Summiting Etna: the Gate of Hell

My own expedition into Etna’s center Jesper Sandberg Introduction I have always been addicted to volcanoes, and that addiction has resulted in many volcanic visits over my last 27 years of life, and I have indeed made many volcanic visits. The highpoint of that was seeing the live lava flows at Kilauea: of course Kilauea…

The case for an African VAAC 

Welcome to the “Rant Edition of Volcanocafé”, tonights special: Carl Erupts.  For a decade I have talked about the need for increased monitoring of African volcanoes. It is if nothing else, rather ridiculous that the volcanoes in Antarctica are far better monitored than African volcanoes bordered by large cities.  Yesterday this came very close to causing a large disaster with international…

The dangers of volcano tourism

I think that everyone with a bit of knowledge about volcanoes and volcanism will agree with me that volcanoes are inherently dangerous and can be detrimental to human health in a myriad of ways. At the same time they are a fascinating expression of nature’s raw power and can be incredibly beautiful and awe-inspiring to…