Abstract One of the most difficult problems we face in assessing volcanic hazards is that of evaluating the potential activity of volcanoes with little or no record of Holocene eruptions. Is there some minimum period of inactivity after which we can safely rule out a future eruption of large magnitude? Or, failing that, can we say how likely it is that such a volcano will return to activity within a particular span of time? Violent explosive eruptions are uncommon during the youthful stage of active growth. They are confined almost entirely to large mature volcanoes. Here, we use the global record of volcanic activity ( Simkin & Siebert 1994 ) to evaluate the duration of repose intervals preceding such explosive volcanic eruptions. This analysis indicates that the hazard rate for explosive eruptions is not constant with time, but depends on the time since last eruption and that explosive eruptions may occur at volcanoes that have been quiescent for 10 ka or more. The techniques we employ are common to a class of problems in survival analysis ( Cox & Oakes 1984 ; Woo 1999 ), and can be applied to a variety of hazard problems on volcanoes (e.g. Hill et al. 1998 ; Connor et al. 2003 ; Calder et al. 2005 ). One of the major lessons of this type of analysis is that applied statistical methods can teach us much about the time scales of volcanic activity, and about the underlying physical mechanisms governing these.

The Aeolian Islands form one of the most active geological structures in the Mediterranean area, comprising a number of active (Stromboli and Vulcano) and dormant (Panarea and Lipari) volcanoes. They have attracted the attention of scientists in modern and historical times and are the cradle of the scientific discipline of volcanology. This Memoir provides information on geological features of the Aeolian Islands volcanoes at a regional scale and for each island. The stratigraphy, structural evolution, eruptive and magmatic history of the Islands is presented, along with the geodynamic setting of the Aeolian volcanism and implications for magma origin and evolution processes. Particular focus is given to the active and dormant volcanoes and the related natural hazards. It includes new 1:10 000-scale geological maps of the Aeolian Islands and bathymetric maps of sectors of the Aeolian archipelago, together with an extended dataset of rock compositions.

Abstract At present, heat in the form of volcanic steam from dormant volcanoes is used for electric power generation in Japan. However, it may eventually be possible to make direct use of heat (the thermal energy is most significant) from active volcanoes; but the necessary techniques must be developed. In early Miocene time, Japan apparently entered into a new stage of geologic evolution. Subsidence, violent volcanism, and some igneous intrusion took place rather suddenly on land, and the Miocene sea began to transgress and finally covered almost all of Japan. The deep depression of Fossa Magna formed and separated northeast Japan from southwest Japan. In the Pleistocene, the sea largely regressed, but volcanism has continued to the present, and many volcanic cones and lava plateaus have been constructed. The writers have estimated the heat generated and discharged since the earth was formed. The total energy gain during the earth's evolution is 4.9 × 10 38 ergs (accretion, 2.5 × 10 38 ergs; formation of core, 1.5 × 10 38 ergs; radioactive energy emitted by the long-lived radioactive elements, 0.93 × 10 38 ergs). The energy lost from the earth's interior during the 4.5-billion-year period is estimated as 2.9 × 10 38 ergs, of which mantle convection accounts for 2.1 × 10 38 ergs. Most of the heat brought from the upper mantle into the earth's crust is expended in orogenesis, continental drift, and heat flow from the surface. Volcanoes, hot springs, etc., represent a relatively small part of the total heat discharged. However, the amount of energy discharge by volcanic activity in Japan still is large enough to make it worthwhile to try to utilize the steam energy from volcanic sources. Heat-flow values in wells in geothermal areas in Japan are 30–40 HFU at shallow depths and 4–5 HFU at depth. The average is 12–13 HFU. Surface-temperature patterns and geothermal-gradient distributions were used in making assumptions about thermal conductivities. The differences between so-called "running mean values" were used, and spherical sources were assumed for the heat-source models. Some significant correlation of heat-flow anomalies with past igneous centers can be demonstrated.

Abstract The geology of the petroleum-bearing parts of Myanmar (essentially the western part of the country) is dominated by the oblique collision between the fixed Sunda Plate in the east (itself a mosaic of Gondwana-derived blocks, and since the Mesozoic a part of the much larger Asian or Eurasian Plate; Fig. 2.1) and the north-moving India Plate (e.g. Curray et al. 1979; Mitchell 1993; Curray 2005; Socquet et al. 2006; Steckler et al. 2008; Hall 2012; Rangin et al. 2013). Before considering the origin of the component parts of Myanmar it is necessary to identify the main structural units that now comprise the western part of the country. Figure 2.1 shows the importance of the Sagaing Fault and its possible offshore continuation in separating the Burma Platelet from the Sunda Plate to its east. Here we follow the terminology of Rangin et al. (2013) in choosing to call this the Burma Platelet, although earlier it was called the Burma Plate by Curray et al. (1979), the Indo-Burma-Andaman Block by Acharyya (1998) and the West Burma Plate by others (e.g. Hall 2012; Metcalfe 2013). The platelet is complex and is discussed further below, but one of its obvious features is the discontinuous belt of dormant volcanoes and granitoid intrusions running down the Central Burma Depression and dividing that major downwarp into forearc and back-arc tectonic domains (Wang et al. 2014). The cones of Mount Popa and Mount Taungthonlon (Fig. 2.1) are among Myanmar’s highest peaks, and the volcanic arc reappears in the Indian sector of the Andaman Sea as the active strato-valcanoes of Narcondam and Barren islands (Bandopadhya et al. 2014) before joining the volcanic arc of Sumatra.

Two sets of learning activities in Google Earth were developed for use by geoscience majors and non-science majors. The first activity aimed to foster undergraduate students' understanding of the geography and basic geology of Iceland. We tested the efficacy of this activity for learning with 300 undergraduates from a university in the southeastern part of the United States. In terms of post- versus pre-test scores we found: (1) overall learning gains when collapsing over type of prior knowledge and gender, (2) no differences in learning gains when comparing those with prior coursework in geology or geography to other students without such prior coursework, and (3) no differences in learning gains when comparing males and females. In terms of items completed during the lab exercise, again we found no differences by prior coursework (prior geology, prior geography, or none), and no differences by gender. Lastly, moderate positive correlations were found between students' pre-test and post-test scores, as well as between students' embedded lab scores and post-test scores. For the second activity, we developed a laboratory activity about the classic Tonga region of the west Pacific in order to support undergraduate students' understanding of: (1) the physical geography of the Tonga Subduction System, (2) the dynamic geological processes involved in plate movement, subduction, magmatic arc evolution, and trench rollback, and (3) geological processes resulting from subduction, including volcanism, and earthquake formation. Using the program called Sketch-Up, we created 3-D COLLADA (three-dimensional COLLAborative Design Activity) models that are viewable as four-dimensional animations in the Google Earth API (application programming interface; a web-based version of Google Earth) to help demonstrate several geophysical processes. These animations potentially have a wide range of learning application from basic to more abstract ideas. Specifically, the learning objects created involve the Pacific Plate subducting underneath the Australian Plate in the Tonga Region. These are designed to help show subduction, active and dormant volcanoes, back-arc spreading, trench rollback, and migration of the tear point that marks the northern termination of the subduction system. We tested the efficacy of this activity with 127 undergraduates from a university in the southeastern part of the United States. In terms of post- versus pre-test scores we found: (1) overall learning gains when collapsing over type of prior knowledge and gender, (2) no differences in learning gains when comparing those with prior coursework in geology or geography to other students without this prior coursework; and (3) no differences in learning gains when comparing males and females. For the lab activity itself, we found no differences by prior coursework (geology and/or geography versus none), but found a gender difference favoring males; however this learning did not show up as statistically significant at post-test (as previously mentioned). Lastly, moderate positive correlations were found between students' pre-test and lab scores. Data is discussed with respect to Google Earth's utility to convey basic geoscience principles to non-geology undergraduates and its potential impact on public understanding. This is important and aligned with many current educational reform efforts (the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science Education Standards), which call for broader scientific literacy.