The encyclopedia of volcanoes / editor-in-chief, Haraldur Sigurdsson, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, USA ; associate editors, Bruce Houghton, National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, University of Hawaiʻi, Honolulu, HI, USA ; Stephen R. McNutt, School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA, Hazel Rymer, Faculty of Science, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, UK, John Stix, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

"First edition 1999"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Origin and transport of magma -- Part II. Eruptions -- Part III. Effusive volcanism -- Part IV. Explosive volcanism -- Part V. Extraterrestrial volcanism -- Part VI. Volcanic interactions -- Part VII. Volcanic hazards -- Part VIII. Eruption response and mitigation -- Part IX. Economic benefits and cultural aspects of volcanism.

Volcanoes are unquestionably one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring features of the physical world. Our paradoxical fascination with them stems from their majestic beauty and powerful, sometimes deadly, destructiveness. Notwithstanding the tremendous advances in volcanology since ancient times, some of the mystery surrounding volcanic eruptions remains today.