A chance geologic phenomenon and a local legend 350,000 years later sent scientists on a journey to walk in the footsteps of their distant ancestors.

After an enormous sub-plinian eruption in 1631, Vesuvius has adopted a more benign personality. It produced copious streams of lava during frequent eruptions in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th ...

effusive eruptions that tourists can observe from mere steps away, to the andesitic variety, which can produce violent, life-threatening Plinian eruptions with little or no warning. Though ...

Large stratovolcanoes like Popocatépetl can switch from low or moderate eruptive behaviour to catastrophic Plinian eruptions. We aim to determine the mechanisms and timescales of this switch and the ...