Volcanoes
by Robert Decker, Barbara Decker

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Book Reviews of Volcanoes

Book Review: Understanding volcanoes
Summary: 5 Stars

In fact, I wish I'd read this book first, before "The Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes" or "Perils of a Restless Planet." Its definitions are clear and easy to remember, and usually accompanied by a photograph or drawing. One of my favorites is a photograph of the San Andreas fault, which is a right lateral fault, "so called because for a person standing on either plate, the sense of motion on the opposite side is to the right."

Now, at least I understand the difference between left and right lateral faults. Dip slips and strike slips will have to wait for another book for geometrically-challenged folks like me---I can't just close my eyes and visualize a three dimensional object, unless prompted by very clear diagrams and text.

This book is an introduction to the geology of volcanoes (plate tectonics, the formation of mineral deposits, etc.), rather than a series of stories about dangerous volcanoes, although there is an appendix on "The World's 101 Most Notorious Volcanoes." One of my favorite chapters, "Volcanic Power" has little to do with volcanoes as we usually picture them, e.g. an erupting strato-volcano like Mt. Vesuvius. It is about geothermal energy, and why it might play an important role in our future:

"Even though geothermal power is still an infant and largely unproved industry, its potential makes it worth serious effort and investment. The U.S. Geological Survey in a recent assessment of potential geothermal energy resources in the fifty states to depths of 10 kilometers listed the following estimates: hydrothermal reservoirs, 12 x 10(to the 21st power) joules, or about 2 times the energy in the world's oil reserves; hot dry rock, 32 x 10(to the 24th power) joules, or about 6000 times the energy in the world's oil reserves; magma reservoirs, 4 x 10(to the 23rd power) joules, or about 80 times the energy in the world's oil reserves."

In light of recent history, perhaps we should be investing more research in our geothermal resources.

Read "Volcanoes" if you have any interest at all in geology. It would even make a good high school text, although it is a bit dated: my copy was published in 1981, but the only thing that struck me as out-of-date was a diagram of the Earth's crustal plates---the Juan de Fuca plate was labeled `Gorda Plate,' although everything was pretty much in the right place. Just be sure to buy the revised and expanded version that was published in 1989.

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