Introductory Chapter: Volcanoes - From Their Geological and Geophysical Setting to Their Impact on Human Health

Abstract

This is the introductory chapter of the book “Volcanoes: Geological and Geophysical Setting, Theoretical Aspects and Numerical Modelling, Applications to Industry and Their Impact on the Human Health”. In this chapter, the research themes studied in this book have been introduced referring to the geological and geophysical setting of volcanoes, pertaining, in particular, to the correlation between seismic and volcanic activity in volcanic edifices of Southern Italy (Somma-Vesuvius) carried out on a regional scale, the volcanic emissions of the submarine edifice of the Tagoro volcano (Canary Islands, Atlantic Ocean) and the corresponding implications on the chemical and physical properties of the oceanic water, the volcanological studies on the base of the volcanoes and the discovery of a new volcanic edifice, namely the Hiyamizuyama volcano, allowing to evaluate the long-term variations of volcanic and magmatic processes in Northeastern Japan, the volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, a land hosting 147 volcanoes (76 active volcanoes) spreading along the islands of Java, Lesser Sunda, Sumatra and Celebes and mostly characterised by stratovolcanoes and finally, the geologic, petrographic and geodynamic study of the layered gabbroids of Pekulney Ridge, a complex volcanic structure located in Northeastern Russia. Moreover, in this book, significant theoretical aspects and numerical modelling of volcanoes have been addressed, including, in particular, the volcanic dynamics of the convective heat and of the mass transfer in the seismo-focal areas of the Kamchatka Region, including the related volcanic arcs, the modelling of the elastic deformation of volcanoes through the development of computational tools for inverse analyses of geodetic data, which have evidenced the mechanical complexity of the volcanic systems, and finally, the mechanical aspects of the magmatic chambers and their