Montserrat Volcano Observatory Research Articles

Distinguishing shallow from mid-crustal magmatic processes at Soufrière Hills Volcano using Finite Element Modelling and co-analysis of EDM and GPS data

We modelled ground deformation at Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), using data collected by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory from 2010–2019. We investigate the combined use of Electronic Distance Measuring (EDM) and Global Positioning System (GPS) to distinguish shallow from mid-crustal magmatic processes and their surface deformation profiles. Our results suggest that the EDM network responds predominantly to changes in the shallow magmatic system, whereas GPS records variation at mid-crustal levels. In addition, we show that the behaviour of the EDM network, and of the GPS site HERM, can be explained by underpressurisation in a shallow dyke conduit orientated NNW–SSE, while the mid-crustal system was still undergoing pressurisation. The modelled dyke may be responding to magma cooling and contraction associated with a previous intrusion. We find that geodetic monitoring coverage of multiple flanks within 1 km of the vent can improve our understanding of shallow magmatic system processes with asymmetric deformation fields.

Integration of Medical and Graduate Education with the USAT Secure SSPOC Instructional Model

Emergence of the 2019 Coronavirus pandemic posed new challenges for the delivery of medical and graduate education by Institutions throughout most of the world, as travel restrictions and regional lockdowns placed new demands never previously imposed on higher education. The University of Science Arts and Technology [USAT], located on the volcanic island of Montserrat, British West Indies began to prepare for such an eventuality since 2007 due to new volcanic eruptions. Despite 24/7 monitoring from the nearby state-of-the-art Montserrat volcano observatory, with little warning, the Soufriere Hills Volcano, located a distant 5 miles Southeast of the Campus spontaneously roared back to life in January 2007, venting clouds of volcanic ash and gas 8 kilometers (5 miles) into the sky with overflow lava and debris reaching the sea to the East and West; the volcano's lava dome continued to grow as it had since 2006, and local volcano experts worried that the rapidly growing lava dome, the mounting pressure building inside the dome could cause a catastrophic explosive eruption, and the renewed volcanic activity indicates that the volcano is now predicted to remain active well into the future. The volcanic activity caused the partial evacuation of the Island, including areas bordering the campus, resulting in the establishment of the USAT Campus satellite transmitter system [CST] in 2007. The CST enabled USAT the establishment of the first secure network on Island for the Secure Small Platform Online Course delivery network [SSPOC] and which enabled USAT to continue lecture operations uninterrupted with faculty that are highly experienced in the delivery of high quality Medical and Graduate education from both on-Island and remote locations in an efficient, timely, cost effective and highly productive and timely manner, while enabling students an on-island campus experience during periods of volcanicactivity including options for lectures, public health, epidemiology and environmental research, and selected experiences in areas of family and tropical medicine. During the current COVID pandemic and travel restriction imposed we further enhanced our on-line teaching system and secure SSPOC model, expanded International options, and as professors and students could not travel to the campus but all lectures were delivered online with absolutely no disruption or compromise in delivery of exceptional quality lectures and teaching experiences continued as if they occurred on campus.

Capturing, Preserving, and Digitizing Legacy Seismic Data from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory Analog Seismic Network, July 1995–December 2004

Abstract An eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV) on the eastern Caribbean island of Montserrat began on 18 July 1995 and continued until February 2010. Within nine days of the eruption onset, an existing four-station analog seismic network (ASN) was expanded to 10 sites. Telemetered data from this network were recorded, processed, and archived locally using a system developed by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP). In October 1996, a digital seismic network (DSN) was deployed with the ability to capture larger amplitude signals across a broader frequency range. These two networks operated in parallel until December 2004, with separate telemetry and acquisition systems (analysis systems were merged in March 2001). Although the DSN provided better quality data for research, the ASN featured superior real-time monitoring tools and captured valuable data including the only seismic data from the first 15 months of the eruption. These successes of the ASN have been rather overlooked. This article documents the evolution of the ASN, the VDAP system, the original data captured, and the recovery and conversion of more than 230,000 seismic events from legacy SUDS, Hypo71, and Seislog formats into Seisan database with waveform data in miniSEED format. No digital catalog existed for these events, but students at the University of South Florida have classified two-thirds of the 40,000 events that were captured between July 1995 and October 1996. Locations and magnitudes were recovered for ∼10,000 of these events. Real-time seismic amplitude measurement, seismic spectral amplitude measurement, and tiltmeter data were also captured. The result is that the ASN seismic dataset is now more discoverable, accessible, and reusable, in accordance with FAIR data principles. These efforts could catalyze new research on the 1995–2010 SHV eruption. Furthermore, many observatories have data in these same legacy data formats and might benefit from procedures and codes documented here.

Counterfactual Analysis of Runaway Volcanic Explosions

If your volcano is erupting, “The past is a nice place to visit, but certainly not a good place to stay…”. One of the major challenges in volcano crisis decision-making arises when unrest escalates and the threat could exist of a massive sudden eruption, despite information suggesting past eruptive activity had been more limited. Even a small chance of this happening may warrant an urgent call for evacuation. For most active volcanoes, there is only a very limited geological and historical record upon which to base an estimate of the chance of a massive eruption. However, this database may be expanded by stochastic modelling of past notable volcanic crises that had the dangerous potential but did not ultimately result in a massive eruption. The conceptual framework for the counterfactual analysis of runaway volcanic explosions is presented here, with reference to other extreme geohazards and georisks. This innovative type of probabilistic analysis has widespread application and is illustrated with the example of the well-documented 1997 Montserrat Vulcanian explosions sequence. An alternative possible mode of eruptive behaviour might have substituted this sequence with fewer but larger explosive eruptions or even by a single runaway extreme event. This latter contingency was considered at the time, and motivated a brief, temporary evacuation of the building then housing the Montserrat Volcano Observatory; in response to the escalating violence of explosions, the base for observatory operations was subsequently re-located much further away from the volcano.

Chapter 24 A review of volcanic hazard and risk-assessment praxis at the Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat from 1997 to 2011

AbstractVolcanic hazard and risk at Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat has been assessed in a consistent and quantitative manner for 14 years (1997–2011) during highly variable eruptive activity involving andesitic lava-dome growth, which has placed serious constraints on Montserratian society. This work has been carried out by the Scientific Advisory Committee (and predecessors) in collaboration with the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. We describe the organizational context of these assessments, the types of hazards and the methods used to analyse them. Knowledge elicitation using hazard scenarios and analysis by the Classical Model method were employed to formulate probabilistic forecasts of future hazardous events over the next year, and to quantify risks to individuals and Montserrat society generally. We devised a scheme for assessing the likelihood that the volcanic system had stopped receiving basalt magma, considered to be the main driver of the eruption. The accuracy of forecasts was tested using Brier Skill Scores: 83% of forecasts for events that were critical to life had positive skill, as measured by this method. We also discuss how government responded to our assessments. The continuous series of quantitative volcanic hazard and risk assessments described here is the only one of its kind.

Co-production of an institution: Montserrat Volcano Observatory and social dependence on science

This paper documents the foundation and work of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), on the island of Montserrat in the Eastern Caribbean. It describes the co-production of the MVO as the result of a crisis-driven dialogue between scientists and officials. This involved contested understandings of the role of volcano observatories, and the balancing of limited resources within and beyond the observatory. Challenges also arose early on in the MVO's history within the social context of the science itself as a result of different institutional and cultural framings. Montserrat's government desperately needed scientific advice, but the high level of uncertainty involved in volcano forecasting combined with conflicts in the different scientific communities involved appeared to threaten the island's future. In the following years, the institutionalising of volcanological science on Montserrat sought to overcome those early challenges and produce a dialogue that benefited both science and Montserrat. Copyright The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.

Broadband Seismic Noise Analysis of the Soufriere Hills Volcano Network

Research Article| July 01, 2008 Broadband Seismic Noise Analysis of the Soufrière Hills Volcano Network Silvio De Angelis Silvio De Angelis Montserrat Volcano Observatory Flemmings, Montserrat, West Indies silvio@mvo.ms Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Silvio De Angelis Montserrat Volcano Observatory Flemmings, Montserrat, West Indies silvio@mvo.ms Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-2057 Print ISSN: 0895-0695 © 2008 by the Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2008) 79 (4): 504–509. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.79.4.504 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Silvio De Angelis; Broadband Seismic Noise Analysis of the Soufrière Hills Volcano Network. Seismological Research Letters 2008;; 79 (4): 504–509. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.79.4.504 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search The Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat, West Indies, is an active andesitic dome-building volcano at the northern end of the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc. The ongoing eruption, characterized by cyclic growth and collapse of an andesite lava dome with associated pyroclastic flows (PF), vulcanian explosions, and debris flows, began on 18 July 1995 (Young et al. 1998; Aspinall et al. 1998) after a three-year period of precursor seismic activity. Prior to this eruption, volcanic activity in Montserrat was monitored by the Seismic Research Unit (SRU), based at the University of West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, as part... You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Engineering geology of landslides on the volcanic island of Montserrat, West Indies

Different types of landslides have been observed on Montserrat, a British dependent island in the (Caribbean) West Indies. The Soufrière Hills volcano, situated in the southern part of this island, has been in a state of almost continuous volcanic activity since 1995, after being dormant for about 400 years. The most dramatic, distinct ‘landslides’ occur on the extrusive, expanding, andesitic lava dome within English Crater. Falls, topples and slides are caused by the over-steepening of the dome followed by its gravitational collapse. On occasions, these failures generate incandescent rock avalanches, which may ultimately transgress into pyroclastic flows, surges and block & ash flows. These are highly destructive, hot, density currents and accelerate down-slope, controlled by the topography and radial drainage channels (known as ‘ghauts’), which have been incised on the flanks of the volcano. These flows have deposited huge volumes of incandescent pyroclastic debris on the upper and middle flanks of the volcano. The erosion of the pyroclastic debris and air-fall deposits, during rainstorms, has resulted in the generation of lahars (an Indonesian term to describe a volcanic mudflow). Well over 40 lahars have been observed and recorded, from January 1999 to 2006. These coincided with hurricanes and increased rainfall rates usually between the months of June and November. The lahar deposits, typically consisting of granular material including boulders, have infilled many of the river valleys. The lower reaches of the Belham valley in particular has been infilled, and this has resulted in the choking of drainage catchment areas and the burial of infrastructure and houses. Beyond the area of current volcanic activity landslides have also been observed, although their significance has not always been recognized, as their investigation may often be overlooked because of the more spectacular dramatic events on the volcano itself. The landslides include both coastal and inland landslides, which are generated by a combination of seismic events (such as tectonic and volcano-magmatic earthquakes) and climatic events (such as rainstorm and hurricanes). Landslide generation is facilitated by the presence of thick, tropical weathered laterite soils (regolith) that develop on moderate to steep slopes, in areas of high relief, on intensely weathered volcanic bedrock. Both soils and topography influence drainage and groundwater flows, which in turn affect the stability ofslopes, causing the initiation of first time slope failures and the reactivation of older, more degraded landslides. In addition to natural processes, the activities of man (such as road building, the digging into slopes or the loading of slopes by tipping waste) have also caused landslides to develop. The objectives of this paper are to document and draw attention to the causes and types of landslides on Montserrat with particular reference to the expanding lava dome, the Belham valley lahars and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) debris slide. This paper provides an engineering geological perspective on the landslide geohazards that have been observed on Montserrat.

Seismic characterization of pyroclastic flow activity at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, 8 January 2007

Abstract. A partial dome collapse with concurrent pyroclastic flow (PF) activity occurred at Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat on 8 January 2007. Pyroclastic density currents were observed to propagate from the Northwest and West sectors of the summit dome into the heads of Tyres Ghaut and Gages Valley, respectively. Between 10:00 and 10:15 UTC pyroclastic flows entered Tyres Ghaut and from there descended into the Belham Valley reaching a distance of about 5 km from the source. Pyroclastic flow activity on the Northwest and West side of the edifice continued at high levels over the following 1.5 h, although run-out distances of individual flows did not exceed 1.5 km. Subsequent observations showed that material had been removed from the lower Northwest side of the dome leaving an amphitheatre-like structure cutting through the old crater rim. The seismic waves excited by the propagation of pyroclastic flows were recorded by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory's network of broadband seismometers. The seismic records show the onset of a continuous signal before 09:30 UTC with gradually increasing amplitudes and spectral energy in the 1–8 Hz band. The signal rapidly increased in amplitude and a characteristic spindle-shaped waveform with broadband energy (1–25 Hz) was observed accompanying large PF that descended along the slopes of the volcano. The main phase was followed by a sequence of individual seismic pulses which correlated well with visual observations of PF. PF are a major hazard at SHV and pose significant risk for the population living in the proximity of the volcano. They can occur with little or no warning and have the potential to reach inhabited areas to the Northwest. The study of the seismic activity associated with the generation and propagation of pyroclastic flows can help to identify characteristic precursory seismic sequences providing valuable information to improve the understanding of the hazards posed by the SHV and to allow better warning to be given to the authorities.

Imaging a growing lava dome with a portable radar

The tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat has been in a state of crisis since the Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV) began its current eruption in July 1995. With its main town, Plymouth, destroyed by pyroclastic flows in 1997, the islanders who have remained have had to rebuild their society on the northern half of the island under varying degrees of threat from the volcano to the south. During this time, the Montserrat government continues to receive advice on the volcanic hazards from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO).The continuing eruption has provided a wealth of research opportunities for many international groups who sought to study the growth and repeated partial destruction of a Peleean andesitic lava dome. There have been three episodes of dome growth: November 1995 through March 1998, November 1999 through July 2003, and August 2005 to present. Pyroclastic flows and explosions have been the main source of hazard.The pyroclastic flows have been generated mainly by gravitational collapse of the lava dome, but also by collapse of explosive ash columns. The dome collapses tend to occur from the area of the dome where new lava is being added. Similarly collapses are more likely when the rate of lava extrusion varies. Also, the propensity of explosive evacuation of the magma in the conduit is partly controlled by the magma supply rate, with high rates favoring explosions.

Automatic classification and a-posteriori analysis of seismic event identification at Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat

Seismic energy radiation at Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, is made up by various types of transient signals, which are distinguished by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) in different classes with respect to their characteristics and/or origin. There are five fundamental classes, i.e., Volcano-Tectonic Events, Regional Events, Long-Period Events, Hybrid Events, and Rockfalls. Identification and classification of these transients, which have been hitherto carried out manually by various staff members, yield important information for the assessment of the state of the volcano system. In the frame of the MULTIMO project, we proposed the application of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) for the classification of these kind of data in order to handle large data sets, and to achieve reproducible results, emulating the expert's analysis. Using the manual routine classification as a-priori information, we obtained a fair performance of such an automatic processing, with 70% of the automatic classifications being consistent with the original ones. From an analysis of the misclassified events, however, we found that for most of them the original a-priori classification was incorrect. In this study, we first revised manually the original a-priori classification. Based on a data set of 6000 events, we carried out a reanalysis of the seismic traces recorded at different seismic stations. Then, using this new information, we trained and tested the ANN, obtaining a successful classification in ca. 80% of records. Particularly, the automatic classification was excellent in the identification of Rockfalls and Volcano-Tectonic Events. Among the misfits, we observe the erroneous attribution of Long-Period and Hybrid Events to Rockfalls. This may be partly explained by the fact that signals addressed to as Rockfalls contain frequently contributions of various sources. Overall, the failure in the classification between some types of transients highlights the problem of the concurrent activation and/or unclear separation of distinctive sources from which the signals stem. We conclude that the automatic classification with ANN is a powerful tool for handling large data masses as well as for the a-posterior analysis of the consistency of the classification problem.

The Montserrat Volcano Observatory: its evolution, organization, role and activities

Abstract The Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) is a statutory body of the Government of Montserrat and is the organization responsible for volcano monitoring operations on the island. It was formed shortly after the first phreatic explosions from Soufrière Hills Volcano occurred on 18 July 1995, and evolved from a hastily created, interim entity to a fully established volcano monitoring operation. Participating scientific teams have been drawn mainly from the Seismic Research Unit of the University of the West Indies, the US Geological Survey, the British Geological Survey and universities from various countries including the USA, UK, France and Puerto Rico. Despite its hurried inception, the MVO has been able to provide timely, high quality hazard advice to the civil authorities and has maintained an exceptional documentary record of all scientific aspects of the eruption. Its public education and information efforts have been extensive and there have been unusually high levels of interaction between scientists and the civil authorities, and between scientists and the public, both within Montserrat and outside in the wider world. The experience of setting up and running the MVO, under difficult and stressful conditions, has exemplified the advantages of teamwork and flexibility within monitoring operations and the benefits of openness and clarity in public interactions. Novel techniques have been applied to the appraisal of hazards and advances in scientific understanding have proved invaluable for risk assessment and management.

Setting, chronology and consequences of the eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat (1995-1999)

Abstract The eruption on Montserrat during 1995-1999 was the most destructive in the Caribbean volcanic arc since that of Mont Pelee (Martinique) in 1902. It began on 18 July 1995 at the site of the most recent previous activity, on the flank of a c. 350-year-old lava dome within a sector-collapse scar. Phreatic explosivity occurred for 18 weeks before the onset of extrusion of an andesitic lava dome. Dome collapses produced pyroclastic flows that initially were confined by the sector-collapse scar. After 60 weeks of unsteadily accelerating dome growth and one episode of sub-Plinian explosivity, the dome eventually overtopped the confining scar. During 1997 almost two-thirds of the island was devastated following major dome collapses, two episodes of Vulcanian explosivity with fountain-collapse pyroclastic flows, and a flank failure with associated debris avalanche and explosive disruption of the lava dome. Nineteen people were killed directly by the volcanic activity and several were injured. From March 1998 until November 1999 there was a pause in magma ascent accompanied by reduced seismic activity, substantial degradation of the dome, and considerable degassing with venting of ash. The slow progress and long duration of the volcanic escalation, coupled with the small size of the island and the vulnerability of homes, key installations and infrastructure, resulted in a style of emergency management that was dominantly reactive. In order to minimize the disruption to life for those remaining on the island, following large-scale evacuations, scientists at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory had to anticipate hazards and their potential extents of impact with considerable precision. Based on frequent hazards assessments, a series of risk management zone maps was issued by administrative authorities to control access as the eruption escalated. These were used in conjunction with an alert-level system. The unpreparedness of the Montserrat authorities and the responsible UK government departments resulted in hardship, ill feeling and at times acrimony as the situation deteriorated and needs for aid mounted. Losses and stress could have been less if an existing hazards assessment had registered with appropriate authorities before the eruption.

About this title

The andesitic dome-building eruption of Soufrère Hills Volcano wreaked havoc on the small Caribbean island of Montserrat. About half of this ‘Emerald Isle’ was rendered barren and uninhabitable, almost two-thirds of the original population had to leave, and 19 lives were lost, all as a direct result of the volcanic activity. This Memoir presents results of monitoring and associated research covering almost five-years; from the onset of the eruption in July 1995 until November 1999. Many diverse phenomena related to the ascent and extrusion of andesitic magma have been studied at close quarters. The eruption has permitted detailed documentation and better understanding of processes and associated signals that lead to lava dome instability and to explosive decompression, and of the physical behaviour and characteristics of associated pyroclasti currents. It has also provided the opportunity for development of different methods in hazards assessment and zonation, including formal elicitations of international scientific expertise and statistical treatments of eruption-scenario models. The eruption and its consequences constitute an important case of volcanic crisis management and of the interactions between scientists, authorities and populace on a small island, with significant lessons for the future. This volume contains 30 papers, many of which address the chronology, dynamics, products and associated hazards of the eruption. It also includes papers specifically on the associated geophysics and geochemistry. Four introductory papers provide overviews of the eruption chronology and consequences, of the scientific results, of the evolution, organization, role and activities of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, and of the volcanic evolution of Montserrat through time. A large photographic record of the 1995-1999 eruptive period is included.

Our Maroon in the Now‐Lost Landscapes of Montserrat

********** It was already hot at 7 A.M.... Ash suspended in the air cast a yellow haze across Montserrat; heavier gray particles settled silently on the windshield as we parked in a clearing at the top of Baker Hill. Shielding our faces with our hands, we--two Montserratians, Heidi Shea Osborne, Rootsman, and I--walked quickly to the edge of the forest and dropped down into Soldier's Ghaut, a steep ravine where the dense canopy of foliage intercepted the ash and gave us some relief Instantly we were in a cooler, dark green environment where the effects of Montserrat's active volcano were less immediate. So reads an entry in my July 1998 field notes. After eighteen years away, I had returned to this deep and well-watered ravine that extends north out of Montserrat's Centre Hills. On earlier visits I had studied the ecological practices of small-plot horticulturalists who raised bananas, dasheen, sweet potatoes, and other subsistence crops on the steeply terraced slopes (Berleant-Schiller and Pulsipher 1986). Soldier's Ghaut, I remembered, had been particularly beautiful in 1980, thick with heliconia blossoms and fruit trees and showing off what seemed like a hundred shades of green. I hadn't been back because my attentions were abruptly shifted to the south of the island by an invitation from the Montserrat National Trust. Under its auspices I studied the ruins of an old sugar plantation on Galways Mountain, an intriguing site that the trust hoped to turn into a cultural heritage interpretive center. I was also interested in the ecological aspects of the daily lives that slaves had designed for themselves within the constraints of slavery. From 1980 to 1995 my colleagues and I studied Galways Plantation and environs, whose incarnations spanned 330 years. In the spirit of the maroon, a term in Caribbean dialect for a communal work project, we were assisted by many Montserratians, especially the people of Saint Patrick's village at the foot of Galways Mountain. The Galways project was just winding down when, quite unexpectedly, in July 1995 Chance's Mountain, an old volcano immediately northeast of Galways Mountain, grew active. Over the next six years the volcano destroyed the southern two-thirds of Montserrat's habitable landscape, burying many villages, the best agricultural land, dozens of historic sites, much of the tourism infrastructure, Montserrat's capital town of Plymouth, and literally all of Galways Mountain. The volcano continues to be active, and access to the places where most Montserratians once lived is forbidden. Of the 11,000 citizens who resided on the island in 1995, only about 4,000 remain in 2001. All of them live north of the Belham River Valley, in a zone considered safe by the high-tech Montserrat Volcano Observatory, funded by the British. Montserrat is one of the few remaining Crown colonies. We Montserratians, native and adoptive, who lost many a familiar and beloved landscape to the volcano often find ourselves trying to re-create, at least in our imagination, places we will never again inhabit. Galways Mountain and its adjacent hills and valleys were thickly forested places full of birdsong, quiet breezes, and lovely vistas across the mountains to the sea. Returning in 1998, Heidi Shea Osborne and I spent a few borrowed hours in Soldier's Ghaut, reminiscing and hoping to find some spots that evoked the ambience of the southern mountains. Rootsman, an old friend and native of the north, was along to keep our spirits up (Figure 1). Since the eruptions Montserrat has become a popular locale for the kinds of scholars who study physical and social responses to a volcanic disaster, and various interesting and worthy research projects are under way. But I, after knowing the island through twenty-eight years of fieldwork on it, find that simulating an objective and analytical relationship with volcano-transformed Montserrat has no appeal. Instead, I revisit the archaeological and ethnographic riches that Montserratian villagers, my North American colleagues, and I studied together from 1980 to 1995. …

The Soufriere Hills Eruption, Montserrat, British West Indies: Introduction to Special Section, Part 2

The special section on the eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano is a collection of 24 papers that summarises the early scientific work of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Part 1 of the special section, published in a previous issue of GRL, provided a sampling of the multidisciplinary investigations undertaken at Montserrat. The papers published in Part 1 included an overview of the eruption, investigations on seismicity, ground deformation studies, and petrology.The papers of this issue comprise Part 2 of the special section. These papers also cover a broad spectrum of topics, including various topics in seismology, petrology, pyroclastic flow models, gas chemistry, hydrothermal systems, and tsunami models. In general, papers in Part 1 may be said to be more observational‐ or data‐orientated, and those of Part 2 more model‐orientated, but indeed there is much overlap of descriptive material, data, and modelling within the individual contributions. Considered in total the collection presents a representative summary of the scientific effort carried out in Montserrat through much of 1997.

The Ongoing Eruption in Montserrat

Volcanology became a modern, interdisciplinary science after two deadly eruptions in 1902 killed 36,000 people and researchers realized the need for a better understanding of volcano behavior. In a Perspective, the staff of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory give an overview of what is known about a current hazard: the Soufriere Hills volcano.