Out of the Crater
Chronicles of a Volcanologist
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- £23.99
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- £23.99
Publisher Description
Volcanologists venture to treacherous volcanoes the world over in the pursuit of their science. They work around craters of boiling magma and amidst smoke, flames, scorched rocks, and clouds of noxious gases--balancing personal risk against advancing knowledge about one of nature's most dangerous and unpredictable forces. Richard Fisher, a world-renowned volcanologist, has had more than forty years of experience in the field. In this book, he blends autobiography with clear, accessible science to introduce readers to the basics of volcanology and to the wonders of volcanoes that he has studied and learned to both fear and admire.
In the course of the book, we follow Fisher as he descends into the steaming crater of the Soufri re Volcano on the island of St. Vincent, as he conducts research on lava flows on the desolate south shore of the Island of Hawaii, and as he struggles to understand the explosion at Mount St. Helens. We learn about his pioneering work on pyroclastic flows and surges--the hurricanes of gases, molten lava, and volcanic debris that cause most of the death and destruction when volcanoes explode. He tells of solving a historic scientific problem at Mount Pelee, Martinique, where 29,000 people were killed in a pyroclastic flow in 1902. Fisher also offers a volcanologist's view of the explosion of Mount Vesuvius that devastated Pompeii and Herculaneum. He writes about the cultural rewards and challenges of conducting research in isolated areas of such countries as Argentina, Mexico, and China. And he discusses the early influences that steered him toward volcanology--including his army experiences as a witness to two atom-bomb explosions at Bikini atoll.
Out of the Crater is written in an inviting, nontechnical style. With its deft combination of personal stories and scientific information, it is an inspiring account of a remarkable life and a compelling examination of some of the most spectacular forces shaping the face of the Earth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fisher, a geologist and volcanologist, has spent the last half century hopping the globe, studying volcanoes and volcanic rocks. This informal account of his fieldwork, though at times workmanlike and pedestrian, is for the most part a remarkable and enlightening adventure. Fisher's memoir boasts an itinerary that encompasses the Caribbean island of Martinique, where Mount Pelee--whose explosion in 1902 wiped out St. Pierre's 29,000 residents--is continually monitored; China's eastern coast, not yet open to foreign tourists when he tours it in 1985; and Hawaii's Puu Hou, a gigantic mound of volcanic particles, created in 1868 when magma flowing from Mauna Loa into the cold Pacific explosively sprayed the land with lava. Readers who think volcanoes are confined to exotic, far-off places should stay the course with Fisher: in central France, he visits a field of active volcanoes near the city of Clermont-Ferrand; in Germany, he explores Laacher See, a lake inside a volcanic crater; in Italy, he climbs Mt. Vesuvius, hovering over Naples and overdue for eruption. And, even closer to home: the author surveys Washington State's Mt. St. Helens three weeks after it erupted in 1980, killing 57 people, and offers potentially life-saving insights for those within killing range of future eruptions. Fisher (a professor emeritus at UC-Santa Barbara) believes that the "Gaia hypothesis," which views Earth as a complex living organism, may not be scientifically valid but nonetheless serves as a useful operative metaphor, and his guided tour indeed fosters an appreciation of our planet as a dynamic web of interrelated systems. Photos.