Volcanoes, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), RGS-IBG. - Volcanoes, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), RGS-IBG.

Volcanoes

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Narrated by experts in their field, the slideshows combine stories, music and images giving you a new way to explore the world from the air.
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We consume more energy now than ever before – find out where this fuel comes from and how it is harnessed across the globe.
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Festivals

Celebrations unite communities across the world; join the party with traditional village festivals or millions-strong street parties.
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Sports are at the heart of many different societies, both testing our physical limits to the maximum and uniting nations through tournaments.
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Indigenous cultures

Discover fascinating customs of ancient cultures from across the planet and learn how they live side-by-side with the modern world.
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Farming and agriculture

Food is one of our most basic human needs: discover how farming and agriculture differ across the varied cultures and climates of our world.
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Cities

Over half the world’s population live in cities: discover how these settlements were established and learn why they are of modern global importance.
Volcanoes

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Volcanoes

Explore the world's diverse volcanic landscapes, from the effects of eruptions to the millions of people who live in the shadow of volcanoes.
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Road and rail transport

Roads and railways have acted as a catalyst for expansion, communication and development. Explore their influences across the world.
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Huge networks of caves and caverns hold some of the oldest and least explored physical, natural and human environments on the planet.

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Volcanoes

During the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptions, more than 100,000 flights were cancelled, stranding five million travellers across the world.

The Cape Verde islands are thought to have formed over a volcanic “hot spot”, producing a series of volcanoes isolated from a plate boundary.

Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe, covering 1,190 square kilometres.

The eruption of the Lake Toba super-volcano 70,000 years ago killed off the majority of early humanoid life on Earth at the time.

The Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the USA.

The tallest volcano in the Tibesti Mountain Range is Emi Koussi, at 3,451 metres.

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Iceland at 13,000m - Iceland's tectonic origins

April 2010 - Throughout the night, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano continues erupting ash and lava into the sky.

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The hot geothermal springs of Iceland.

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The volcanic deserts of Iceland.

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The vast lava fields of Iceland.

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The volcanic crater, Mývatn, in Iceland.

April 2010 - The second dramatic eruption of Fimmvörðuháls, close to Eyjafjallajökull, as the lava flows down towards the north, turning snow into steam.

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Lava formations in Myvtan, Iceland.

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Lava formations in Myvtan, Iceland.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge splitting Iceland and separating the North American and Eurasian Plates.

Lucky Bridge between the North American and Eurasian continents.

This composite map shows the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic ash cloud spread across Northern Europe throughout April and May 2010.

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A huge dormant volcanic crater in southern Iceland.

April 2010 - Lumninous streams of lava gush down the side of Eyjafjallajökull as the eruption continues.

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Kilimanjaro, Tanzania at 13,000m - the highest mountain in Africa

Glaciers and ice still cling to the upper reaches of Kibo and Uhuru Peak - however, this ice is melting at an estimated rate of half a metre every year.

The peak of Kilimanjaro is on the right of this satellite image; the mountain is flanked by the Amboseli National Park to the north and the Arusha National Park to the south and west.

Isolated patches of glaciers and ice walls still cling to the upper reaches of Kibo and Uhuru Peak - trekkers pass these overwhelming features on their final ascent to the summit.

Glacial ice atop Mount Kilimanjaro, demonstrating the source of its Swahili name "shining mountain".

This composite model shows Mount Kilimanjaro from the air in Feburary 1993, the snow and ice capped "shining mountain" is an iconic image.

This composite model shows Kilimanjaro in February 2000 - a drastic difference in the ice cover of the mountain. Some scientists believe that Kili may be ice free by 2020.

Glacial melt and collapse near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro - aerial photography shows that the glaciers across the white peak are receeding further every year.

Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant stratovolcano and the highest mountain in Africa. Kibo Summit (5,895 m) at the top of Kilimanjaro is one of the few peaks in Africa to retain glaciers.

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1920s - The summit of Mount Kilimanjaro from the air. Notice how much more snow and ice covered the summit is compared with modern day Kibo.

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Mount Kilimanjaro rising from the surrounding Moshi plains - it is the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

Mount Kilimanjaro from the air - it is the highest freestanding mountain in the world, at 5,895 metres above sea level and 5,882 metres above its base.

Mount Kilimanjaro is often visible from passing aircraft - breaking through the cloud, it is the highest mountain in Africa.

The channels carved from melt run-off from the glaciers and ice on Kibo's peak can be clearly seen from above - this water is an important input into Tanzania's river system.

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Flores, Indonesia at 13,000m - Dramatic volcanoes

The ash-topped cone of Gunung Egon, a conical stratovolcano on Flores. Earthquakes and fumes from the volcano since November 2010, put it at the highest level of alert for a significant eruption.

Steaming fumaroles on top of the Gunung Egon volcano on Flores, one of the most active volcanoes on the island and across Indonesia with frequent minor earthquakes and fumes released.

A topographic map of Flores Island. The individual volcanic peaks which make up the island are clearly picked out in purple and white against the yellow and green lowlands.

Gunung Ebulobo (also known as Amburombu or Keo Peak) towers above the village of Boa Wae. Ebulobo is a symmetrical 2,124m-high stratovolcano in central Flores Island with a flat-topped summit lava dome.

Ende airstrip on Flores Island, watched over by the symmetrical volcanic cone of Mount Meja. Volcanoes play an integral part of life in Flores with their distinctive shapes dominating the skyline.

A satellite image of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with Flores at the top in the centre. This chain of islands has formed along a complex geological boundary between four tectonic plates.

Subduction of a tectonic plate. As the plate gets "dragged" beneath the Earth's surface, it melts and can rise to the surface as magma to create new land mass through volcanoes.

Major Indonesian volcanoes, including significant eruptions since 1900. Indonesia lies on a highly active plate boundary, and volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are relatively common.

1888 - A lithograph of the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, one of the most violent volcanic events in modern history, 13,000 times stronger than the nuclear bomb which devastated Hiroshima.

A clearly defined pyramidal peak of a dormant volcano can be seen along the coast of Flores Island. The topography of the surface of this cone will have been defined by ancient eruptions.

Sulphurous deposits can be seen on the surface of Kelimutu volcano on Flores. These yellow, foul smelling deposits are produced deep underground in volcano and ejected on to the surface.

Sulphurous crystals forming at the mouth of a fumarole on Kelimutu volcano. Their bright yellow colour and strong odour make them easy to identify as sulphurous gases seeping out of the ground.

Hot fumaroles, part of Gunung Iya on Flores, gush sulphurous gas and steam on to the Earth's surface from deep within the volcano, causing these yellow surface deposits of sulphur.

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Cascade Mountains, USA at 1,000m - The 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption

A satellite image of Mount St. Helens, 20 years after the catastrophic 1980 eruption. Large ash and blast scars with broad lahar (landslide) trails can still be seen on the peak's flanks.

The dramatic eruption on May 18, 1980 blasted away 400 metres of Mount St. Helens' peak, with the blast damage covering over 650 square kilometres around the volcano.

Nearly 220 kilometres of river channels surrounding the volcano were affected by the lahars of May 18, 1980. A mudline left behind on trees shows depths reached by the mud.

Image 1, 1979: Mount St. Helens prior to the eruption. It is well contained with the surrounding area heavily vegetated (shown in red in this LANDSAT image).

Image 2, 1980: Mount St. Helens post eruption. The devastation caused by the huge blast and the following lahars can clearly be seen across the northern side of the volcano.

Image 3, 2009: Mount St. Helens 30 years on. Even after all of this time, much of the land to the north of the volcano (the Pumice Plain) lies barren, although life is slowly returning to the area.

The North Fork Toutle River valley shows part of the 2.3 cubic kilometres of debris avalanche that slid from the volcano on May 18, 1980, enough to cover Washington, D.C. to a depth of four meters.

More than 200 homes and over 300 kilometres of roads were destroyed by the 1980 lahars. This is a damaged home along the South Fork Toutle River, surrounded by blast debris and lahar.

The slopes of Smith Creek valley, east of Mount St. Helens, show trees blown down by the May 18, 1980 lateral blast (the blast is shown here as left to right). Two USGS scientists give scale.

For more than nine hours a vigorous plume of ash erupted, eventually reaching 20-25 kilometres above sea level. The plume moved eastward at an average speed of 95 km/hr.

Mount St. Helens is the smallest of five major volcanic peaks in Washington State, with an elevation of 2,950 meters before the eruption of May 18, 1980.

The USGS run both periodic and continuous monitoring programs at Mount St. Helens to study and predict eruptions. Here, geologists measure the distance across a crack on the crater floor.

Early in October 2004 Mt. St. Helens rumbled back to life with earthquakes, minor eruptions of steam and ash, and renewed growth of the summit lava dome.

A map of the area around Mount St. Helens which were affected by the May 18, 1980 eruption, detailing pyroclastic flows, mud flows and impact due to the blast and associated debris.

On March 20, 1980, after a quiet period of 123 years, earthquake activity once again began under Mount St. Helens volcano. Seven days later, on March 27, small steam explosions began.

Looking west from Mount St. Helens from space gives a clear idea of the huge regional impact of the blast zone, stretching clearly towards the top of the image over a huge area.

The car of a photographer who was killed whilst attempting to shoot the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption is engulfed by a mud flow about 15 kilometres from the volcano.

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Sicily, Italy at 1,000m - The mighty Mount Etna

Villages nestle on the slopes of Etna, making the most of the fertile soils but living perilously close to the most active volcano in Europe.

A dramatic eruption of Mount Etna in 2002 as viewed from the International Space Station. Ashfall was reported in Libya, more than 600km away.

A lateral crater of the 2002-2003 eruption near the Torre del Filosofo, about 450 metres below Etna's summit. Notice the yellow sulphur deposits across the surface.

A wide angle view from the International Space Station of the 2002 smoke plume from Etna's eruption. Lighter smoke is due to forest fires caused by erupting lava.

Hot magma bubbles and spews from Mount Etna, during an eruption in 2001. Some magma bubbles were over 1 metre in diameter.

This satellite image shows bright, glowing magma eruptions and the puffy clouds generated by water vapour released during the eruption.

This ASTER image maps historic lava flows across Etna's surface. The long dark purple flow to the right is from the 1981 eruption, with the dark purple flows at the centre from the 1600s.

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1930 - Taormina: a view out from a Sicilan villa to the smoking Mount Etna.

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"Intérieur du cratère de l'Etna Direction NE 14 Juin 1834" - An artist's impression of the interior of the crater of Etna, looking north east in 1834.

Smoke and steam rises from a snow capped Mount Etna during an eruption - the volcano is almost constantly active.

A house destroyed by lava on the slopes of Mount Etna - the nearby population live at constant risk of a major eruption.

A computer generated topographic image of Mount Etna and the north-eastern tip of Sicily - the peak rises 3,329 metres above the sea.

An aerial view of the 2008 eruption of Etna, which was accompanied by a swarm of more than 200 earthquakes and surface lava eruptions.

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© 2012 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)