• Question: What made you want to study volcanoes?

    Asked by sianiscool to James V, Davie, Gemma, James P, Nuala on 23 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by hannahisawesome, 09abatson, russia, nacer, ellievines, bhavinamistry.
    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 23 Jun 2012:

      Easy one – because volcanoes are cool!!! Seriously, volcanoes are amazing, you can really appreciate the full force of nature when you see what volcanoes can do.

      Also, it’s really important to understand them – volcanic disasters can be devastating, so understanding them can help save lives.

      Finally, volcanoes are pretty complicated, so we’re a long way from fully understanding them. That makes my job challenging, and I think it’s important to do a job that is challenging, it keeps you on your toes and never gets boring.

    • Photo: Gemma Purser

      Gemma Purser answered on 26 Jun 2012:

      Hi sainiscool,

      I dont study volcanoes like the others but I agree with James, they are really cool things!

    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Hi sianiscool,

      I don’t work on volcanoes now, but I did work on one during my undergraduate, investigating an eruption in Iceland from a volcano, called Laki. What I loved about Laki was that in 1783 it erupted and covered all of Europe in a blanket of acidic haze, which affected everyone’s lives (damaging or destroying crops) and altered the climate of Europe for that year. I think it’s this incredible power of volcanoes that makes them so interesting and if I could, I’d return to study volcanoes affects on climate in the future!

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