Abstract This chapter presents a collection of first-generation Swiss geologists, who, around 1900, went abroad in order to work for oil organizations, both public and private. With the rise of oil exploration after 1900, the demand for experienced oil geologists grew rapidly. Oil companies started hiring trained geologists from different parts of the world, which led to an increasing number of Swiss geologists finding employment abroad. One of the first to start his career abroad was Carl Schmidt (1862–1923) from Basel, highly esteemed and later renowned for his achievements as a teacher of younger oil geologists. Another was Josef Erb (1874–1934), who accomplished an unparalleled career at Royal Dutch Shell. Other examples include Hans Hirschi (1876–1964), who worked for the Union des Pétroles d’Oklahoma for a few years, and Arnold Heim (1882–1965), working nearly 50 years for major oil companies. Many more followed over the decades to come, so that virtual successions took place between them: specific territories and specific companies were ‘handed down’ between geologists of the same nationality. Where once the Swiss were employed, others took over; the pioneers acted as door-openers for future generations.

Abstract The LUSI mud volcano in the sub-district of Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia started to erupt on 29 May 2006. An almost continuous eruption of a mixture of mud, water and gas has occurred around this area since this date. The eruption triggered vertical and horizontal ground deformation. From June 2006 to December 2010, 14 global positioning system campaigns were conducted to observe the ground deformation using c . 50 stations sparsely located up to 10 km from the eruption centre. Field observations of cracks, terrestrial laser scanning and geo-electrical measurements have also been used to infer the ground deformation signature around the LUSI mud volcano. More than 150 pairs of interferograms generated from 66 ALOS PALSAR images from June 2006 to December 2009 have also been used to study the ground deformation caused by the LUSI mud volcano. The LUSI mud eruption began only 200 m from where the Lapindo Inc. oil company was drilling for oil and gas. The drilling may have pierced a deeper high-pressure zone, causing an underground blow-out of the drillhole into a hydrofracture. Alternatively, the magnitude 6.3 Yogyakarta earthquake, which was located c . 275 km from the eruption site and occurred two days before the LUSI eruption, may have shaken the area sufficiently to cause the eruption by reactivating a fault in the region and liquefying the mud. These two hypotheses for triggering the mud volcano have been argued vehemently and still remain controversial. The ground deformation signatures provide important clues to understanding the trigger for the eruption and to solve this controversy. Co-seismic fault reactivation has its own typical ground deformation signature. This study used global positioning system and InSAR techniques, as well as field observations of cracks, terrestrial laser scanning and geo-electrical measurements, to determine the signature of ground deformation around the LUSI mud volcano and to explain the triggering mechanism.

Abstract Many volcanoes around the world are poorly monitored and new eruptions increase the need for rapid ground-based monitoring, which is not always available in a timely manner. Initial observations therefore are commonly provided by orbital remote sensing instruments at different temporal, spatial and wavelength scales. Even at well-monitored volcanoes, satellite data still play an important role. The ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer) orbital sensor provides moderately high spatial resolution images in multiple wavelength regions; however, because ASTER is a scheduled instrument, the data are not acquired over specific targets every orbit. Therefore, in an attempt to improve the temporal frequency of ASTER specifically for volcano observations and to have the images integrate synergistically with high temporal resolution data, the Urgent Request Protocol (URP) system was developed in 2004. Now integrated with both the AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) hotspot monitoring programmes, the URP acquires an average of 24 volcanic datasets every month and planned improvements will allow this number to increase in the future. New URP data are sent directly to investigators responding to the ongoing eruption, and the large archive is also being used for retrospective science and operational studies for future instruments. The URP Program has been very successful over the past decade and will continue until at least 2017 or as long as the ASTER sensor is operational. Several volcanic science examples are given here that highlight the various stages of the URP development. However, not all are strictly focused on effusive eruptions. Rather, these examples were chosen to demonstrate the wide range of applications, as well as the general usefulness of the higher resolution, multispectral data of ASTER.

Abstract Infrared (IR) satellite-based sensors allow the detection and quantification of volcanic hot spots. Sensors flown on geostationary satellites are particularly helpful in the early warning and continuous tracking of effusive activity. Development of operational monitoring and dissemination systems is essential to achieve the real-time ingestion and processing of IR data for a timely response during volcanic crises. HOTVOLC is a web-based satellite-data-driven monitoring system developed at the Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand (Clermont-Ferrand), designed to achieve near-real-time monitoring of volcanic activity using on-site ingestion of geostationary satellite data (e.g. MSG-SEVIRI, MTSAT, GOES-Imager). Here we present the characteristics of the HOTVOLC system for the monitoring of effusive activity. The system comprises two acquisition stations and secure databases (i.e. mirrored archives). The detection of volcanic hot spots uses a contextual algorithm that is based on a modified form of the Normalized Thermal Index (NTI*) and VAST. Raster images and numerical data are available to open-access on a Web-GIS interface. Tests are carried out and presented here, particularly for the 12–13 January 2011 eruption of Mount Etna, to show the capability of the system to provide quantitative information such as lava volume and time-averaged discharge rate. Examples of operational application reveal the ability of the HOTVOLC system to provide timely thermal information about volcanic hot spot activity.

Extract from beginning of chapter: ON THE SEA Once more [mid-summer 1914] the sea: the luxury of a long rest in open air on a comfortable vessel, of an ample stateroom to one's self on the upper deck of a clean, German steamer, the Princess Alice . 1 After the confusion and fatigue of long railroad journeys, I enjoyed three weeks of repose and physical inaction under most favorable conditions—the wonderfully blue Mediterranean, brilliant skies, the coast of Italy, Stromboli, the Aeolian Islands, a close view of Messina (not yet recovered from the great earthquake); long days of calm seas and fair breezes; and just enough sociable companions to avoid the monotony of loneliness. Port Said and the canal [Suez] broke the monotony of the sea, but without the fascination of the previous passage by moonlight after the wonderful coloring of an afternoon at Suez. This time the Red Sea was reached before daylight, and the Egyptian coast was shrouded in haze. The trip to Aden was memorable for the temperature, which grew hotter until we passed the island of Sokotra and caught the southwest monsoon sweeping up the east African coast. It was the middle of July, that terrible month in which the venom of an envious hate was infecting the dogs of war about to be loosed upon Europe and the world at large. Long swells across the Indian Ocean, and periods of doubtful equilibrium; ashore at Colombo in Ceylon to enjoy flowering trees and the sight of palms; another stretch of ocean; and