Volcanoes as Tectonic Hazards

About the lecture

In this lecture, the focus is on beginning to understand volcanoes in relation to their tectonic setting and how it influences their behaviour. To begin, we take a look at the Earth’s tectonic plates, with varying boundaries and how they play a crucial role in determining the nature of volcanoes found at those plate boundaries. We take a look at the structure of volcanism at subduction and divergent zones, and how their structure influences the characteristics of a volcano.

About the lecturer

Professor Matthew Watson is a Professor of Volcanoes and Climate in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. His research involves inversion of remotely-sensed data to retrieve physical parameters of volcanic plumes and clouds over several spatial scales, using both ground- and satellite-based techniques. These include ultraviolet (DOAS) and thermal infrared (ASTER) gas spectroscopy, and visible, near infrared (Sun-photometers) and thermal infrared aerosol retrievals (MODIS, AIRS).