource. Magmatic systems in rift settings, many of them located in densely populated areas, thus represent important resources for modern society, but crucially, our scientific understanding of these systems remains limited.

In this session we invite contributions on continental rift magmatism and volcanism, from both modern active systems and fossilized rifts. This may include studies on the magmatic-tectonic interactions and architecture of the magmatic plumbing systems, magmatic differentiation and ore-forming processes, characteristics of geothermal reservoirs, timescales and the nature of unrest and volcanic eruptions, physical volcanology, as well as hazards and risk associated with rift volcanism.

Intraplate volcanism is classically associated with oceanic island basalts (OIB) that occur far removed from convergent plate margins and arc volcanism. However, OIB-type lavas are also observed in other tectonic environments such as continental intraplate volcanic fields, rift zones, fore-arc and back-arc regions. A range of driver mechanisms may therefore be involved in the petrogenesis of these lavas, such as mantle plumes, asthenospheric flows, shear and windows, crustal delamination or plate flexure. The composition of these intraplate magmas varies from kimberlitic to alkali and from potassic to sodic depending on their location. At some convergent margins, OIB magmas have erupted in close spatial and temporal association with subduction-related, island-arc magmas. The presence of OIB in such settings requires an explanation for the OIB-genesis mechanism, that is somehow distinct from slab-dewatering to give rise to its distinctive intraplate geochemical signature. OIB in non-classical tectonic settings can provide clues as to the origin of the intraplate signature, because the various tectonic settings impose constraints on the potential physical mechanisms behind mantle melting. In addition, at convergent margins pervasive metasomatism of the mantle wedge and lithospheric mantle by subduction-derived fluids provides a means of enriching depleted peridotite and chemically priming the mantle for OIB-genesis. Evidence of such metasomatism is apparent in ultramafic xenoliths from intraplate lavas, which often host hydrous mineral phases and other metasomatic overprinting. 

This session invites abstract submissions on a broad range of topics related to the generation of OIB-type lavas from non-classical tectonic environments. We seek investigations of lava chemistry, volcanic stratigraphy, the coexistence of IAB and OIB at stratovolcanoes, characterization of mantle and crustal xenoliths, studies of magma volatile contents, noble gases in fluid inclusions of xenoliths and other aspects of OIB-type magmatic suites.  

This session addresses the fundamental role that the study of fluids plays in constraining Earth’s mantle composition and evolution as well as in tracking magmatic degassing and in triggering volcanic eruptions. One of the major challenges in the study of volcanic gases derives from the impossibility of a direct access to Earth’s interior. The investigation of fluids trapped as inclusions in minerals of different origins (mantle xenoliths and/or cumulates) provides this opportunity, allowing reconstructing of mantle features and the processes (partial melting, metasomatism, refertilization) that modified its original composition. As magma rises from the mantle, decreasing pressure allows volatile species to partition into the gas phase. A small part of these fluids are trapped in growing-minerals and their study may aid in tracking magma depressurization, storage and contamination within the crust. The majority of these gases reach the surface and are released into the atmosphere as volcanic plumes, in some cases diffusing through the soil or bubbling in water-pools or hydrothermal-springs. The composition and flux of volcanic gases may change with time in response to active magma dynamics occurring in the feeding system of volcanoes or to shallow hydrothermal activity. Therefore, measuring volcanic gases and volatile budget constitutes a powerful tool for monitoring and understanding volcano evolution. However, to develop rigorous models of short- and long-term eruption forecasting, the integrated study of magmatic and volcanic gases is necessary, as well as the development of new techniques for gas sampling and analysis.
We welcome multidisciplinary contributions based on analytical approaches, as well as thermodynamic modelling, to study fluid inclusions in minerals and/or volcanic gases, linking deep and surface observations. Researchers presenting novel measurement techniques as well as direct and remote sampling advancement are also encouraged. We specifically aim to discuss studies with the potential to improve our ability to forecast eruptions.  

Volcanism along tectonic plate boundaries suggests that melt generation is largely governed by mantle convection. However, the lithosphere is a potentially long-lived and chemically heterogeneous mantle reservoir. Therefore, it may serve as a source region for melts, obfuscate the signal of asthenosphere-derived magmas, or – because of fluxing and depletion – confound the xenolith record. Additionally, because of the conductive nature of heat transfer in the lithosphere, the processes governing melt generation among intraplate lavas (especially those not related to plumes) likely are different. While much work has been dedicated to understanding melts at the near-surface (e.g., the triggers and rates of magma ascent at the onset of eruption), and their mantle sources (e.g., isotopic heterogeneity and the “mantle zoo”), only recently has a more unified, so-called “transcrustal/translithospheric magma system” model emerged. This session welcomes contributions that explore quantitatively the effects of this translithospheric magmatism model – and particularly its extension to sub-Moho depths – on the origin, evolution, storage, and eruption of melts. Submissions may utilize any tool, but we welcome especially contributions that apply geochemistry, petrology (e.g., experiments, geothermobarometry and diffusion chronometry), and numerical modeling (e.g., MELTS, Magma Chamber Simulator, or of tectonic effects on magmatism). It is hoped that contributions will ultimately address the source, spatial distribution, and nature of melts in the lithosphere, with implications for volcanism, economic geology, and mantle rheology. 

Cenozoic volcanism in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean is an important part of the geological and palaeoenvironmental record. At least six active volcanoes and dozens of major volcanic centers are exposed in Antarctica and surrounding oceans. One of the best known, Erebus volcano, has a persistent phonolite lava lake and has been the site of extensive volcanological and geophysical studies for over 45 years. The hazard of effusive and explosive volcanism to life and logistics in Antarctica, from both active and dormant volcanic centres, is still poorly understood. Further, remote sensing has identified over 80 subglacial volcanic vents in West Antarctica. Igneous petrology aids in understanding the driving mechanisms of Antarctic’s tectonic development, and fundamental knowledge of mantle properties beneath the Antarctic Plate are revealed through the integration of geochemical and geophysical data sets. Important aspects of past ice sheet conditions, such as ice thickness and thermal regime (ice sheet stability), are best answered by looking at lava—ice interactions in a field of study known as glaciovolcanology. Ice cores provide valuable climate records extending back for 800 ka; they have an extensive tephra and aerosol record. The ice cores and exposed blue ice patches (some over 2.5 Ma old) use the volcanic data in constraining the age of palaeoenvironmental information recorded in the ice, understanding the environmental impact of volcanism and recording large- to global-scale eruptions.
This multidisciplinary session will be open to presentations on all aspects of Antarctic and Southern Ocean volcanism and will include, but not be limited to, the following topics:

  • Tephra records 
  • Relationship of volcanism to tectonic history 
  • Nature and petrology of volcanic rocks 
  • Mantle dynamics and sources of volcanism
  • Activity associated with Erebus volcano lava lake
  • Remote and geophysical studies of volcanoes 
  • Glaciovolcanology 
  • Volcanic hazards and monitoring  

Volcanic activity is a hallmark of almost every large solid-surface body in the Solar System. Giant volcanoes dominate the surfaces of Venus, Mars, enormous calderas are abundant on Io, and large igneous provinces are major physiographic features of Mercury and the Moon. Each of these bodies boasts widespread evidence of effusive-explosive styles of volcanic eruptions, and the interplay of volcanic and tectonic processes. In the outer Solar System, numerous icy satellites and several dwarf planets display evidence indicative of cryovolcanic activity. These types of landforms and processes can be examined like never before thanks to a variety of new data returned by spacecraft from Mercury to Pluto. In this session, we solicit contributions exploring the myriad styles of volcanic eruptions, the architecture of plumbing systems, volcanic landforms and processes on Solar System bodies (planets, moons, or asteroids) using field observations, remotely sensed data, laboratory or numerical simulations, or some combination thereof. We especially welcome submissions of comparative analyses between volcanism on Earth and on other worlds, or between other planetary bodies. 

Volcanological data are heterogeneous in nature. They come from field observations, ground based and remote sensing instruments, permanent stations or campaign deployments, and include geochemical analyses, geophysical time series, images, video, and other data types. These data are collected, processed, and stored in different formats, with varying levels of support and infrastructure, and are managed by diverse institutions worldwide (observatories, universities, and research institutions). Considering this framework, volcanologists have adopted different approaches and solutions to manage their data. The range of data management solutions reflects the goals with which the data are collected, e.g. scientific monitoring, hazard mitigation/civil protection, research projects.

Technological evolution has added additional complexity to data management. During recent decades, data acquisition has dramatically increased in both quantity and quality, and previously analog data are now routinely acquired digitally.

The recent implementation of the “Open Science” framework poses both technical and policy challenges to increasing data access within the volcanological community.

This session solicits contributions on strategies and best practices being used and adopted by the volcanological community in managing and distributing data. We will discuss broad topics related to the application of the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principle to volcanological data, such as standardization of data and interoperability, data archiving/repository infrastructures, data access policies, data licensing, citation and publications. We also aim to stimulate a debate about the capacity of the volcanological community to guarantee a long term curation of data for science reproducibility.

The hydrothermal system beneath a volcano is a key component of hazardous "wet" eruption styles, such as hydrothermal, phreatic, or phreatomagmatic, where heat and water play essential roles not only for their influence on eruption characteristics but also for the pressure build-up processes during an inter-eruptive period. In addition, a hydrologically impermeable and electrically conductive clay layer that seals fluids to form a pressurised hydrothermal reservoir is an important player in wet eruptions.

In such an environment, changes in the reservoir conductivity or magnetisation are readily envisaged. This session focuses on the Electric/Magnetic monitoring studies aiming at forecasting wet eruptions, and studies on the subsurface structure in terms of electric (conductivity) and magnetic (magnetisation) properties. Novel monitoring techniques and/or augmented applications of existing techniques, such as the continuous/repeated measurement of the conductivity, self-potential, aeromagnetic field monitoring using UAVs, as well as the long-term monitoring studies based on conventional methods, are encouraged to join in this session. Studies based on other kinds of monitoring that are performed in parallel to the E/M are also welcome.

Since the first volcano observatory was built more than 100 years ago, we have accumulated a wealth of monitoring data. Such an abundance of data presents exciting challenges because multiple datasets with multiple parameters must be combined to provide real-time insights into volcanic hazards by tracking subsurface processes such as magma and hydrothermal fluid migration. This session invites contributions on the analysis and interpretation of monitoring techniques and interpretation methods for the purpose of forecasting volcanic activity.


Instrumented unoccupied aerial systems ("UASs" or "drones") present novel opportunities to safely enter previously inaccessible areas on active volcanoes and high-altitude volcanic plumes. Rapid advances in UAS technology in recent years, combined with the co-evolution of UAS-mountable sensors, have meant that aerial strategies are now bridging the gap between in-situ records and remote sensing. UAS applications now include aerial observation of on-going eruptions for dynamic hazard assessment, photogrammetric and thermal mapping, volcanic ash collection and in-situ gas measurements and sampling. Remotely deployable sensors are also facilitating the acquisition of long-term datasets in hazardous environments. UASs have therefore become essential tools for volcano monitoring and volcanological research. UAS-based response strategies have proved particularly effective for emergency management during a volcanic crisis. Volcanologists and emergency managers are now able to assess the state of volcanic activity and update the ever-changing topography of the volcano efficiently and repeatably, at low risk. The timely acquisition of these data is crucial for hazard propagation models and decision-making during an eruption, and thereby directly supports risk mitigation efforts. 

We invite all contributions relating to the application of UASs for scientific, monitoring and/or crisis management purposes at active volcanoes. Topics may also include, but are not limited to, development and utilization of new UAS-carried sensors or sampling devices, test cases of UAS usage in volcanology, and examples of scientific insight made possible thanks to UASs. Examples can range from individual case or proof-of-concept studies to the development of systematic strategies and best practices. This session aims to bring together researchers, pilots, developers and those who manage volcanic crises in order to discuss recent advances, new approaches and best strategies in this young discipline.  

Explosive eruptions can severely impact society and environment at different spatial and temporal scales. Injection of volcanic ash and gases in the atmosphere may dramatically affect flight safety, human health and ground transports. Tephra fallout can cause roof collapse and damage infrastructure and, together with gas emission, adverse on human, animal and ecosystem. Persistence of volcanic aerosols and sulfate in the atmosphere can strongly influence climate variability at global scale by reflecting solar radiation to space. 

Over the last two decades, the proximal and distal monitoring of volcanic eruptions has greatly improved due to technological advances of remote sensing systems and techniques. Novel satellite and ground-based instruments have been developed in order to better characterize volcanic eruption processes. Data observed at higher spatial and temporal resolution, together with a synergistic use of measurements at different spectral ranges (from ultraviolet to microwave), have increased the reliability of tephra quantitative estimation. Moreover, remote sensing observations have contributed to refine and tune eruption models and better constrain explosive processes and mechanisms. Monitoring volcanic eruption in real-time now offers an effective tool for the disaster risk mitigation of community and airspace and to evaluate potential precursors connected with the preparatory phase of an eruption.

In this session, contributions on the application of ground-based and satellite-based remote sensing systems and new/improved retrieval methods for the proximal and distal monitoring of the volcanic eruptions are welcome. The aim of the session is also to promote a discussion on the future of remote sensing techniques as well as validation strategies for volcanic eruption observation and data assimilation. 

Volcanoes inject abundant quantities of gaseous species and aerosols into the atmosphere during quiescent degassing and eruptive events. These emissions are predominantly composed of H2O, CO2, sulfur compounds and hydrogen halides, coexisting with  volatile trace elements and metals. More broadly, the chemical composition and mass flow rate of volcanic gas emissions vary with a number of parameters, e.g. chemistry and initial volatile content of the magmas, the P-T-redox conditions and dynamics of magma degassing processes, and the extent of interactions with volcanic hydrothermal systems. Given the key influence of the magmatic gas phase upon the dynamics of magma ascent and eruption, monitoring volcanic emissions at the surface has become one important approach to understand how volcanoes work and to forecast eruptions in complement to seismic and geodetic survey. Furthermore, measuring the emission rate of volcanic volatile species can provide important constraints on the size of magma bodies, as well as being of crucial interest to quantify the impact of volcanism upon the atmosphere and global geochemical cycles. 
Today a great variety of instrumental tools are being operated to study and survey volcanic gas emissions from the ground, air (e.g. drone-based), and space. In particular, short-term and long-term survey of volcanic degassing are possible by using in situ multi-sensor (e.g. MultiGas) devices and remote sensing tools working at a high temporal resolution in both the IR and UV spectral domains. In this Session we invite contributions covering all aspects of recent studies and monitoring of volcanic gas emissions, aimed at better understanding magma degassing processes, at forecasting eruptions and quantifying the impact of volcanic emissions upon the atmosphere. We welcome contributions discussing how novel measurement techniques, including ground- and space-based observations, and modeling studies of volcanic degassing provide new insights into volcanic processes and atmospheric impacts at local and global scales. 

Volcano seismology requires often special consideration due to the fact that the source mechanisms as well as wave propagation effects are significantly different from conventional tectonic earthquakes. Particularly for open volcanic systems, acoustic monitoring provides additional information and constraints regarding magmatic processes. Hence, seismic and acoustic monitoring of active and dormant volcanoes remain the key element of any monitoring program undertaken by volcano observatories or research institutions. Major advances have been made in the last years allowing us to identify several categories of seismic and acoustic events, and interpret them in terms of different magmatic or tectonic processes encountered on a volcano. Attempts based on multi-disciplinary methodologies turned out to be particularly successful. 

This session is dedicated to latest developments in volcano seismic and acoustic monitoring techniques, as well as the interpretation and modelling methodology in a wider volcanological context.We invite contributions for both oral and poster presentations that deal with any aspects relevant to seismic or acoustic monitoring, new methodologies as well as case studies from a variety of volcanic settings. This includes advances in instrumentation, such as the use of fibre-optical cables and in methodologies such as Machine Learning to automate and improve the identification, characterisation  and classification of signals in volcano monitoring. 

Particularly welcome are studies that combine seismic and acoustic monitoring and modelling techniques with other disciplines such as ground deformation, gas monitoring, petrology and fluid dynamics of magmatic systems. 

Mass-wasting in volcanic environment comprises a wide spectrum of phenomena, from lateral collapse to shallow debris remobilization, representing a major threat for societies. Slope instability can affect volcano edifices and their surroundings on different time scales; slow onset phenomena characterize long-term continuous movements, whereas fast onset events comprise sudden and catastrophic events. Interpretation is challenged by complex interactions between tectonic, magmatic, fluid, and gravitational processes. Moving masses behave in different ways, depending on water content and flow rheology, from flank spreading or collapse to granular or viscous flow. Many volcanoes are located in high-precipitation environments or are covered by snow or glaciers, which exacerbates the potential for landslides, lahars and debris avalanches. Melting of snow and ice can generate flood of water that can be converted to a lahar through the incorporation of granular material. The encounter with a river or an excessive rain can progressively dilute the flow to a hyper-concentrated streamflow. At volcanoes located at or in the marine realm, slopes continue below sea level and also subaqueous volcano flanks can be prone to mass wasting, often affected by terrestrial volcano built-up and activity. All these events potentially cause severe damage to society, directly or indirectly through secondary events like tsunamis. Successful strategies for mass-wasting hazard assessment and disaster risk reduction would imply integrated methodology for instability detection, mapping, monitoring and forecasting. 

This session invites research efforts that observe, quantify, or model volcano slope movements and failure. We encourage multidisciplinary contributions that integrate field-based on-shore and submarine studies, geomorphological mapping and account collection, analysis of the formation and transport of granular and dilute flows through fluid mechanics and sediment mechanics application, with advanced techniques, as remote sensing data analysis, geophysical investigations, ground-based monitoring systems and numerical and analogical modelling of volcano spreading, slope stability and runout volcaniclastic flows. 

A major societal application of volcanology is to give an early warning of volcanic activity to reduce risks to communities. Magmatic processes occurring at depth within volcanic plumbing systems prior to, during, and after eruptions play a fundamental role in controlling the tempo and style of volcanic activity. Investigating these processes can thus lead to improved volcanic hazard assessment. These dynamic processes operate and interlink on scales of millimetres to kilometres, occur at timescales from seconds to hundreds or thousands of years, and involve complex physics and chemistry at the interface between fluid and solid mechanics. In recent years the concept of transcrustal magmatic systems has emerged to explain the temporal and chemical connection and evolution of upper crustal magma reservoirs to their lower crustal roots. Understanding the dynamics and linking the scales of processes throughout the transcrustal magmatic system is crucial to forecast its evolution towards eruption, and consequently providing accurate hazard and risk assessments. 

This session targets scientists dealing with the physical, chemical and temporal evolution of volcanic plumbing systems by using field, geophysical or geodetic observations, theoretical or analytical models, petrological and geochemical constraints, and experimental or numerical methods. 

To trigger cross-disciplinary interactions, the session aims are process-oriented and targeted at e.g.:

  • studies of solidified, eroded volcanic plumbing systems; 
  • pre-eruptive partial melting and magma generation, magma accumulation, mixing and migration of active volcanic plumbing system;
  • petrological, geodetic and geophysical reconstructions of pre-eruptive magma storage and ascent conditions, and their combination; 
  • simulations of magma storage, reservoir growth and/or transport using analogue and/or numerical modelling.    

This session is associated with the IAVCEI commission on Volcanic and Igneous Plumbing Systems (VIPS).   

Revealing the volumes, mechanics, chemistry, and temporal evolution of magma bodies in the Earth’s lithosphere, and how they contribute to its architecture and dynamics requires integration of multiple types of observations, and cross-disciplinary collaboration among geologists, geochemists, petrologists, geochronologists, volcanologists, and geophysicists. We aim to bring together researchers from across these disciplines to probe questions such as how do we:

  • detect magma bodies and determine their volume and geometry
  • quantify time-integrated chemical, mechanical, and thermal processes
  • determine the frequency of magma injections, dykes, and melt extraction events
  • interrogate minerals, glasses/melts, and volatile emissions, to constrain the timescales and location of magmatic processes
  • decipher signs of volcanic unrest with respect to magmatic processes.

We encourage researchers that study magmatic processes using field studies, geophysical observations, laboratory analysis, modelling, and/or experimental simulations on any scale to submit contributions to this session. 

Inferring the spatial and temporal stress evolution of magmatic systems, and associated magma dynamics, inherently requires the use of modelling to link monitoring surface observations to subsurface processes. Advances in computing power, coupled with improvements in the understanding of magma plumbing systems and the spatiotemporal resolution of monitoring data have enabled the development of a new generation of geophysical and geodynamic models. New models have led to better constraints on the location, volume, rate, timing and mechanisms of magma supply, storage, and failure (amongst others), and provide critical advances for eruption forecasting and hazard assessment. In this session we will explore the current and future capabilities of numerical models for constraining the stress evolution in magmatic systems. We invite contributions including, but not limited to:

  • Numerical model interpretations of surface deformation, gravity changes, and/or seismicity during volcanic unrest;
  • Conceptual and theoretical studies testing the limitations and sensitivities of model approaches;
  • Estimates of magmatic stress failure conditions;
  • Numerical approaches for forecasting eruptive activity;
  • Emerging technologies and methods;
  • Investigations addressing the broad evolution of trans crustal magmatic / mush systems.  

Hazard assessments at many volcanoes are often hampered by incomplete or poorly preserved near-source eruption records due to their burial or destruction by younger explosive activity, erosion and weathering. While evidence of large magnitude eruptions can be lost from the geological record, mid- to low-intensity explosive eruptions are most susceptible to under-recording. Gaps in the near-source volcanic record make it difficult to accurately reconstruct the eruption history of a volcano, and in particular to reliably evaluate frequency-magnitude relationships over extended timescales. 

Distal to volcanic source, tephra layers preserved in long-continuous sedimentary archives (lacustrine, marine and peat), and even the polar ice cores, all used for palaeoclimate research, provide comprehensive records of explosive volcanism, particularly when fully integrated with proximal-medial eruptive successions. While these tephra layers are routinely utilised as chronological tools to aid palaeoclimate reconstructions, many of these archives are independently well-dated (e.g., 14C, annual layer counting) providing high-precision chronological constraints on the timing and frequency of activity at individual volcanoes. Constraints on the magnitude of past eruptions can be established by mapping the distribution and thickness of tephra deposits across suites of sedimentary records and developing regional tephrostratigraphic frameworks. 

Thus analysing tephra in these archives can provide crucial constraints on the scale, tempo and ash dispersals of past explosive volcanism, including useful insights into areas repeatedly impacted by ash fall and pyroclastic flows. These tephra repositories also provide key insights into the long-term chemical evolution of volcanic centres, and how this relates to the scale and timing of explosive volcanism. In this session, we welcome contributions that focus on using the tephrochronology of terrestrial, marine and ice core archives to construct more reliable eruption histories, to better understand eruption processes and past ash dispersals and those that use this information to aid more accurate volcanic ash fall hazard assessments.   

Large collapse caldera-forming eruptions present a significant risk to humans at a global scale. Such eruptions have only been recorded through careful investigation of the pyroclastic deposits left behind, and in the case of the extreme ‘supervolcanic’ event, the last one to occur was in New Zealand ~25 thousand years ago. The pursuit of understanding caldera systems and the threat they pose to society have been ongoing for decades, but in more recent years there have been significant strides in characterizing collapse calderas through interdisciplinary geological, petrological, geophysical, and numerical modelling research. In particular, there has been an increasing focus on timescales of geologic and petrologic processes associated with volcanic unrest, and innovative geophysical techniques employed to monitor and image large restless calderas and their magmatic plumbing systems. Both the scientific and societal importance of caldera unrest research is apparent with several active multi-agency, multi-national programmes focusing on large calderas worldwide (including Aira, Santorini, Campi Flegrei and Taupo) and potential future calderas (i.e. Laguna del Maule). We invite contributions focused on scientific findings that can be used to better characterise the hazard and risk of a future large collapse caldera-forming eruption. We would like to encourage abstract submissions of an interdisciplinary nature and/or fit into the following thematic categories:

  • Multicyclic calderas- evolution of the magma system before, during and after caldera-forming eruptions
  • Defining magma in an eruptible state
  • Architecture of shallow magma reservoirs or magma bodies
  • Crustal conditioning associated with enormous volumes of shallow magma
  • Timescales and processes (magmatic and/or tectonic) leading up to or initiating eruption (i.e. when does unrest become eruption?)
  • Defining and monitoring unrest through geophysical observations
  • Unravelling the duration (days, months, years, decades) of caldera-forming eruptions through careful field and laboratory observations

Explosive volcanic eruptions are driven by rapid degassing of viscous magmas rising in the conduit and often produce substantial and sustained eruption columns (plumes).  While stable plumes may reach heights of several tens of kilometers into the atmosphere where they spread laterally as a gravity current, unstable plumes partially or entirely collapse to produce ground-hugging pyroclastic density currents. The spectrum of plume behaviours exert a fundamental control on the volcanic risk and impacts on environment and society.  For example, stable plumes are associated with reduced proximal risks but increased risk of shutdown of major aviation routes, and when the plume reaches the stratosphere, seasonal to multi-decadal impacts on climate.  The particle size distribution is initially determined by fragmentation processes in the conduit and then modulated by ash aggregation and reactions between ash particles, and volcanic and atmospheric gases entrained into the plume.  The stability and longevity of volcanic plumes is governed by a range of complex dynamics including the evolution of the size distribution of particles in the erupted mixture and also, crucially, the turbulent entrainment of atmosphere into the eruptive column which may itself be strongly affected by the particle size distribution.  These complex interactions and feedbacks have a fundamental role in: i) determining plume stability, ii) determining proximal to medial tephra fall out, iii) serving as the starting conditions for pyroclastic density currents derived from plume collapse, and iv) determining the composition, phase and vertical distribution of gases and particulate injected by the column into the atmosphere.

We invite contributions on recent advances on the topics identified above, whether these be in the form of analogue or theoretical (numerical) modelling, field-based, remote-sensing studies or any combination of these.  

We invite contributions presenting field-constrained eruptive histories of volcanoes, calderas, volcanic clusters, or arc segments delineated through integrated geologic mapping, (tephro)stratigraphy, geochronology, and geochemistry.  We also invite contributions on spatial or temporal changes (or the lack thereof) in eruptive volume, composition, or other measurable parameters at volcanic centers, overcoming the challenges and limitations to field-based studies, and the use of alternative methods to understand eruptive histories. Multidisciplinary contributions are especially encouraged.

Eruption histories are fundamental for understanding individual volcanoes and providing context for hazard assessment and mitigation, monitoring, and research.  Volcanoes are typically built over tens to hundreds of thousands of years and this record is the best guide to future behavior.  Developing comprehensive histories of active centers requires integrating (tephro)stratigraphy, field and remote mapping, physical volcanology, petrology and geochronology to understand the timing, frequency, duration, and diversity in eruptive style. Many volcanic centers lack even the most basic knowledge of their past eruptions or distribution of the resulting deposits. Even in the best cases, a volcano’s detailed eruptive history is limited by preservation, often biasing the geological record toward larger-scale eruptions. When a poorly characterized volcano reawakens, time and safety often preclude field-based studies, forcing reliance on modeling, analog volcanoes and expert elicitations to forecast the range of possible behaviors and hazards. While such methods are useful, each volcano has its individual characteristics and using proxies introduces a high level of uncertainty. Often, the number of analog volcanoes with well-characterized eruption histories is also limited. Delineating eruption histories in advance of unrest decreases uncertainty and increases the number of potential analogs available during crises at uncharacterized volcanoes.

The morphology of volcanoes and volcanic terrains contains inherent information on the wide range of geologic and geomorphic processes that construct and degrade them. Currently, a wealth of sources is available to study and quantify the morphology of volcanoes. In particular, digital elevation models (DEMs), generated from a variety of platforms and with increasing resolutions and spatial coverages (of the Earth, including the submarine and subglacial environments, and of the extraterrestrial planets), allow for detailed morphometric analysis not only of volcanic edifices but also of their individual depositional units. Geomorphological analysis can offer insight into the many aggradational and destructive processes that interact in the volcanic environment, enabling quantification of the growth and evolution of volcanoes, as well as the influence of other main agents such as tectonism and climate. This session aims at integrating and discussing the current state-of-the art of volcano geomorphology and morphometry, and welcomes contributions on:

  • Quantitative-based classifications of volcanic landforms
  • Growth and/or degradational histories of volcanoes, focusing on their morphometric evolutions with time
  • Geomorphic analysis of the emplacement processes of lava flows, lava domes, scoria cones, maars, calderas and mass flow deposits
  • Analysis of patterns and rates of erosion of volcanic landforms and the relation with climate
  • The links between volcano morphometry, the spatial distribution of vents, the magmatic plumbing system, and the tectonic setting
  • Methodological aspects, including evaluation of new datasets or DEMs, GIS routines to characterize volcanic landscapes, generation of new algorithms and application of new methodologies for morphometric studies of volcanoes
  • Analogue and numerical modeling studies focusing on the geomorphology and morphometry of volcanic processes
  • Field-based techniques and studies that quantify volcano morphology
  • The role of geomorphology and morphometry for assessing volcanic hazards

Volcano geodesy has grown into one of the major pillars of volcano surveillance and research, with tremendous utility for the assessment of volcanic hazards and understanding of subterranean magmatic processes. Surface deformation and gravity change provide insights into the location of subsurface magma reservoirs, their volumes, and their changes over time, which relate directly to the potential for future eruptive activity. Geodesy thus has a strong role to play in the interpretation of volcanic unrest, as well as investigating the magmatic and tectonic structure of quiescent volcanoes and the characteristics of hydrothermal systems.  In addition, geodetic data are increasingly used in a number of non-traditional ways, for example, detecting ash plumes and mapping lava flows. 

We encourage contributions that make use of geodetic datasets to better understand volcanic processes and associated hazards, including: 

  • Observations and interpretations of geodetic change at restless and erupting volcanoes and active hydrothermal systems    
  • Insights into quiescent volcanoes based on geodetic investigations    
  • New geodetic techniques and instrumentation    
  • Methods for exploiting the ever-increasing volume of volcano geodetic data    
  • Non-traditional uses of volcano geodetic data    
  • Application of geodetic data to volcanic hazards assessment, also taking into account the temporal scales of the different geodetic techniques     
  • Multidisciplinary studies that merge geodetic and other datasets    
  • Studies of variable scales of volcano geodetic change, from individual eruptive vents to entire volcanic arcs 

Igneous processes on Earth produce large amounts of highly evolved, low-density magmas that form stable continents, feed ore deposits, and lead to supereruptions. Better understanding processes that lead to the generation and accumulation of such large silicic magma bodies remains one of the grand challenges of the earth sciences, and requires a multidisciplinary approach that integrates field work, geochemistry, geochronology, experimental petrology, geophysics, and numerical modelling on both volcanic and plutonic lithologies. With this session, we aim to gather researchers from all those different branches of our science, and provide a forum to discuss present ideas and plan the future in our pursuit to decipher processes that are controlling large silicic magmatic systems.     

Topics include but are not restricted to:

  • Physical properties of multi-phase magmas
  • The configuration of magma storage and plumbing systems in space and time
  • The plutonic-volcanic connection
  • Cycle of activity at calderas, and recurrence intervals between eruptions
  • The influence on magma chambers and conduit processes on eruptive styles
  • Deformation mechanisms in magmas and host rocks during emplacement and eruption
  • Thermal evolution of magma reservoirs and the interaction with crustal lithologies

We would like to solicit in particular interdisciplinary studies investigating the chemical and physical evolution of magmatic systems by integrating of experimental- and/or modelling results with field- and/or analytical data. 

Lava flows build volcanic landscapes throughout the solar system and pose a hazard to communities around the world. Eruption style and dynamics determine the temporal and spatial evolution of lava flow fields, which in turn govern the evolving hazards during a crisis. Recent eruptions have demonstrated that more effective preparation for, and response to, effusive eruptions requires improved methods for monitoring and modeling eruptions, and a deeper physical understanding of flow behavior. Flow emplacement is a complex function of evolving effusion rate, evolving lava rheology, and interactions with the environment and substrate topography. The interplay of these parameters is fundamental to understanding lava flow emplacement and thus assessing, forecasting, and mitigating hazards from effusive eruptions. New observational and experimental tools, datasets, and computational resources offer exciting opportunities for progress in our understanding of lava flow emplacement, and this session seeks to provide a forum to share and synthesize these studies from across disciplines. We invite presentations on a broad range of topics, including field observations of active flows, remote sensing techniques and results, morphologic and textural analysis, analogue experiments, numerical modeling, hazard assessment, and hazard response and mitigation. Interdisciplinary studies and case study applications are encouraged.  

This session seeks to showcase investigations into the deformational behaviour, sub-surface structure and mechanical properties of caldera systems and illuminate how such systems influence the emplacement and storage of magma during periods of unrest. Caldera volcanoes are responsible for some of the largest and hence most hazardous volcanic eruptions. Questions still remain regarding the mechanics of caldera formation and the conditions under which calderas continue to deform and erupt over time. For example, a better understanding of the geophysical signals emanating from active calderas is important in the accurate forecasting of eruptions and hence models and observations of the stress and strain conditions leading to caldera unrest are vital. Furthermore, understanding of the underlying structure of calderas and the link to active dynamic processes is also of great importance in the prospecting and management of economic aspects of calderas, such as geothermal energy resources and ore deposits. Diagnosing the interplay between sub-surface magma storage, regional tectonics and caldera-associated faults is a primary goal. How, for example, do the physical and transport properties of caldera faults evolve with depth, pressure and temperature? What are the mechanisms that drive catastrophic vs incremental or progressive caldera collapse? How do models of transient magma bodies reconcile with the formation of calderas?

Here we seek contributions that present geological observations, geophysical data, experimental data and/or analytical/numerical models that offer insights into the way in which calderas form or deform over time. We especially encourage studies that adopt novel or multi-disciplinary approaches.

A lake in the crater of a volcano can be a subaerial exposure of an underlying hydrothermal system and/or a sink for rising volcanic gases. As such, active volcanic lakes present a specific set of hazards, including phreatic or phreatomagmatic eruptions, lahars triggered by lake overflow, Nyos-type limnic gas bursts and decrease in the mechanical stability of volcano flanks resulting from prolonged “acid attack” by aqueous fluids that seep into the subsurface.  Multidisciplinary approaches (e.g., geophysical and geochemical measurements and numerical and probabilistic modeling) show promise to reveal precursory signals of eruptive activity, better understand eruption mechanisms and improve hazard forecasting and mitigation.  We invite contributions from a broad range of disciplines (geochemistry, geophysics, limnology, hydrogeology) that seek to measure, monitor and model active volcanic lakes with the goals of understanding activity in the underlying volcano and hazards mitigation.

Rhyolites are the most differentiated magmas on Earth, with compositions approaching eutectic minimums– melts that can achieve complete solidification with small amounts of cooling or melting with small amounts of heating. These magmatic compositions are often evacuated in enormous volumes (10³ km³) in caldera-forming eruptions that are challenging to predict. Volcanologists rely on geochemical data from the products of these eruptions (minerals, glasses) to reconstruct magmatic histories. However, the derived records within singular eruptions can yield conflicting records. Isotopic and trace element records in mineral phases support long lifespans of silicic melts within the crust, and yet large volumes of silicic magmas are rarely observed with geophysical methods. Recent studies into crystallization kinetics and volatile profiles in melt inclusions and embayments suggest coalescence and transport from sub-solidus or near-solidus storage regions are relatively rapid. Furthermore, high precision geochronology studies (e.g., high precision Ar/Ar dating) assessing eruptive ages of voluminous silicic melts show that upwards of 100 km³ of rhyolite can be generated in <1 Kyr. These conflicting datasets lead to two diametric views: Are large volume silicic melts ephemeral, coalescing and erupting quickly after formation? Or, are large volume silicic melts stored as liquids in the crust and their coalescence is prevented by some melt or physical property? This session seeks contributions that inform on the paradoxical records issued by the products of silicic eruptions, contributions that utilize field work and age dating techniques to determine the episodicity of silicic eruptions from a caldera system, and/or perspectives brought forth by works addressing physical properties of melts and magmas (e.g., rheology, density). The goal of this session is to assemble a wide range of geochemical, isotopic and kinetic records and perspectives to better understand the timescales of silicic melt generation, storage in the crust, and ascent and evacuation. 

In more recent eruptions or volcanic events the associated risk and damage that ensued was related to the exposure to the multitude of volcanic phenomena that occur hence a focus on characterising the multiple hazards or multiple stages that an event progresses through is important for decision making. This is only just starting to be understood internationally with a departure away from static global volcano models that only characterise the single largest hazard. 

The complex dynamics, and the often unforeseen impacts, of multi- staged eruptions are poorly represented in forecasting models. We welcome all approaches that advance studies from the typical past frequency/magnitude analysis of deposit sequences produced by one (dominant) type of eruption hazard. 

We seek contributions; highlighting field studies on reconstructing detailed eruption histories that describe multi stage and multi hazard phenomena; Data quantifying the likely range, average and extremes of common and unique multi-staged eruption sequences, i.e. their interdependence, recurrence and magnitude profile, defining a volcano’s multi-stage hazard fingerprint are welcome;  How this data can then be applied to statistical and numerical methods and framework that can incorporate this data to provide comprehensive multi stage hazard assessment. 

All motion of magma and lava is controlled by its rheology. The effective viscosity of these silicate melts can vary by orders of magnitude, driving magma emplacement dynamics and controlling the eruption style of volcanoes. Understanding the processes that govern the emplacement, storage, ascent, and eruption of magma, the timescales over which these processes operate and shape the architecture of magmatic systems are important challenges in geosciences. Further, magma and lava transport often operate far from compositional chemical and textural equilibrium (e.g. under cooling, crystallization, decompression and degassing). In recent years, major advances in multiphase rheology have been made through experimentation on natural and analogue materials, computational modelling, and field studies of volcanic and plutonic systems. However, because magmatic systems are highly dynamic, and involve a complex interplay of chemical and physical processes, many core questions remain open or are only partially answered. 

This session is aimed at stimulating an in-depth discussion of magma and lava rheology in order to generate the full picture of the dynamic natural processes operating in magmatic and volcanic flows and to delineate the core theoretical and technical challenges to describing them.

Topics include but are not restricted to:

  • Physical properties of magmas and lavas (pure melt to multiphase suspension and mushes)
  • Rheological, thermal, chemical, petrological and textural evolution of magma during storage and transport.
  • Timescales of magma assembly, storage and ascent.
  • Deformation mechanisms in magmas and host rocks during emplacement and eruption.

We especially solicit interdisciplinary studies investigating the chemical and physical development of magmatic and volcanic phenomena by cross-correlation of experimental- and/or modelling results with field- and/or analytical data.

Developing monitoring strategies for the range of volcanic systems relies on an understanding of the progression of unrest towards and throughout eruption.  The evolution of volcanic unrest for any one system may take specific and repeatable paths or may proceed along many paths from one unrest event to another.  Alternatively, the occurrence of a particular observation or event may enhance some eruption outcomes and diminish others. This IAVCEI session will explore the range of persistent unrest pathways that might be exploited to reduce the impacts of volcanic eruption activity.  We will  evaluate a range of observations across major unrest episodes in order to develop a multi-parameter Generic Unrest Model.  We are particularly interested in compelling case studies with observational data such as geophysical, seismic, infrasonic, ground deformation and geochemical.   Contributions on both re-awakening volcanic systems and those that are  persistently active are particularly sought for this multi-parameter, multidisciplinary monitoring session.  We especially seek contributions which may improve unrest assessments using advanced computational approaches, e.g., those incorporating machine learning and decision support methods as a means to understanding and assessing the progression of volcanic unrest.    

Pyroclastic currents (PCs) are hot particles and gas mixtures that flow across the ground; they are initiated by different sources and triggers during explosive eruptions or gravity-driven collapses of lava domes. Interest in the hazards associated with the emplacement of PCs is justified by both the complex physics they involve and by their dangerous nature. Traditional field-based techniques for studying PCs are crucial to both improve our knowledge of their transport and deposition processes and collect datasets of the sources, extents, lateral variations and impacts of PC deposits. Moreover, recent progress with analogue, analytical and numerical models has offered noteworthy insights into the fundamental dynamics of PCs. The integration of results and constraints from field-derived data, laboratory experiments and numerical modeling is one of the main challenges for future research into the dynamics of these currents. A combination of these different techniques is vital for an accurate characterization of areas prone to such flows and their associated hazard levels, thereby reducing their future impact and risk. We invite contributions from all those involved in field-based, experimental, theoretical, numerical and related hazard studies of PCs. This session aims to draw together various contributions in order to highlight new approaches, methodologies and results. 

This session will focus on the use of geophysical methods for quantifying the distribution and composition of magma storage at active volcanic systems, as well as the application of geophysical methods for near-real-time tracking of the migration of melts and volatiles. We are especially interested in contributions that explore constraining the characteristics of active volcanic systems, e.g melt composition and volume, using interdisciplinary methods, to reduce non-uniqueness in interpretation. This could include combining or jointly inverting multiple geophysical datasets, such as magnetotelluric (MT), passive seismic, reflection seismic, magnetic, gravity, and InSAR/geodetic data.  Alternatively, such interdisciplinary approaches could integrate the use of geophysical modelling tools with independent datasets (e.g. geochemical, geological, petrological, and experimental studies) to further constrain models of the volcanic system. The main goal of such interdisciplinary studies is to advance the interpretation of magma characteristics over a single geophysical method alone. 

Volcanology has made a great advance in the last decades, becoming a modern interdisciplinary science aimed at quantifying volcanic processes and their associated hazards and impacts on society and the environment. The explosion of new techniques has reduced the prominence and perceived value of geology, despite it remains as the main source data for volcanic system, eruptions processes, and hazard modelling. In order to highlight and strengthen the role of geology as a critical foundation for modern volcanology, we propose this scientific session  under the aegis of the IAVCEI Commission on Volcano Geology, to promote research in geological aspects of volcano studies, providing a forum for discussion among researchers on new developments in geological studies in volcanology, and encouraging multidisciplinary research across the wide range of geological fields involved in volcanology. In this session  we will pay special attention to the following aspects: 1) geological fieldwork and mapping of volcanic areas as the basis for detailed volcanological and magmatic studies. 2) role of fundamental volcano geology in hazard assessment. 3) geological mapping of volcanic areas and its implication on exploration of ore deposits and geothermal resources. 4) volcano-stratigraphy in ancient and recent terrains. 5) relevance of geology in volcano modelling. 6) role of geology in understanding volcanic unrest, etc. 

The dominant form of subaerial volcanism on Earth, in terms of volcano numbers, occurs in dispersed (monogenetic) fields composed of tens to hundreds of vents. The published research catalog that focuses on these types of volcanic regions is growing, and comparisons can be made from one field to another. 

Following on to the 2020 Chapman Conference on Distributed Volcanism and Hazards, a primary goal of this session is to foster knowledge sharing and in-person discussions between the international cohort of researchers concerned with distributed volcanic fields. The topics will range from plumbing system to aerial distribution of eruptive products. By leveraging results from well-studied volcanic fields (e.g. Sierra Chichinautizin volcanic field, Auckland Volcanic Field), we can more effectively develop well-formed plans to investigate lesser known fields. In sharing our collective research of melt generation, ascent, storage, and eruption from geochemical, geophysical, and geological perspectives, the community will be poised to better forecast the location, timing and nature of eruptions in volcanic fields. 

Abstract submissions are encouraged for research at any phase of implementation – including results from mature projects to those in preliminary stages of investigation. The proposed format for this session is to include a series of oral presentations followed by a moderated group discussion and poster session. 

Understanding the sub-volcanic journey of magma from mantle source to surface and eruption in small-volume basaltic volcanic fields is critical for improved assessment of volcanic hazards. Magma transport pathways from the mantle may be direct and rapid, or more complex, involving storage and evolution and so potentially provide greater warning time of an eruption. In this session we welcome contributions that unravel the pathways and timescales of magma ascent and eruption dynamics at small-volume continental basaltic ‘monogenetic’ and ‘polygenetic’ volcanoes. The session covers studies utilising but not limited to: field observations and relations in exposed plumbing systems, geophysical imaging, paleomagnetism, the petrography and mineralogy of erupted rocks and associated xenoliths, whole-rock geochemistry and isotopes. We welcome contributions at the scale of single-volcanic centres to field-wide studies. 

Traditionally, tephrochronology is the study and use of all explosively-erupted fall deposits as isochronous marker beds primarily to link and synchronise geological and archaeological sequences or deposits. However, in recent years tephra research has become increasingly important in a wider range of geological disciplines. Advances in technologies have allowed explorative boundaries to be extended, not only increasing potential to identify tephra from proximal to ultra-distal sites (e.g. cryptotephra deposits), but also to analyse the components using a range of new methodologies (e.g. micron-scale, single shard laser ablation techniques for measuring trace elements). The results of these studies are underpinning regional to global correlations between paleoenvironmental and archaeological records. Further to these developments, tephrochronology is being used increasingly in social science applications, providing quantitative inputs for ashfall modelling, and hazard and risk assessment and mitigation, and medical research.  For this session, we invite papers from across all applicable studies involving tephrochronology. These may include scientific advances in methodologies (including cryptotephra research), and the growing use of tephrochronology across multiple disciplines, ranging from traditional applications (including paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions; archaeology) through to more novel approaches.   

In the last few decades, we progressively modified our vision of volcanic plumbing systems moving form long-lived, melt dominated, shallow magma chambers working at thermodynamic equilibrium to complex dynamical reservoirs, mainly formed by crystal mushes, where liquid dominated regions (i.e., eruptible magmas) ephemerally develop, in non-equilibrium conditions, from deep to shallow-crustal levels. Here, eruptions are triggered by a complex cascade of events involving many processes that are often non-linear and that work at different spatial and temporal scales. However, the focus on magmatic mushes within transcrustal differentiation columns has, in part, distracted from the processes involved in transport and eruption of crystal poor magmas of mafic to intermediate compositions, which do not originate in mush zones but dominate the magma budget of Earth. As in the felsic regime, mafic eruptions may be triggered through spatially and temporally non-linear processes. To capture and describe the evolution of eruptible magmas, we develop and employ methods involving a range of disciplines, including geochemistry, petrology, volcanology, geophysics, computational modeling, and mathematics. Combining these approaches, we attempt to answer the main questions associated with the study of volcanic plumbing systems. How does the melt phase evolve in space and time? How do magmas move, through percolation or fracture propagation? What are the rates of magma ascent? How does magmatic volatiles drive magma ascent, and to what degree do they influence eruptive styles? And finally, what are the timescales of pre-eruptive events? We welcome studies aimed at understanding the architecture and the evolution of the volcanic plumbing systems, in mush systems and beyond, from the widest spectrum of geological settings. 

The crystal and inclusion archives are teeming with the rich records of pre-, syn-, and post-eruptive magmatic events. Decoding these archives provides crucial links between subsurface magmatic processes and corresponding signals that may be captured by conventional volcano monitoring data. In recent years, petrologic constraints on the P-T-t-x path of magmatic systems have shed new light on the storage and assembly of eruptible magmas. The combination of timescale studies using diffusion chronometry, absolute age dating using radiogenic isotopes, improved storage depth constraints from volatile data and mineral chemistry, and fingerprinting of compositionally distinct components of the assembled magma, have led to a much more detailed picture of magmatic transit from mantle and crustal source regions of volcanoes to the surface. In this session we invite studies leveraging the petrologic narrative preserved in minerals to reconstruct magma transport, storage, and eruption conditions and timescales. We especially encourage approaches that combine mineral petrologic records with field measurements, physics-based models and geophysical monitoring signals.  

Melt inclusions (MIs) are small pockets of typically silicate melt, which become trapped inside crystals as they grow from a magma, providing a unique sample of the melt from the magmatic system. Suites of MIs are often used to reconstruct the volatile budget and degassing history of volcanic eruptions, as the mineral host acts as a pressure vessel, theoretically preventing post-entrapment modification of the volatiles. MIs can also be used to understand the conditions of ore deposit formation in plutonic systems, where the rocks are otherwise often highly altered at the surface. MIs can be difficult to analyse due to their small size, multi-phase componentry, and beam sensitive nature. Despite these challenges, there are a wide variety of existing and developing experimental and microanalytical techniques to quantify their compositions (element concentrations, isotope ratios, speciation/oxidation states, including diffusion profiles) and structure (size/type of phases). These data provide invaluable information on the changes in composition prior to eruption during magmatic processes when combined with experimental petrology and computer modelling. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly evident that various post-entrapment processes (e.g., crystallisation, bubble formation, and diffusion) change the composition and structure of MIs, which requires new methods for MI treatment and data collection/reduction. This session aims to bring together topics relating to the utility of MIs in elucidating the magmatic processes occurring prior to eruption and in relation to ore deposit formation. These include experimental studies on volatile and melt evolution prior to eruption, post-entrapment effects and how to reconstruct MI composition/structure, as well as new analytical techniques. We also welcome studies of natural MIs (especially those including complementary datasets, e.g., geophysical, experimental, diffusion chronometry, etc.) to understand plutonic and volcanic systems, from the generation of ore deposits to understanding eruption triggers and, more generally, the architecture of magmatic plumbing systems. 

Unlike their silicic counterparts, mafic eruptions are more often known for being on the low end of the intensity spectrum of volcanic eruptions. Mafic volcanism ranges from voluminous effusive lava flows to mildly explosive Strombolian and Hawaiian to highly explosive Strombolian paroxysm, subplinian and Plinian style eruptions. Rapid transitions in eruption dynamics is a common occurrence and poses a greater threat at volcanoes that are exploited as touristic attractions due to their usually predictable behavior. We have yet to fully understand the underlying processes driving explosive eruptions and rapid transitions in eruption styles at mafic volcanoes. How can nominally fluid, mafic magmas be fragmented enough to generate a Plinian eruptive column and/or emplace cubic kilometres of ignimbrites?

Quantitative field observations along with analysis of clast microtextures provide evidence for the magmatic processes driving such variety in eruption styles. This may depend on a combination of processes such as magma vesiculation, crystallization and permeable outgassing as magma ascends in a volcanic conduit during eruption. The rheological characteristics of multiphase magma may play key roles in modulating fragmentation mechanisms, eruption frequency, and intensity. Also, bubbles in magma may form magmatic foam where the foam collapse and change in eruption intensity may be explored and monitored using geophysical techniques, such as the seismic and infrasound observations. In this session, we invite innovative and multidisciplinary contributions utilizing observational (imagery and textural analyses with an emphasis on microCT), experimental, geochemical and numerical analyses along with geophysical monitoring techniques that broadly investigate source-to-surface magma transport and emplacement with a focus on the dynamic processes that lead to the variations in eruption styles of mafic magma.   

The 15 January 2022 explosion from Hunga volcano in Tonga was an eruption of superlatives. It generated the highest plume ever observed, the fastest-growing umbrella cloud, the most intense lightning, and acoustic waves that encircled the globe several times, inducing tsunami in distal oceans. This extraordinary event originated from a poorly known, andesitic volcano mostly submerged beneath the Pacific. The eruption started off modestly in Dec 2021, and there few warning signs that the shift to more intense behaviour on 13 Jan 2022 would be closely followed by the catastrophic event on 15 Jan. Many questions remain unanswered. How and why did the magmatic system undergo this step change? How much tephra, magmatic gas, and seawater was involved? What subaerial and submarine processes led to development of the unusually high plume and widespread turbidity currents? New conceptual models may be required to explain the magma assembly, eruption dynamics, and long-distance transport of pyroclasts and gas from this water-rich eruption. We invite contributions covering any aspect of this eruption, including, though not limited to:

  • Observations of the eruptive processes and their impacts
  • Modelling of magmatic processes and intensive parameters (P-T-X)
  • Microanalytical investigation of glass and crystals to define melt affinities, diffusive timescales and melt volatile content
  • Textural studies of deposits to determine transport and fragmentation mechanisms
  • Modelling of magma-water interaction, plume development, and dispersal
  • Transport of volcanic gases (SO2, sulfate aerosol, H2O) and atmospheric effects
  • Observations and modelling of turbidity currents, tsunamis, and impacts
  • Short and long-term effects on communities and the biosphere

Many volcanological systems provide a wealth of spatially and/or temporally linked data. Such data can be as simple as vent locations, or almost too complex such as geochemical signatures, grain sizes, morphology etc. These data may be at the scale of a single eruption, or the entire Quaternary. 

There is a commensurate range of models available, based on techniques as varied as multivariate analysis, point processes, control charts and Bayesian computation. Techniques such as artificial neural networks, machine learning approaches and cluster analysis are gaining prominence in geoscience disciplines. The appropriate use of these statistical tools can leverage the broad range of data into insights that refine and develop our understanding of volcanic systems.

In this session we welcome all contributions that illustrate the novel application of statistical analysis to volcanic data which provide insights into some aspect of the volcanic system. Contributions that test, evaluate and/or compare different analysis approaches are particularly welcome.   

The study of the electrical signature of explosive eruptions is emerging as a tool for real-time detection of ash emissions and for safely probing the internal structure of the eruptive column/plume during their evolution in space and time. This session will focus on volcanic electrification, volcanic lightning and the various methods by which they are studied and utilized to further knowledge of explosive eruption phenomena, ash column/plume dynamics and atmospheric microphysical processes. This multidisciplinary session seeks contributions from studies including, but not limited to: 1) Laboratory examination of electrification phenomena due to tephra and/or hydrometeor interaction, ice nucleation, and electrical discharges; 2) numerical modeling to decipher the atmospheric impacts of volcanic lightning both now and in Earth’s history; 3) remote sensing methods that use electric potential and volcanic lightning as a tool for diagnosing eruption dynamics and transitions in eruptive activity; 4)  analytical methods to identify volcanic lightning evidence in the stratigraphic record of current or previous eruptions; 5) effects of electrification on transport, deposition and remobilization of tephra.  Other methods to deduce the causes and effects of volcanic lightning are also encouraged, particularly those that are informed by other relevant disciplines outside volcanology, such as meteorology, lightning physics, and electrical engineering.   

Welding of ash and pyroclasts occurs during transport and deposition in a vast range of volcanic scenarios (e.g., lava fountaining, rheomorphic flows, block and ash flows, breccias, tuffisites), other natural systems (e.g., impact ejectas) and in engineering (e.g., welding of volcanic ash in the hot zone of commercial jet engines, etc). The wide range of pyroclast properties (size, shape, temperature, crystallinity, porosity) and conditions of pressure, temperature and shear stress, under which particle agglutination may take place influences the development and intensity of welding; yet, various models of welding in volcanic systems have been proposed with contrasting implicit or explicit interpretations (incl. whole-deposit compaction and short length-scale sintering models). Welding may influence many aspects of a volcanic deposit including emplacement dynamics, fabrics, structure, viscosity, strength, elastic properties, porosity, permeability, and erodibility (or preservation).  Several key aspects of volcanic welding remain debated and this session aims to bring together contributions from field studies, numerical modelling and experiments to communicate recent advances as well as shortfalls of our models, fostering discussions aiming to resolve these current conundrums.\


Volcanic eruptions impact Earth’s climate and environment on a range of temporal and spatial scales. Large volcanic eruptions cause global cooling, and can affect key modes of climate variability, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, El Niño, and monsoon systems.  Since the beginning of the 21st Century, a series of smaller eruptions have significantly increased the stratospheric aerosol background and may have slightly slowed the rate of global warming.  Efforts at climate prediction on seasonal, annual, and decadal scales need to incorporate the effects of volcanic eruptions in their prediction schemes along with oceanic interactions to produce skillful forecasts. In addition, in a rapidly changing climate, it is important to understand how climate change may affect processes that govern volcanic impacts on climate and societies, such as the frequency-magnitude distribution of eruptions, the dispersion of volcanic ash and gas, or the chemical and microphysical processes controlling the lifecycle of volcanic aerosol particles and their radiative effects.

This session welcomes papers on the broad range of effects of volcanic activity on weather, climate, and the environment. This includes, but is not limited to, i) studies improving our understanding of past climate-volcano interactions, such as the role of volcanic eruptions in the onset of the Little Ice Age; ii) plans and methods for incorporating observations and models to produce weather and climate forecasts following future eruptions, and iii) contributions showing evidence or building hypotheses on how climate change may affect volcanic eruptions and their climatic effects. We also welcome contributions focusing on the understanding of specific processes (e.g., remote sensing of eruptions, or the chemical and microphysical processes that govern the evolution of volcanic aerosols) and on the societal relevance of climate-volcano interactions. 

The chemical and isotopic systematics of fluid discharges from active volcano-hydrothermal systems are powerful tools for investigating hydrogeology, temperature, pressure and redox conditions of volcanic and geothermal systems. The utility of fluid and gas geochemistry spans a wide array of applications, from understanding the source of geothermal systems, investigating the controls on ore formation, and as an early and indicator of volcanic unrest.

The goal of this session is to bring together scientists from a broad range of disciplines (e.g. experimental petrology, economic geology, melt inclusion studies, volcano-gas and geothermal fluid geochemistry) to elucidate processes of mass and energy transfer in active volcano/magma-hydrothermal systems with implications for hazards, geothermal and mineral exploration. We particularly invite discussion on how to improve volatile budget estimations, advancements in volatile analysis, constraining the behaviour of volatiles at depth, as well as transport of major and metallic elements between magma, gas and ore deposition.


Building Volcanic Hazard Resilience Communities: encompassing individual and community preparedness, risk perception, citizen science, adaptation to risk (and understanding of), risk management. 

Many communities around the world face volcanic hazard risk that must be accommodated in national and local Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies. One component of this work has focused on readiness (or preparedness) and adaptation. Readiness strategies seek to facilitate the capacity of people, both individually and collectively, to mitigate their risk and to be able to anticipate, cope with, adapt to, and recover from hazard event consequences, and to do so prior to such events occurring. Readiness strategies seek to increase the likelihood of households and communities being able to respond in planned and functional ways during periods of volcanic unrest and eruptions, rather than being forced to react to them in ad hoc ways. Readiness and preparedness activities can also consider ‘pre-recovery’ planning and activities, and thus look beyond just the initial response phase of a crisis.

In this session, we are seeking contributions that outline case study examples, primary research, or systematic reviews, encompassing research and practice examples on individual and community preparedness, adaptation, risk perception, citizen science, adaptation to risk (and understanding of), land-use planning and risk management. Approaches that explore engagement, participatory approaches, or community-led initiatives are particularly welcome.

Volcanoes and human life have been intertwined since the beginning of humankind. Human populations have settled in volcanic landscapes benefitting from fertile soils, abundant volcanic material used for tools, weapons, construction, jewellery, decorative items etc. and volcanic features like geothermal hot springs and mud pools. However, volcanic eruptions have also had catastrophic effects on communities and societies in the past, ranging from cultural change to collapse, migration, famine, societal unrest and revolution. While the style and magnitude of volcanic activity and the environmental impacts are documented in the volcanic and palaeoecological record, archaeological sites and objects, historic documents, indigenous legends and narratives hold clues to ecological, economic and social interdependencies. Combining all available evidence and different perspectives provides a holistic approach to understanding the overall impact of past volcanism, including the chronology and nature of events, pre-eruption vulnerability and post-eruption response and adaption that can help build resilience and mitigate risk in the future. Yet despite significant overlap, these aspects are typically studied by separate disciplines, with volcanologists focusing on the physical record of past and present volcanic activity to assess potential future eruption scenarios and hazards, tephrochronologists help to date archaeological contexts and use tephra or cryptotephra deposits additionally to connect such records chronologically with paleoecological records, while archaeologists, historians and anthropologists investigate pre-historic to present-day cultural and social aspects.

This session aims at bringing together interdisciplinary researchers to bridge this gap and provide a catalyst for future collaborations across these fields of research. We invite contributions that combine volcanological, tephrochronological, palaeoecological, pedologic, archaeological and anthropological methods to explore timing and style of volcanic eruptions and associated hazards as well as the relationship between humans and volcanism, from indigenous perspectives, materials, culture, and multiple-source records of environmental and human/cultural interdependence with volcanogenic changes in landscapes, ecosystems, and social memory.

Communities living in a given country have their own customs and characters as represented by their culture. These cultures vary from country to country and even from region to region within a given country. Local wisdom of a community in a region can be present in the form of sound, habit, knowledge, ethics, understanding, activities and faith. Local wisdom is a strong value of a community that is implemented in daily lives to facilitate and produce a better life. Traditional knowledge and activities as part of cultural lives are maintained and evolve through generations.

Our scientific understanding of how volcanoes work and the types of hazards they might present, continues to improve. Volcanic eruptions however occur all around the world with each location having their unique characteristics of local communities. The use of local wisdom in the disaster preparedness process is recognised as the best way to encourage local people to build a more resilient community. People in their own region have developed their own characteristics and strengths to deal with their problems and the volcanic hazards that can impact their lives. Exploring and understanding local wisdom to empower the community is thus an important pathway to better understanding the volcanic risk and to improving community awareness. To implement such local wisdom, visitors from outside the community need to understand the background, language, ethics, and values of local perspectives; otherwise the process and result will degrade the character of the community.

The objective of this session is to bring together examples of working in and with local communities from regions around the world to learn about how local wisdom is harnessed for volcano understanding and disaster preparedness. We invite papers to highlight local wisdom as the strength of the community to encourage and empower the community in volcano disaster mitigation.

The indigenous voice in science has often been rendered invisible, marginalised despite the long-established presence of values, languages and practices in volcanic regions. The United Nations has developed a general understanding that the indigenous people ‘self- identify as indigenous or first nations, at the individual level and accepted by the community as their member. They have intergenerational continuity with pre-colonial societies, and established unbroken connections to volcanic territories and surrounding natural resources. The indigenous peoples have formed distinct social, economic or political systems; and language, culture and beliefs. Consequently, indigenous peoples have developed, stored and transmitted languages and knowledge which express their distinct relationship with the volcanic landscape. Critical to this relationship is the connection and sustainable care of the environment. The well being of the environment is synonymous with the economic, cultural and spiritual health of the people. (United Nations).

In the face of increased volcanic activity, there are demands to broaden the paradigms of mainstream volcanic science through inclusion of the indigenous voice. This interactive and practical session allows authentic grassroots indigenous people to share their volcanic science through the United Nations Education, Scientific, Cultural Organisation’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage modalities. Presentations can include rituals, performing arts, arts and crafts, practical wisdom, storytelling, references to buildings and monuments, linked to their worldview, experience, knowledge and practice of the volcanic landscapes. In particular we draw upon New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi principles to invite submissions about unique governance and management of volcanic landscapes, innovative ways volcanic products are utilised, and finally, how cultural knowledge of volcanism and the volcanic landscape is generated and transmitted.

Knowledge co-production is a well-established concept and is increasingly used to help tackle complex global challenges. Drawing on multiple knowledge sources and capacities increases the relevance and application of science for society. Opening up definitions of knowledge has the potential to transform understandings of the natural world. The co-production of knowledge as part of research programmes and other initiatives can include physical and social scientists; communication and engagement specialists; partners including indigenous populations; local communities; and stakeholders such as local government, emergency management and lifeline agencies.

This session will be co-convened by scientists, indigenous researchers, and emergency managers. It aims to provide a platform for participants to share how they have approached the co-production of knowledge across multiple parties, including those who are directly affected by the knowledge, to produce outcomes that are more tangible and meaningful for the wider communities.

Descriptions of underpinning research methodologies, research design, methods successfully utilised (and why they were chosen), how relationships have been built and managed, determining the level of influence on the spectrum of participation, general learnings from experiences, discussions of ethical considerations, and evaluation of co-produced research programmes are all welcome. Sharing experiences of how a co-production approach has changed the way of undertaking research, and any surprising insights gained using this approach are especially encouraged. We welcome participation from anyone involved in the co-production of knowledge (especially stakeholders/partners; indigenous community leaders, researchers; and community group members).

People have been living with volcanism for millennia. Prior to the advent of literacy, knowledge of volcanic eruptions and their associated hazards were communicated and passed down through generations via oral traditions. The potential of traditional knowledge has been largely overlooked by western science but is invaluable for developing a full understanding of volcanic histories, their impacts on society and the environment, and the effective communication of volcanic hazards. This session welcomes contributions that integrate oral and scientific knowledge of volcanoes from historical, anthropological and volcanological sources to enhance our understanding of volcanic histories and contemporary management of volcanic hazards.



Volcanic systems are a common source of heat that may represent an important potential target for geothermal exploration purposes. In particularly, the study of calderas is of great relevance because these volcanoes consist of large volcanic structures (with depressions usually larger than 2 km in diameter) associated with voluminous magmatic reservoirs that have protracted residence times. The finding of the most favorable thermal conditions in calderas to develop a long-lasting geothermal reservoir is a challenging task that requires a solid geologic knowledge based on a comprehensive integration of their volcanologic, magmatic and structural evolution in order to reveal their internal structure and unravel the evolution of the magmatic plumbing system and the permeability conditions that allow the ascent of hot fluids to the surface. Regardless of the large number of contributions on this field, we recognize it is far to be well understood, and therefore we still need to learn how the associated geothermal system is originated and developed through time. 

Many magmatic systems have the potential to provide a sustainable source of geothermal energy, a clean, low-carbon footprint, and cost-effective source of renewable energy. Economic extraction of geothermal heat in these systems depends on a combination of variables that include water recharge, reservoir permeability and access to the heat source. Characterizing and quantifying the interplay between these variables is essential for geothermal energy development and sustainability. While providing a sustainable source of energy, heat extraction in geothermal systems must include mitigation of potential environmental impacts and risk assessments associated with geothermal plant operations.

This session will cover a broad range of topics, including, but not limited to, techniques used to characterize and quantify geothermal resources, models of heat and mass transfer, spatial and temporal characteristics of reservoir permeability, delineation of geological structures, resource management, environmental and/or societal impacts, direct geothermal use, community outreach and hazards associated with geothermal energy production. The goal of this session is to bring together scientists from a range of disciplines (e.g. geology, geophysics, geochemistry, numerical modelling and resource management) to discuss challenges to, and/or advancements in, process-based understanding, technologies, resource management and sustainability of geothermal systems.

Worldwide research endeavours are exploring the potential for targeting and harvesting geothermal energy from greater depths and temperatures. Volcanic provinces offer the greatest potential to encounter unconventional geothermal resources where temperature or temperature and pressure conditions exceed the critical point of water (supercritical fluids) at shallow depth in the Earth’s crust as evidenced in several active geothermal systems worldwide including Krafla, Nesjavellir and Reykjanes (Iceland), The Geysers and Hawaii (USA), Lardarello (Italy), Los Humeros (Mexico), Menengai (Kenya), Kakkonda (Japan). These resources could generate an order of magnitude more energy per well than from conventional geothermal reservoirs. While some current projects focus on utilizing supercritical fluids some others explore the possibility of drilling into magma directly. In this session we are welcoming abstracts looking at increasing scientific knowledge of the magmatic-hydrothermal transition in order to better understand future geothermal resources as well as magmatic and hydrothermal processes. 

Volcanic activity - from passive degassing to effusive and explosive eruption - affects the environment on a range of spatial and temporal scales. The emissions of gases, aerosols, tephra and lava can have direct and indirect effects, potentially involving complex interactions and feedbacks within and across different environmental compartments. Ongoing interdisciplinary research to describe these effects, to unravel their underlying controls and mechanisms, and to predict their wider implications is essential to improve understanding of the links between volcanism and environmental change. This session broadly welcomes studies on the acute or chronic impacts of volcanic emissions (e.g., gases, aerosols, tephra, lava) within atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic environments. This may relate, for instance, to processes influencing atmospheric composition (e.g., heterogeneous chemistry, cloud formation, ice nucleation) or biogeochemical cycling of elements (e.g., silicate weathering, soil carbon storage, ocean iron fertilisation). From large igneous provinces and super-eruptions of the geological past to various-magnitude events of the present day, we aim to bring together a wide range of researchers using field, laboratory and modelling approaches to better understand volcano-environment interactions, from local to global scales. 

Geothermal energy and ore deposits are two of our most important natural resources.  Already developed worldwide, geothermal energy is frequently related to active volcanism and active ore-forming environments. Volcano-geothermal systems are frequently related to the presence of the heat source generated by volcanic activity and characterized by heterogeneous changes and variations of temperature, pressure, chemistry, and permeability. The fluids are a source of hazard, a resource of both geothermal energy and mineral deposits, a potential indicator for volcanic unrest, and a habitat for life. Understanding and quantifying the dynamic of the physicochemical processes in these systems is necessary for the development of monitoring systems, for successful resource exploration. The goal of this session is to bring together scientists from a broad range of disciplines including volcanology, fluids geochemistry and geophysics of geothermal volcanic areas, in order to produce the most valuable conceptual models of the geothermal fields. Natural ore resources are increasingly scarce on our planet, for this reason, the ability to find new ones, and to optimize the exploitation of the ore deposits already known, is of fundamental importance for a more correct interaction of man with the Earth system. Volcanology plays an important role in this matter as often ore deposits are related to volcanic areas. Case-history on this subject are welcomed. 

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