Preface

This book discusses the behavior of several volcanoes worldwide. It refers to those volcanoes that are quiescent and/or active and that can transform the lives of those that live around them when they erupt. The development and application of new approaches and technologies will provide new visions about how volcanoes work so that a novel volcanic model can be built.

The authors who collaborated on this project have summarized their experience and present advances related to the assessment of hazards and risks associated with volcanic parameters. The book contains five chapters that cover important research aspects of hazardous volcanology. The first chapter is an introductory chapter prepared by the editor and looks at the present state of the art of volcanology with suggestions for the future of volcanic structures and the ability to forecast volcanic eruptions.

The next chapter presents the Jos and Biu Plateaux volcanic provinces occupying the northeastern half of Nigeria, bordering the Cameroon Volcanic Line, which has a conspicuously visible number of dormant volcanoes with no reported activity. The several incidences of volcanic eruptions along and close to the Cameroon Volcanic Line are pointers to the possible reactivation of any of the dormant volcanoes in Nigeria.

Chapter 3 presents experience of Deccan volcanism at 65 Ma when it moved over the Réunion hotspot, which altered lithospheric structures below the Kachchh rift zone. To quantify the influence of Deccan volcanism on the crust-mantle, this kind of study is very important to evaluate the difference between the components participating in the formation of such magmas.

Sang Koo Hwang illustrates the evolution of the Guamsan caldera associated with the Guamsan Tuff and rhyolitic intrusions in Chapter 4 and explains the evolution and formation of such caldera.

In Chapter 5, Leonel Vega, on the other hand, puts forward a new methodology for the case of volcanic risk computation. Most of the scientific, technical, and economic effort has been oriented towards the evaluation of threats, with a number of methodological considerations for assessing vulnerability and much less risk, so that integral volcanic risk can be computed.

The final chapter by the editor Angelo Paone studies the volcanic evolution, hazards, and risks of the Somma-Vesuvius volcano.

The editor expresses his thanks to all the participants for their valuable contributions and to Ms. Nina Kalinic Babic for her assistance in finalizing the book. Acknowledgment also goes to IntechOpen staff members for their help in completing this book and other publications for free access.

> **Angelo Paone and Sung-Hyo Yun** Pusan National University, South Korea

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**Chapter 1**

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**1. Forecasting volcanic eruption**

Introductory Chapter: New

A volcano is a peculiar system where the evolution must be determined. Since a volcano is a complex and chaotic system, any volcanological information have to be taken in fully consideration in a broad volcanic model. Such task is not easy and many active and quiescent volcanoes must be watched attendally, and each volcanological parameter has to be studied and evaluate its influence on the broad hypothetically volcanic model at the unisono. This method could be a difficult endeavor,

A major issue in the study of active volcanoes is the link between eruption history, the changes in magma compositions and volumes observed on the surface, and the nature and the time scale of magma differentiation processes underground [1, 2]. It is the latter which determine the timing and the style of eruptions, and which are therefore fundamental to models of how particular volcanic systems behave and evolve, and hence determine hazard mitigation. The immediate targets are those volcanoes that are active, have a history of devastating eruptions, and are in highly populated areas. To make best use of the latest analytical technology, it is also important to work on a well-studied volcano with an established stratigraphy and rock composition. Studies of volcanic samples, experimental investigations, and theoretical modeling are providing insights into the dynamics of magmatic systems and how the plumbing system evolves with time, giving a physical framework with which to interpret volcanic phenomena. All the volcanic processes evolving before and during an eruption lead to the variation of geochemical and geophysical parameters [3]. Hence, computational and analytical facilities, instrumentation, and collection of comprehensive observational, geophysical, geochemical, and petrological datasets associated with recent volcanic activity have enormously improved our view on how volcanoes work [4]. Many active volcanoes have been studied in terms of volcanic forecasting using only some of these techniques. The challenge is to try to employ a volcanological methodology where the main chemical, petrologic, physical, and geophysical parameters are linked all together in order to build a framework where the history of magma ascent velocities, the time scales of magma differentiation, the past and present situation of the magmatic conduit, and the present state of degassing must be considered simultaneously. Such conceptual scenario can be commensurate with monitoring quiescent volcanoes, thus forecasting volcanic eruptions. The papers presented in this International Volcanological Special Issue consider the characteristic features of a single volcano and/or a province of volcanoes on earth, in terms of a future volcanic activity. The technical methods used are wide and innovative as well as traditional concerning the knowledge presented for each paper and therefore worth to study. In this book by the title "Forecasting Volcanic Eruptions," we collect some example of

Advances and Challenges

*Angelo Paone and Sung-Hyo Yun*
