Clive Oppenheimer

J. Martí a G. G. J. Ernst (eds) 2005. Volcanoes and the Environment . xv + 471 pp. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Price £50.00, US

That volcanism can profoundly affect the environment will hardly come as a surprise when one calls to mind the scenes of devastation accompanying large eruptions. However, the nature of these impacts can be highly complex, their extent anything from local to global, and their duration lasting long after ash has ceased discharging from the vent. Furthermore, many non-erupting volcanoes modify proximal sedimentary environments as a result of their geomorphic expression and orographic influence; the atmospheric environment through their emissions of sulphurous and halogenated gases and particles; and ecosystems through their release of heavy metals such as mercury, …

90.00 (hard covers). ISBN 0 521 59254 2.

My initial impression on opening The Volcano Adventure Guide was that it could be just the gift for someone you want to ‘bump off’. What could be a more original method of dispatching of an unloved one than to send them a book about planning a trip to an active volcano? However, Rosaly Lopes does clarify the risks of visiting volcanoes along with the essential measures for safe geo-tourism, so this turns out not to be a tome to file alongside the poisoners handbook on the bookshelf. But Lopes lively book is more than a travel guide: in her personalized Cooks Tour of the worlds volcanoes, she delves into the science of volcanology and reviews some of the most famous …