This study of the young volcanoes of eastern Australia and parts of New Zealand looks at rock types and formation and inclusions of the upper mantle and lower-crustal rocks found in volcanic deposits. It discusses the Earth's crust and the mantle beneath, and the geological evolution in the area over the last 70-80 million years.

Volcanic eruptions are the clear and dramatic expression of dynamic processes in planet Earth. The author, one of the most profound specialists in the field of volcanology, explains in a concise and easy to understand manner the basics and most recent findings in the field. Based on over 300 color figures and the model of plate tectonics, the book offers insight into the generation of magmas and the occurrence and origin of volcanoes. The analysis and description of volcanic structures is followed by process oriented chapters discussing the role of magmatic gases as well as explosive mechanisms and sedimentation of volcanic material. The final chapters deal with the forecast of eruptions and their influence on climate. Students and scientists of a broad range of fields will use this book as an interesting and attractive source of information. Laypeople will find it a highly accessible and graphically beautiful way to acquire a state-of-the-art foundation in this fascinating field. "Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schmincke has photos of the best quality I have ever seen in a text on the subject... In addition, the schematic figures in their wide range of styles are clear, colorful, and simplified to emphasize the most important factors while including all significant features... "I have really enjoyed reading and rereading Schmincke’s book. It fills a great gap in texts available for teaching any basic course in volcanology. No other book I know of has the depth and breadth of Volcanism... I have shared Volcanism with my colleagues to their significant benefit, and I am more convinced of its value for a broad range of Earth and planetary scientists. Undoubtedly, I will use Volcanism for my upcoming courses in volcanology. I will never hesitate to recommend it to others. Many geoscientists from very different subdisciplines will benefit from adding the book to their personal libraries. Schmincke has done us all a great service by undertaking the grueling task of writing the book – and it is much better that he alone wrote it." Stanley N. Williams, ASU Tempe, AZ (Physics Today, April 2005) "Schmincke is a German volcanologist with an international reputation, and he has done us all a great favour because he sensibly channelled his fascination with volcanoes into writing this beautifully illustrated book... [he] tackles the entire geological setting of volcanoes within the earth and the processes that form them... And, with more than 400 colour illustrations, including a huge number of really excellent new diagrams, cutaway models and maps, plus a rich glossary and references, this book is accessible to anyone with an interest in the subject." New Scientist (March 2004) "The science of volcanology has made tremendous progress over the past 40 years, primarily because of technological advances and because each tragic eruption has led researchers to recognize the processes behind such serious hazards. Yet scientists are still learning a great deal because of photographs that either capture those processes in action or show us the critical factors left behind in the rock record.Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schmincke has photos of the best quality I have ever seen in a text on the subject. I found myself wishing that I had had the photo of Nicaragua’s Masaya volcano, which was the subject of my dissertation, but it was Schmincke who was able to include it in his book. In addition, the schematic figures in their wide range of styles are clear, colorful, and simplified to emphasize the most important factors while including all significant features. The book’s paper is of such high quality that at times I felt I had turned two pages rather than one. I have really enjoyed reading and rereading Schmincke’s book. It fills a great gap in texts available for teaching any basic course in volcanology. No other book I know of has the depth and breadth of Volcanism. I was disappointed that the text did not arrive on my desk until last August, when it was too late for me to choose it for my course in volcanology. I am also disappointed about another fact—the book’s binding is already becoming tattered because of my intense use of it! Schmincke is a volcanologist who, in 1967, first published papers on sedimentary rocks of volcanic origin, the direction traveled by lava flows millions of years ago, and the structures preserved in explosive ignimbrites, or pumice-flow deposits, that reveal important details of their formation. Since then, his studies in Germany’s Laacher See, the Canary Islands, the Troodos Ophiolite of Cyprus, and many other regions have forged great fundamental advances. Such contributions have been recognized with his receipt of several international awards and clearly give him a strong base for writing the book. However, as a scientist who has focused on the challenges of monitoring the very diverse activities of volcanoes, I think that the text’s overriding emphasis on the rock record has its cost. The group of scientists who are struggling with their goals to reduce or mitigate the hazards of the eruptions of tomorrow need to learn more about the options of technology, instrumentation, and methodology that are currently available. More than 500 million people live near the more than 1500 known active volcanoes and are constantly facing serious threats of eruptions. An extremely energetic earthquake caused the horrific tsunamis of 2004. However, the tsunamis of 1792, 1815, and 1883, which were caused by the eruptions of Japan’s Unzen volcano and Indonesia’s Tambora and Krakatau volcanoes, each took a similar toll. " ( Stanley N. Williams, PHYSICS TODAY, April 2005)

This memoir is the first to review all of Antarctica’s volcanism between 200 million years ago and the Present. The region is still volcanically active. The volume is an amalgamation of in-depth syntheses, which are presented within distinctly different tectonic settings. Each is described in terms of (1) the volcanology and eruptive palaeoenvironments; (2) petrology and origin of magma; and (3) active volcanism, including tephrochronology. Important volcanic episodes include: astonishingly voluminous mafic and felsic volcanic deposits associated with the Jurassic break-up of Gondwana; the construction and progressive demise of a major Jurassic to Present continental arc, including back-arc alkaline basalts and volcanism in a young ensialic marginal basin; Miocene to Pleistocene mafic volcanism associated with post-subduction slab-window formation; numerous Neogene alkaline volcanoes, including the massive Erebus volcano and its persistent phonolitic lava lake, that are widely distributed within and adjacent to one of the world’s major zones of lithospheric extension (the West Antarctic Rift System); and very young ultrapotassic volcanism erupted subglacially and forming a world-wide type example (Gaussberg).

Oceanic basalts are the most abundant rock type found at the earth's surface, and as such they have been the subject of considerable research, particularly since the concept of sea-floor spreading became widely accepted. This book provides a review of these rocks, first dicussing how we sample the ocean floor and what we know about the structure of the oceanic crust, followed by an overview of the various regional settings (Pacific crust, Atlantic crust, marginal basins, seamounts and islands) and finally examines the main processes (and their interactions) which prevail during the generation and emplacement of oceanic basalt magmas. This is a volume for geologists, geochemists and geophysicists and a source of reference for advanced undergraduate students and postgraduates in these disciplines.

The alkaline igneous rocks and carbonatites are compositionally and mineralogically the most diverse of all igneous rocks and, apart from their scientific interest, are of major, and growing, economic importance. They are important repositories of certain metals and commodities, indeed the only significant sources of some of them, and include Nb, the rare earths, Cu, V, diamond, phosphate, vermiculite, bauxite, raw materials for the manufacture of ceramics, and potentially Th and U. The economic potential of these rocks is now widely appreciated, particularly since the commencement of the mining of the Palabora carbonatite for copper and a host of valuable by-products. Similarly, the crucial economic dominance of rare earth production from carbonatite-related occurrences in China, has stimulated the world-wide hunt for similar deposits. This volume describes and provides ready access to the literature for all known occurrences of alkaline igneous rocks and carbonatites of Antarctica, Asia and Europe excluding the former USSR, Australasia and oceanic islands. More than 1,200 occurrences from 59 countries are outlined together with those of 57 oceanic islands and island groups. The descriptions include geographical coordinates and information on general geology, rock types, petrography, mineralogy, age and economic aspects with the principal references cited. There are 429 geological and distribution maps and a locality index. As has been demonstrated by the three earlier volumes, the present book is likely to be of considerable interest to mineral exploration companies, as there are no comprehensive published reviews of the economic aspects of the alkaline rocks. It will also interest research scientists in the fields of igneous petrology and volcanology, and geologists concerned with the regional distribution of igneous rocks and their geodynamic relationships.

China is home to more than a dozen volcanoes that have erupted during the Holocene. Recent activity, such as the eruption of Ashikule in 1951 and unrest of Changbaishan during 2002–05, highlights the potential for future volcanic unrest and eruptions in the country. In 1999, a National Volcano Monitoring Network was established, inaugurating a programme of research and surveillance to understand the history and activity of China’s volcanoes. Much progress has been made since, advancing understanding in the areas of geology, geochemistry and geophysics, and supporting hazard mitigation planning. This Special Publication reports the wide-ranging outcomes of this work for the first time to the international community.

The nature and origin of the small-scale volcanic systems, generally referred to as 'monogenetic', have enjoyed an elevated level of interest during the past decade. There has been recognition that their ostensibly simple volcano types are a window into the nature of explosive volcanism, landscape evolution and the processes of magma generation in the Earth’s upper mantle. In the past few years, major conferences have offered specialized technical sessions dealing with monogenetic volcanism and there have been thematic conferences, such as the IAVCEI International Maar Conference series, which have provided a focus for discussion of volcanological and geochemical aspects of small-scale basaltic volcanism. Many new aspects of monogenetic volcanism have emerged and have clearly demonstrated that this volcanism can be very complex on a fine scale. This book is a collection of papers arising from two recent Maar Conferences (the fifth in Queretaro Mexico and the sixth in Changchun, China) and serves as a snapshot of current research on monogenetic volcanism.