Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor: IAMAS
Lead Convenors: Andrew Tupper (Australia), Peter Webley (United States of America), Warner Marzocchi (Italy), John Nielson-Gammon (United States of America)

Scope: Volcano observatories charged with protecting life and property are often under intense pressure during a volcanic crisis.  The globalisation of the world’s media and increased awareness of volcanic hazards to the aviation industry and to general human health, as well as volcanic effects on climate, puts additional pressure on scientists and disaster managers at the source. Conversely, observations from the wider world, including from the world’s aerosol, seismic, aviation and other communities, might usefully feed back to the source to help understand an eruption in the context of its world significance.  International science efforts can also, if appropriately coordinated, significantly enhance the capacity of local scientists and disaster managers. This symposium invites case-studies about the relationship between the scientists at the volcanic source and science in the wider world.  In what ways can scientists support both local disaster mitigation and good international science? What new technologies can be applied, what observations from the source are the international community needing, and how do we help each other?

Keynote speakers: Ima Itikarai

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsors: IASPEI, IAG, IAGA
Lead Convenors: Setsuya Nakada (Japan), Chris Newhall (Singapore), Freysteinn Sigmundsson (Iceland), Gillian Jolly (New Zealand), Joan Marti (Spain)

Scope: Forecasting future eruptions based on monitoring and observation data is an  important issue for the volcanological community including IAVCEI. Anomalies are usually detectable when monitoring or observation with sufficient instruments is carried out, and the onset of eruptions can often be forecast.  However, false alarms remain a problem, and the style and duration of an eruption are still hard to forecast.  In addition to monitoring data, forecasting may use models of volcanic behavior, and always refers to geological and historical records of eruptions of the volcano in question and its analogues.  We still need a forecasting strategy for super eruptions, which will surely occur, threatening serious damage to human communities in the global scale. We seek papers that will deal with forecasting, monitoring and observation of recent and future eruptions, including geophysical, geochemical and geological methods. Papers of forecasting based on physical and chemical models are also welcomed.

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsors:  IASPEI, SEDI
Lead Convenors: Hugh O'Neill (Australia), Greg Yaxley (Australia), Ian Jackson (Australia), Tetsuo Irifune (Japan), Catherine McCammon, Takashi Yoshino

Scope: This symposium is intended to provide a forum for presentation and discussion of research into the physico-chemical behaviour of geological materials with implications for the structure and evolution of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. Topics of current interest include elasticity and rheology; diffusion; electrical conductivity; oxidation state of the mantle; carbon in the mantle under varying P-T-redox conditions; partial melting in a heterogeneous mantle and melt extraction; metamorphic phase equilibria and dehydration of subducting slab; refertilization and melting of the mantle wedge; the distinctive properties of cratonic roots; water in nominally anhydrous minerals and its impact on elasticity and rheology.
This Symposium is also listed by IASPEI as J-S04.

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsors: IASPEI, SEDI
Lead Convenors: Ian Jackson (Australia), Ian Campbell (Australia), Louis Moresi, Albrecht Hofmann, Hans-Peter Bunge

Scope: This symposium, reflecting on the career-long contribution of Geoff Davies, is intended to provide an interdisciplinary forum for discussion of geophysical and geochemical constraints on mantle structure, chemical composition and dynamical processes. The separation of basaltic melt from refractory harzburgitic residue generates heterogeneity that is resistant to re-homogenization during subsequent mantle convection. Seismic tomography suggests that wavespeed heterogeneity is concentrated in the upper and lowermost parts of the mantle. Geochemical studies provide evidence of long-lived heterogeneity at various spatial scales. Numerical modelling of mantle convection favours at least episodic whole-mantle convection over the strictly layered alternative. Other topical issues include chemically equilibrated compositional models versus mechanical mixtures of components of contrasting chemical composition; melting of eclogite-pyroxenite lenses in a harzburgite mantle; the seismological observability of mantle plumes; the influence of pressure-induced electronic spin-pairing on wavespeed-depth gradients in the lower mantle; and the survival of heterogeneity in a vigorously convecting mantle.
This Symposium is also listed by IASPEI as J-S05.

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor:  IAG
Lead Convenors: Nico Fournier (United States of America), Maurizio Battaglia (Italy), Michael Poland (United States of America), Kosuke Heki (Japan)

Scope: This session aims to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of new research results from geodetic studies on volcanoes. Subjects of interest range from geodetic signals associated with magmatic and hydrothermal processes at various scales to volcano-tectonic interactions to methods for modeling geodetic data. Of particular interest are multidisciplinary efforts that combine geodetic results with other geological, geophysical, or geochemical data to infer unique source processes, as well as studies that utilize innovative modeling approaches.

Keynote speakers: Paul Lundgren, Sigrun Hreinsdottir

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor: IAMAS [ICCL]
Lead Convenors: Michael MacCracken (United States of America), Alan Robock (United States of America)

Scope: With the pace of climate change increasing and the array and magnitude of climate impacts intensifying, increasing attention is being paid to the potential for limiting the effects of anthropogenic climate change through large-scale technical means, often called geoengineering. Possible approaches include deliberately altering Earth's radiation balance, and intervening in the carbon cycle or other biogeochemical cycles, for example via carbon scrubbing and sequestration. Although specific approaches have been proposed, relatively little is known about their potential effectiveness for moderating climate change and possible unintended consequences. Issues of technological feasibility are also largely unexplored. Papers are invited that describe and address the potential effectiveness and scientific and technical problems associated with deliberate climate modification, including enhancement of terrestrial and oceanic carbon sinks. Possible examples include modeling studies of the climatic impacts of proposed schemes for altering the absorption of solar radiation; studies of unintended environmental consequences; and evaluations of technological feasibility issues. Papers on historical, ethical, and governance issues are welcome.  As volcanic eruptions have been suggested as a natural analog for stratospheric geoengineering, papers studying the effects of explosive volcanic eruptions on climate are also welcome.
This joint symposium is also listed by IAMAS as J-M01 and is closely linked to and follows on from the Union symposium U-06 “Geoengineering: What are the Potentials for Climate Intervention, Carbon Scrubbing, and other Approaches to Moderate Climate Change and its Impacts?”

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor:  IAGA
Lead Convenors: Massimiliano Porreca (Azores, Portugal), Massimo Mattei (Italy), Michael Ort (United States of America), Laurie Brown (United States of America), John Geissman (United States of America)

Scope: In the last two decades, there has been an increasing use of paleomagnetism to study different volcanic processes in active and old volcanoes. The many applications include all types of volcanic products, from extrusive to intrusive rocks, from lava to pyroclastic flows, from fallout to secondary reworked lahar deposits.  The paleomagnetic techniques applied to these rocks can provide useful information about their age as well as aid in understanding eruptive, transport, and depositional processes. In active volcanoes, paleosecular variation (PSV) of the Earth's magnetic field is increasingly considered as a valid tool to date historical eruptions.  The magnetization of volcanic products contains information about the thermal conditions during their emplacement. The most typical case is that of pyroclastic flows, for which the final temperature of deposition can be estimated by analyzing the magnetization in the lithic clasts.  Transport and depositional process are also studied using anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), which is a very rapid and reliable technique to investigate the mineral fabric of rocks. It is therefore a very useful method to infer flow directions in ignimbrites, lava and intrusive magmatic bodies (e.g. dikes, sills and plutons).  Several other techniques are also being employed to better understand volcanic processes. This session will focus on how paleomagnetism and the study of magnetic fabric can help us better understand different volcanic processes. Approaches that employ a combination of paleomagnetism and other geophysical and geological approaches are particularly encouraged.

Keynote speakers: Roberto Lanza, Edgardo Canon-Tapia, Jean Claude Tanguy

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor: IAMAS
Lead Convenors: Fred Prata (Norway), Andrew Tupper (Australia), Simon Carn (United States of America)

Scope: Volcanic ash is recognized as a significant hazard to aviation.  Its global reach, the sporadic nature of volcanic eruptions and the potential impact of ash on global aviation presents a high risk and high economic impact.  The recent highly publicized Eyjafjallajoekull eruption in Iceland has clearly demonstrated the widespread societal and economic impact of volcanic ash, when it affects aviation.  The purpose of this Symposium is to bring together experts on the problem of volcanic ash as a hazard to aviation.  The primary focus will be on remote sensing techniques applied to volcanic clouds and plumes, but we welcome contributions on other aspects of the problem, including atmospheric dispersion modelling, warning systems, ground-based, airborne, and in situ measurements, aviation aspects, societal and economic impacts and new methods for helping to avoid and mitigate the risk to aviation.  The growth of air traffic in SE Asia and over the Pacific together with the large number of potentially hazardous volcanoes within the Pacific Rim, make this region particularly vulnerable.  Thus submission of research work with an emphasis on the Pacific Rim or SE Asia are strongly encouraged.

Keynote speakers: Tom Casadevall, Andreas Stohl

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsors: IAGA, IASPEI
Lead Convenors: Jaques Zlotnicki (France), Y. Sasai (Japan), V. Spichak (Russia)

Scope: Electromagnetic methods have been intensively applied to volcanic systems, hydrothermal and geothermal fields for understanding the structure and tectonic setting, and for monitoring the activity. Analyses of long time series undoubtedly show that magnetic and electric effects can precede volcanic eruptions, and geothermal activities. The development of new technologies and methodologies allows us to clarify the relationships among magmatic, hydrothermal, environmental and mechanical processes. Combination of land and satellite
EM studies with other geophysical observations could also drastically improve the description and understanding of on-going processes. The session will focus on the following lines:

• EM tomography and modelling of volcanic/geothermal environments,
• Integrated EM monitoring such as self-potential, magnetic, electric, magnetotelluric, combined with satellite observations,
• Joint EM, geochemical, thermal, ground deformation and seismic observations,
• Laboratory experiments and physical mechanisms of EM generation processes,
• Modelling of volcanic activity.

This Symposium is also listed by IASPEI as J-S11.

Keynote speakers: Malcolm Johnston, Gilda Currenti, Takeshi Hashimoto

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor:  IASPEI
Lead Convenors: Chuck Connor (United States of America), Stephen Self (United States of America), John Stamatakos (United States of America)

Scope: Geoscientists worldwide are developing and applying a wide range of methodologies to estimate volcanic and seismic hazards to nuclear facilities, including nuclear power plants, fuel fabrication and reprocessing facilities, spent fuel storage facilities, and geological waste repositories. Although significant advances in site characterization and model development have been made in the last decade, many challenges remain, especially when considering low probability-high consequence events. Earthquake hazard assessments are now focused on evaluating events with likelihoods less than 1 in 100,000. Similarly, volcanic hazards with comparatively small probabilities are now being assessed at many planned and operating nuclear installations, and the International Atomic Energy Agency is finalizing new guidelines for such assessments at current and future sites. This session will explore the current practice and innovative approaches to volcanic and seismic hazard assessment, with the goal of improving safety at critical nuclear facilities.

Keynote Speaker: Brittain Hill

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsors: IASPEI, ILP
Lead Convenor: John Dawson (Australia)
Co-Convenors:  Kevin Furlong (United States of America), Sierd Cloetingh (Netherlands)

Scope: Understanding the structure and deformation of plate interiors and their margins has important implications for society, and more and more there will be a reliance on a knowledge base of its past, present and future state. For example, society's increasing demand for energy and groundwater security will require geoscientists to address issues associated with geothermal energy supply, geosequestration of waste products, the impact of groundwater use, and natural hazards. This will require integrated and new approaches to the observation, modeling and interpretation of processes within the crust and lithosphere.  This symposium will address the science associated with the structure and deformation of continental lithosphere and particularly of the Australian Plate including recent developments and findings in Earth imaging, numerical modeling, inversion, data mining approaches, earthquake seismology, vulcanology and geodetic measurement of crustal deformation.
This Symposium is listed by IAG as J-G04.

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor: IASPEI
Lead Convenors: Jurgen Neuberg (United Kingdom), Hiroyuki Kumagai (Japan), Jeff Johnson (United States of America)

Scope: Seismic and infrasonic monitoring of active and dormant volcanoes is the key element of any monitoring program undertaken by volcano observatories or research institutions. Major advances in volcano seismology have been made in recent years allowing us to identify several categories of volcanic seismic events, and interpret them in terms of different magmatic or tectonic processes encountered on a volcano. Attempts based on multi-disciplinary methodologies turned out to be particularly successful. This session is dedicated to latest developments in volcano seismological monitoring techniques, interpretation and modelling methodology in a wider volcanological context. We invite contributions for both oral and poster presentations that deal with any seismological aspects relevant to volcano monitoring, new methodologies as well as case studies from a wide variety of volcanic settings. This includes advances in seismic instrumentation, as well as theoretical approaches. Particularly welcome are studies that combine seismic and infrasound measurements with other monitoring or modelling techniques, such as ground deformation, gas monitoring, petrology and fluid dynamics of magmatic systems.

Lead Convenors: Catherine Annen (United Kingdom), John Wolff (United States of America), Olivier Bachman (United States of America), Simon Turner (Australia)

Scope: At the basis of our models in petrology and volcanology is the concept of magma chamber, a place where magmas stall, crystallize, exsolve their gas, differentiate, mix and get contaminated. As they cannot be observed directly, our knowledge of magma chambers derives from the interpretation of indirect evidence, that include geophysical signals and observation of erupted rocks and gases. Many aspects of magma chambers, even their very existence, are debated. The objective of this symposium is to bring together researchers interested in magma chambers and to gather contributions that could help answering the following questions: How can we detect magma chambers? What are their size, shape, and depth? On what timescale do they form and what is their longevity? How do their crystal content evolve and what is the story of different families of crystals? For a given volcano, how many magma reservoirs between the mantle and the Earth surface? Are there general rules about magma chambers or is each volcanic system unique?

Keynote speakers: Ben Kennedy, Fidel Costa

Lead Convenors: Jan Lindsay (New Zealand), Axel Schmitt (United States of America), Pablo Caffe (Argentina), Georg Zellmer (Hong Kong)

Scope: Arc magmatism contributes in a fundamental way to the construction of continental crust, and arc volcanic eruptions have a high destructive potential, thus posing significant hazards to society. This session invites contributions that (1) quantify magmatic accretion in arcs constructed on continental or oceanic crust, (2) constrain thermal and material fluxes from mantle source to surface, and (3) develop novel approaches in understanding eruptive processes and assessing volcanic hazard at stratovolcanoes in island and continental arc settings.

Keynote speakers: Phil Shane, Sue Kay, Susanne Straub

Lead Convenors: Fidel Costa (Singapore), Olgeir Sigmarsson (Iceland)

Scope: Time scales derived from U-series disequilibria, ion microprobe U-Th/Pb in single crystals, and diffusion modelling of chemical zoning in crystals vary from a few days for magma mixing and degassing, to potentially hundred thousands of years for magma storage in large silicic systems.
This session seeks to explore recent findings on time scales of magmatic processes as determined with isotopes and petrological studies but encourages contributions that try to relate time information with time-series analysis of eruption frequencies, rheology and deformation, seismicity and degassing at volcanic edifices.

Keynote Speakers: Adam Kent, Axel Schmitt

Lead Convenors:: Sandy Cruden (Australia), Roberto Weinberg (Australia), Rick Squire (Australia), Tracy Rushmert

Scope: Analytical and conceptual advances in petrology and geochemistry in combination with structural and geophysical observations have made it possible to quantify the rates and time scales of magmatic processes at active and ancient volcanoes. These advances have led to a better understanding of the dynamics of magmatic systems, including estimates of (1) the rates of melt generation and transport beneath mid-ocean ridges, ocean islands, and arc volcanoes, (2) the ages of different magma pulses that make up a single intrusion and links between intrusion growth, regional structural development and the dynamics of intra-crustal magma transfer and emplacement, (3) the residence times of crystals and magma within crustal reservoir systems and their P-T history, and (4) the pace of magmatic differentiation. Particularly striking results have been obtained using multiple techniques to investigate the timing and dynamics of intrusive processes. We invite contributions that explore all facets of the physical and chemical dynamics of intrusions using a range of approaches, including observations from experimental and analytical petrology, numerical and physical modeling, structural analysis of intrusions, geochemistry, geochronology, geophysics and physical volcanology. Papers that bridge multiple techniques are particularly encouraged.

Convenors: Nemesio Perez (Spain), Phil Kyle (United States of America), Toshiya Mori (Japan), Yuri Taran (Mexico)

Scope: Magmatic volatiles and gases are one of the most important components of magmas, affecting their rheology, whether or not eruptions are explosive or effusive or even both, the impact of eruptions on climate, and causing many volcanic hazards. Understanding the behaviour of volatiles in the magma conduit, during eruptions, how they exsolve and behave after exsolution (remain coupled with the magma or escaping?), how different gases interact and the role they play during an eruption, their impact on the environment and human health during and after eruptions, how we sample them and measure their properties, from direct sampling to remote sensing, and how to assess their hazard levels and impact remain key areas of research. Contributions on any of these aspects are invited, including theoretical, experimental, field, remote sensing, modeling and case study approaches.

Keynote Speaker: Shinohara Hiroshi

Lead Convenors: Daniele Giordano (Spain), Yan Lavalleé, Claudia Romano (Italy)

Scope:The vast majority of magma transport processes of relevance to planetary magmatism and volcanism involve viscosity. The rheological properties of both melts (single phase) and magmatic multiphase mixtures (melt plus crystals and/or gaseous phases) are consequently of primary importance when evaluating the evolution of Earth and other planets. The visco-elastic properties of naturally-occurring silicate magmas can span more than 15 orders of magnitude primarily in response to variations in temperature, pressure, melt composition and redox conditions as well as in the  proportions and the size and shape distributions of suspended solids and/or exsolved fluid phases. Dissolved volatiles strongly affect the rheological properties of magma, so that also very small variations in their concentrations can generate large and strongly nonlinear changes of the viscosity of magmas as well as large variations of the distribution and content of phases. The importance of rheology in magma transport within a volcano conduit or in the mantle lithosphere stems from the critical role that viscous forces exert in these dynamic environments. Close to the fragmentation level, for instance, magma viscosity is so large to bring to the brittle failure of magma and the triggering of a catastrophic eruption. The high-stress field in volcanic conduit or in the deep mantle lithosphere can also result in complex non-Newtonian rheology (e.g., shear thinning and viscous heating) possibly playing important roles on the dynamic of magma ascent and fragmentation. The accurate description of dynamic processes such as melt production/extraction, the propagation and ascent of melt or magma filled cracks, the convective dynamics of magma bodies, the way gases escape toward the surface of a planet, the eruptive style and eruptive style transitions cannot be quantitatively addressed unless accurate constitutive rheological relations are provided. An approach based on both theory and experiment has proven to be most fruitful in the search for generally applicable models. We welcome all contributions addressing these and related topics, especially those that combine natural observations with well-constrained experiments or numerical models.

Keynote speakers: Don Dingwell, Luca Caricchi

Lead Convenors: Thor Thordarsson (United Kingdom), Andy Harris (France), Sonia Calvari (Italy)

Scope: Lava flows are formed by complex fluids that span the range of known magma compositions on Earth and other planetary bodies. Lava flow studies are multifaceted and involve a wide range of approaches, including field based observations and measurements, laboratory simulations, numerical modelling and remote sensing. Studies on effusive eruptions at active volcanoes, in particular those with high recurrence intervals of such events, have played a key role in linking flow field architecture, flow structures and magma rheology to the emplacement modes and mechanisms characteristic of individual lava types. These studies have also facilitated assessments of the hazard and risk posed by lava flows to populated areas and demonstrated the need for near-real time forecasting of lava flow length and path in order to protect the public. Research over the last two decades has highlighted several critical elements that exert important controls on flow behaviour. These include degassing-induced changes in magma/lava rheology, rate of heat loss during lava emplacement, modes of emplacement (i.e. endogenous versus exogenous growth - inflation), open versus closed system transport (channels vs tubes), and motion patterns at the active flow fronts, to name but a few. There is little doubt that effective integration of the multifaceted approaches used in lava flow studies will continue to enhance our understanding of lava flow dynamics and emplacement styles of ancient, as well as extraterrestrial, lava flow fields. By the same token, improvement of existing approaches as well as introduction of, and integration with, new research tools will enhance our research capabilities. We invite contributions that deal with these and other aspects of subaerial, submarine and planetary lava flows and particularly encourage contribution of results that consider multidisciplinary approaches.

Keynote speakers: Massimiliano Favalli, Katherine Cashman

Lead Convenors: Ben Kennedy (New Zealand), Oleg Melnik (United Kingdom), Jonathan Castro (Australia), Paolo Papale (Italy), Michael Manga (United States of America)

Scope: Nearly all magmas undergo degassing and crystallization whilst ascending within volcanic conduits. This process has profound implications for both explosive and effusive eruptions. The end product is lava or pyroclasts that contains bubbles, crystals, cracks and glass in varying proportions. Details of the processes driving these textural changes, their timescales and consequences can be elucidated using textural and geochemical analysis, experimentation, geophysical and modelling approaches. Our session will focus upon the complex interplay between eruption style, volatile content, degassing rate, crystallisation, viscosity, vent geometry, and magma ascent rate. Textural changes may also control the ductile-brittle transition of ascending magma and associated seismicity. We welcome all contributions addressing these and related topics, especially those that combine natural observations, geophysical monitoring with well-constrained experiments or numerical models.

Keynote Speakers: Antonio Costa, Alain Burguisser, Hugh Tuffen

Lead Convenors: Costanza Bonadonna (Switzerland), Bruce Houghton (United States of America), Antonio Costa (Italy), Augusto Neri (Italy), Marcus Bursik (United States of America)

Scope: This symposium looks at advances in the understanding of pyroclast transport and sedimentation from steady, unsteady and transient volcanic explosions via field characterization, analog experimentation and computational modeling. Contributions on the deposits and plume behavior from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland would be of considerable interest.

Keynote Speakers: Armann Höskuldsson, Arnau Folch

Lead Convenors: Amanda Clarke (United States of America), Olivier Roche (France), Tim Druitt (France), Joe Dufek (United States of America),

Scope: Numerical and physical modeling have greatly enhanced our understanding of the dynamics of pyroclastic density currents, and may eventually play a critical role in volcanic hazard assessment by aiding prediction of inundation area over complex topography.  However, demonstrating this predictive capacity remains a significant challenge. Nonetheless, the physical relevance and practical utility of quantitative models of volcanic processes is continually improving via increasing model complexity and precision, while the most progress may result from formulation of constitutive relationships and development of new physical theory through laboratory experiments, along with comparison and validation against natural events, especially those documented by detailed and continuous field measurements. In particular, deposit analysis, both in the field and in the lab, along with coupled remote sensing approaches are essential to strengthen physical models.  We invite talks on this topic, and strongly encourage those which combine field, lab and/or modeling approaches.

Keynote speakers: Eliza Calder, Sharon Allen

Lead Convenors: Heather Wright (United States of America), Laura Pioli, Margherita Polacci, Piero Dellino (Italy), Kathy Cashman (United States of America)

Scope: Much information regarding the conditions that lead to and are developed during explosive eruptions is preserved within erupted pyroclasts. The surface textures and internal structures (vesicle, crystal, and groundmass characteristics) of these pyroclasts provide information about pre-eruptive magma ascent, shallow storage, conditions of explosive fragmentation, and post-eruptive modifications. In this session we welcome papers that use quantitative methods to characterize and/or image pyroclast textures and their variations within the deposit stratigraphy, with the aim of understanding the development of magma permeability, the conditions that promote fragmentation, and the modification of pyroclasts during transportation and deposition. Contributions integrating pyroclast analysis with experimental, theoretical, and numerical models will be particularly well received.

Lead Convenors: Jim Cole (New Zealand), Darren Gravely (New Zealand), Agust Gudmundsson (United Kingdom)

Scope: There is a clear link between volcanism and tectonism. This symposium will explore how volcanoes in different tectonic settings differ, the inter-relationship between magmatism and both regional and local structure, the geometry and structural setting of calderas, and the role tectonism plays in triggering eruptions

Keynote Speakers: Julie Rowlands, Scott Bryan

Lead Convenors: James White (New Zealand), Jo Gottsman (United Kingdom), Joan Marti (Spain), Guido Giordano (Italy), Scott Bryan (Australia)

Scope: What makes some volcanic systems big?  Do their behaviours differ fundamentally from those of smaller volcanic systems, or are they just scaled-up versions?  Are they longer-lived?  Do they share fundamental features or processes with one another?  Eruptions of all sizes and a huge range of compositions are known from big volcanic systems.  Some erupt almost continuously, others apparently only in vast eruptions separated by thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.  Shield volcanoes comprise some of earth's tallest mountains, while calderas are holes in the ground, and LIPs produce lava plains and ignimbrite plateaux.  This symposium seeks to bring together work on all types of big volcanic systems, and all aspects of those systems from magma production, periodicity of delivery, storage and transport to the surface, to the range of volcanic landforms, structures, and deposits resulting from their eruptions.

Keynote Speakers: Colin Wilson, Sverre Planke, Dougal Jerram

Lead Convenors: Greg Valentine (United States of America), Shane Cronin (New Zealand), Karoly Nemeth (New Zealand), Adrian Pittari (New Zealand), Berndt Zimanowski (Germany)

Scope: Monogenetic volcanoes, which commonly occur in volcanic fields, are receiving increasing attention within the research community.  Because of their relative simplicity (compared to polygenetic volcanoes, for example), monogenetic volcanoes provide important insights into magma generation and collection at depth, ascent dynamics, and controls on eruption styles and the potential relationships between these processes.  In addition to their value for basic research, monogenetic volcanoes and their host volcanic fields play important roles in hazard and risk assessments for many urban areas and critical facilities around the world.  This symposium invites contributions related to the full range of processes associated with monogenetic volcanoes and their hazards.  Focused topics include:  magma generation and collection in intraplate settings, magma source characteristics, ascent rates and plumbing geometries, crustal storage and magma evolution during ascent, volatile contents and degassing, controls on magmatic and phreatomagmatic eruptive styles, relationships between pyroclastic activity and lava effusion, lava flow field development, the geomorphic expression and degradation processes associated with monogenetic volcanoes, spatial-temporal controls on location and timing of monogenetic events, and hazard and risk assessments for monogenetic volcanic fields.  In particular, we encourage presentations that explore the linkages between these processes.

Keynote speakers: Jose´ Jorge Aranda-Gomez, F. Di Traglia

Lead Convenors: Kelly Russell (Canada), Lucy Porritt (Canada), Pat Hayman (Australia), Tom Gernon (United Kingdom)

Scope: Significant advances have occurred in recent years in understanding the nature of kimberlite volcanic systems. However, many problems still remain to be resolved including the composition and origin of kimberlite and related magmas their volatile contents (species and abundance), the physical processes by which the conduit and vent systems form and open during volcanic eruptions, the factors that affect the geometry and dimensions of kimberlite pipes, the duration and style of volcanic eruptions, the dynamics of kimberlite eruption columns compared with those of other magma systems, the transportation and depositional processes of the erupted deposits, the processes and events by which the material filling kimberlite pipes (=vents) are formed and deposited, the nature of the volcanic edifices of kimberlite volcanoes, which are rarely preserved, the origin of alteration fluids and processes that affect all kimberlite deposits, the factors that influence diamond populations during magma ascent, eruption and alteration. Contributions on any of these aspects are invited.

Keynote Speakers: Ray Cas & Richard Brown.
Invited Speaker: Bruce Kjarsgaard

Lead Convenors: Sharon Allen (Australia), Ben Edwards (United States of America), Hugh Tuffen (United Kingdom), Magnus Gudmundsson (Iceland)

Scope: Eruptions from subaqueous/subglacial vents are controlled by high confining pressure and interactions between magma and water/ice. Eruptions sourced in shallow water/thin ice can have sufficiently high eruption rates or eruption durations to breach the water/ice-air surface and become subaerial generating significant hazards and potential for highly explosive interaction between magma and water. The April 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull not only affected the local population but became sufficiently violent to produce ash and steam-rich plumes rich in fluorine that caused,significant disruption to European airspace with a high cost local and global economies. For volatile-rich eruptions sourced in deep water and thick ice, high confining pressure reduces explosivity and the surrounding water affects eruption column dynamics. In contrast explosivity can be aided by magma/water interaction during effusive eruptions. The conditions extant during these eruptions form deposits that uniquely constrain evolving vent conditions over the course of eruptions, and can be important sources of paleo-climate information and water depth constraints. This session brings together researchers within the fields of submarine/sublaustine/subglacial effusive and explosive volcanism where confining pressure and ambient conditions influence the eruption processes. Particular emphasis will be on eruption dynamics, transport mechanisms, and hazards. 

Keynote speakers: Magnus Gudmundsson

Lead Convenors: Giovanni Leone (United Kingdom), Tracey Gregg (United States of America), Ellen Stofan, Suzanne Smrekar (United States of America), Ashley Davies (United States of America)

Scope: This session will focus on state of the art and new views and concepts concerning the volcanic processes occurring across the Solar System. From cryovolcanism on Titan, Europa, and Enceladus to active explosive volcanism on Earth and Io, from relatively recent lavas on Venus to older volcanic edifices on Mars and basaltic plains on Mercury and the Moon, and even plutonic intrusions on asteroid 4 Vesta, volcanism is widespread and exhibits different eruptive styles. Data returned from many spacecraft have shown a wealth of different volcanic landforms shaped by the peculiar environmental conditions at the time of their formation where gravity, role of volatiles, magma compositions, and different atmospheric pressures played and play a fundamental role. Geological histories, morphological studies and numerical modelling can yield important constraints to better understand planetary volcanism in view of the common and different processes occurring on Earth. Comparative volcanology with an interdisciplinary approach is the best way to achieve such a goal.

Keynore Speakers: David Rothery, Lindy Elkins-Tanton

Lead Convenor: Vernon Manville (United Kingdom), Magnus Gudmundsson (Iceland), Nancy Riggs (United States of America)

Scope: Volcanic terrains are amongst the most complex environments on the planet, with all the inherent diversity of possible eruption styles and magnitudes superimposed on whatever characteristics the receiving landscape may possess. The combination of prodigious volumes of particulate material generated by explosive eruptions with the substantial positive and negative topographic relief associated with volcanic edifices and volcano-tectonic depressions gives rise to dramatic rates of syn- and post-eruptive reworking and redistribution. Existing depositional systems are initially overwhelmed and then forced to readjust to this perturbation. This symposium will focus on the processes of erosion, transport and redeposition of volcanic detritus over the full range of spatial and temporal scales. Contributions are sought on all aspects of volcaniclastic sediments and volcano-hydrologic hazards, including field, laboratory and numerical studies of debris avalanche and lahar phenomena. Contributions on the deposits and phenomena resulting from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland would be of considerable interest. As well as contributions on mud volcanism.

Keynote speakers: James Vallance, Matthew Roberts

Lead Convenors: Roberto Carniel (Italy), Eliza Calder (United States of America)

Scope: While exciting advances are being made in the understanding of the physical processes involved in the emplacement of volcanic hazards, including eruption plumes, pyroclastic density currents and lahars, the volcanological community currently lacks a coherent approach in dealing with hazard mapping. In particular, probabilistic approaches to hazard mapping are diverse in their approaches and philosophies and do not always take full advantage of current state of knowledge of the science. Probabilistic approaches need to be fully transparent across the discipline but also as they are used to communicate and inform stakeholders, who need to have an understanding of the uncertainties involved. Increase in the role of application of computational models to understand potential hazards, and use in probabilistic hazard mapping, is also intricately bound with discussions on model suitability and inherent uncertainty for forward modeling purposes. Computational flow models comprise two main types (1) complex fluid dynamics and solid mechanics models that attempt to capture as much of the underlying physics of a process as possible; (2) empirical, or abstracted, models that capture the essence of a complex process. Improved understanding of the physical processes involved has a direct impact on assessing the types of models suitable for use in generating probabilistic hazard maps, as well as understanding their respective limitations. Models that can be relatively quickly run, in stochastic mode, and are coupled with geographic data, are being increasingly tested and employed in the generation of probabilistic hazard maps during real episodes of volcanic crisis. Forward modeling applications are still largely at an experimental stage, but developments of both appropriate models and methodologies pose an exciting new opportunity in a field that has traditionally relied on mapping the distribution of previous deposits. Finally, the integration and combination of the different, potentially even contrasting, results of different models and methodologies is a noteworthy field of research on its own. In this session, we encourage contributions from a broad spectrum of topics dealing with developing new methodologies, including deposit mapping, computational modeling based maps, and new statistical tools for probabilistic based hazard assessments including the 'modeling of models' and the use of expert elicitation.

Keynote Speakers: Chris Newhall, Thea Hincks

Lead Convenors: Steve Beresford (Australia), Pierre Simon Ross (Canada), Cornel de Ronde (New Zealand), Bruce Gemmell (Australia), Mark Hannington (Canada)

Scope: Many volcanic systems are either directly hosts of mineral resources or volcanic processes play a pivotal role in the ore deposit genesis. This session will focus on the link between volcanic (and subvolcanic) processes, settings and ore genesis. We encourage presentations on a diversity of ore styles. The emphasis will be on the volcanology of the deposits or host sequences, not on the resources themselves. Suitable topics for presentations include:

• Setting of modern and ancient volcanic hosted massive sulphide deposits
• Primary volcanic architecture of komatiite-hosted Ni-Cu deposits
• Host sequences to epithermal and porphyry deposits
• Geology of high level porphyries including emplacement, unidirectional solidification textures, and timing relationship with stratovolcanoes
• Role of volcanic stratigraphy in the diversity of epigenetic deposits
• Role of monogenetic and polygenetic volcanism in the genesis of Olympic Dam-style IOCG deposits
• The diversity of breccia styles in ore-forming systems

Keynote Speakers: Jocelyn McPhie, Rodney Allen

Organiser: IUGG Union Commission on Study of the Earth and Deep Interior
Co-sponsors: IAGA, IASPEI, IAVCEI
Principal Convenors: Gauthier Hulot (France)
Co-convenors: Michael Bergman (United States of America), Greg Houseman (United Kingdom), Satoru Tanaka (Japan),

Scope: The broad goal of this symposium is to report on the latest progress in our understanding of the past, current and future state of the Earth’s deep interior.  The ‘deep interior’ is broadly interpreted to include the core and lower mantle, but interest inevitably extends to the upper mantle, for example, in the study of mantle plumes or dynamics of descending lithospheric slabs. The scientific questions and problems of interest to this session include 1) the composition, state and material properties of the Earth’s deep interior as revealed by experimental and theoretical means; 2) the thermal evolution of the Earth, in particular the various convective regimes the core and mantle may have experienced through the Earth’s history, as predicted by theoretical, numerical simulation and experimental studies; 3) the way this evolution may be reconciled with the current and past dynamical state of the Earth, as revealed by geophysical, geochemical and paleomagnetic data; 4) the age, growth, structure and dynamics of the inner core, especially in view of understanding its present inhomogeneous and anisotropic properties; 5) the dynamics of the outer core and of the field generated by its dynamo at all time scales. Particularly welcome are cross-disciplinary and cross-methodological (theoretical, numerical, experimental, and observational) contributions, especially in view of better understanding the way the inner-core, the outer core and the mantle may have been, and may still, be interacting with each other. Invited and contributed papers will be presented in this session.

Keywords: core, lower mantle, upper mantle, mantle plumes, descending lithosphere, thermal evolution, convection, mantle composition, geodynamo, growth and structure of the inner core.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors

Options: All contributed abstracts will be presented as posters. Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations.

Organisers: IAG
Co-sponsors: IAGA, IASPEI, IAVCEI, International Lithosphere Program (ILP), and International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
Principal Convenors: John Dawson (Australia)
Co-convenors: Sierd Cloetingh (The Netherlands), Ian Ferguson (Canada), Kevin Furlong (United States of America)

Scope: Understanding the structure and deformation of plate interiors and their margins has important implications for society, and more and more there will be a reliance on a knowledge base of its past, present and future state. For example, society's increasing demand for energy and groundwater security will require geoscientists to address issues associated with geothermal energy supply, geo-sequestration of waste products, the impact of groundwater use, and natural hazards. This will require integrated and new approaches to the observation, modelling and interpretation of processes within the crust and lithosphere. This symposium shall consist of invited talks that will address the science associated with the structure and deformation of the Australian Plate including recent developments and findings in Earth imaging, numerical modeling, inversion, data mining approaches, earthquake seismology, volcanology and geodetic measurement of crustal deformation.

Keywords: Continental lithosphere, Australian plate, deformation

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors

Options: All contributed abstracts will be presented as posters. Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations. Tentative list of invited speakers

Organiser: IAMAS
Co-sponsors: IAHS, IAPSO, IASPEI
Principal Convenors: Michael MacCracken (United States of America), Alan Robock (United States of America)
Co-convenors: Larry Brown (United States of America), Ken Denman (Canada), Dave Jackson (United States of America), Dongxiao Zhang (China)

Scope: With the pace of climate change increasing and the array and magnitude of climate impacts intensifying, increasing attention is being paid to the potential for limiting the effects of anthropogenic climate change through large-scale geotechnical means, often called geoengineering. The most discussed approaches include deliberately altering the Earth's radiation balance and intervening in the carbon cycle or other biogeochemical cycles, for example via scrubbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Although specific approaches have been proposed, relatively little is known about their potential effectiveness and possible unintended consequences. Issues of technological feasibility are also largely unexplored. The set of invited presentations will describe and address the potential effectiveness and scientific and technical problems associated with deliberate climate modification, including the potential for enhancement of terrestrial and oceanic carbon sinks. Presentations will cover modeling studies of the climatic impacts of proposed schemes for altering the absorption of solar radiation; studies of unintended environmental consequences; and evaluations of technological feasibility. Recognizing that geoengineering raises a range of environmental, societal, and governance issues, perspectives on how these complexities interface with proceeding with scientific research and potential deployment will also be offered.
This symposium is continued in greater depth in the Joint Symposium J-M01/J-V06 “Geoengineering: Can it limit climate change and its impacts?”

Keywords: geoengineering, climate intervention, global warming, carbon sequestration, solar
radiation management

Options: All papers in this symposium will be invited. Please contribute abstracts to the related Joint Symposium J-M01/J-V06 “Geoengineering: Can it limit climate change and its impacts?” which will have both oral and poster presentations.

Organiser: IAGA – as part of IUGG Geoscience in Africa initiative and the eGY-Africa program.
Co-sponsors. IAG, IAHS, IAMAS, IAPSO, IASPEI, IAVCEI, African Geospace Society (AGS), Association of African Universities (AAU), Africa Earth Observing Network (AEON), AfricaArray; ICSU Regional Office for Africa, CODATA, International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UN-GAID), U.S. InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP); European Enabling Grid for e-Science (EGEE); Geoscience Information in Africa (GIRAF); and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (ICTP).
Principal Convenor: Charles Barton (Australia)
Co-convenors: Abdelkrim Aoudia (Algeria), Hussein A. Abd-Elmotaal (Egypt), Rabiu Babatunde (Nigeria), Harouna Karambiri (Burkina Faso), Christine Amory-Mazaudier (France), Laban Ogallo (Kenya), Bamol Sow (Senegal), Maarten de Wit (South Africa).

Scope: The session will cover a combination of both the leading Earth and space science being undertaken and planned in Africa in the areas covered by all eight Associations, and also infrastructure issues (such as efforts to create a better professional environment for African scientists, open access to publications, internet connectivity, support for African science, education, and training). The symposium will provide (i) a forum for presenting and discussing the latest African geoscientific research, (ii) a cross-disciplinary view of geoscientific activity in Africa (Africa being the focus of the symposium), (iii) a stimulus for stronger interest and participation in African science by African and non-African scientists, and (iv) an opportunity to explore progress in creating a better professional working environment for people engaged in scientific research, education, and training in Africa.

Keywords: geoscience in Africa, integrated African research, unique African geoscience, research and education infrastructure, Internet connectivity, research and education networks, open access to publications, professional geoscientific bodies.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors.

Options: All contributed abstracts may be presented as posters. The convenors will invite selected papers for oral presentations.

Organiser: IUGG
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAG, IAGA, IAHS, IAMAS, IAPSO, IASPEI, and IAVCEI
Principal Convenors: Harsh Gupta (India) and László Szarka (Hungary)

Scope: With the passage of time, the importance of "Geophysics" as a discipline is increasing. A large number of young persons are joining the Geophysics stream. IUGG is conscious of the aspirations of young geophysicists. This Union Symposium would have speakers, preferably 35 years old or younger, from the 8 Associations of IUGG and a few other invited young persons to share their experience, expectations, successes and concerns in development of Geophysics.

This symposium is under active development.

Organiser: IAG
Co-sponsor: IASPEI, IAVCEI
Lead Convenor: John Dawson (Australia)
Co-convenors: Sierd Cloetingh (The Netherlands), Kevin Furlong (United States of America), Markku Poutanen (Finland)

Scope: Understanding the structure and deformation of plate interiors and their margins has important implications for society, and more and more there will be a reliance on a knowledge base of its past, present and future state. For example, society's increasing demand for energy and groundwater security will require geoscientists to address issues associated with geothermal energy supply, geosequestration of waste products, the impact of groundwater use, and natural hazards. This will require integrated and new approaches to the observation, modeling and interpretation of processes within the crust and lithosphere. This symposium will address the science associated with the structure and deformation of continental lithosphere including recent developments and findings in Earth imaging, numerical modeling, inversion, data mining approaches, earthquake seismology, volcanology and geodetic measurement of crustal deformation.

Keywords: Lithosphere, tectonic plates, deformation measurements, deformation modelling

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAGA, IAHS, IAMAS, IAPSO, IASPEI, IAVCEI, IOC, GOOS, GCOS, GEO/GEOSS
Lead Convenor: Markus Rothacher (Switzerland)
Co-convenors: Ruth Neilan (United States of America), Mioara Mandea (France), Keith Alverson (France), Massimo Cocco (Italy)

Scope: Earth observations are the fundamental basis for most IUGG scientific research, activities, and applications. Integrating these observations is of increasing importance to better understand our planet Earth and the challenges we face now and in the coming decades. These observations are of vital importance for virtually all associations working under the auspices of IUGG and inter-association, even inter-Union activities are being further developed or initiated.  Entities like the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), along with the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), demonstrate the need for highly collaborative international observations that target key questions, and the systems necessary to integrate them for multi-disciplinary applications and decision-making. The importance of developing global observing strategies is recognized by GEO, the Group on Earth Observations, with its main aim to develop the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems), which is supported on the government level by about more than 80 countries. This symposium shall give an overview of the major international developments towards integrating Earth observations, Inter-Union activities of the International Council for Science (ICSU), and developments within the IUGG associations.

Keywords: earth observations, monitoring systems

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organisers: IAMAS (ICCL), IAVCEI
Lead Convenors: Michael MacCracken ( United States of America), Alan Robock (United States of America)

Scope: With the pace of climate change increasing and the array and magnitude of climate impacts intensifying, increasing attention is being paid to the potential for limiting the effects of anthropogenic climate change through large-scale technical means, often called geoengineering. Possible approaches include deliberately altering the Earth's radiation balance, and intervening in the carbon cycle or other biogeochemical cycles, for example via carbon scrubbing and sequestration. Although specific approaches have been proposed, relatively little is known about their potential effectiveness for moderating climate change and possible unintended consequences. Issues of technological feasibility are also largely unexplored. Papers are invited that describe and address the potential effectiveness and scientific and technical problems associated with deliberate climate modification, including enhancement of terrestrial and oceanic carbon sinks. Possible examples include modeling studies of the climatic impacts of proposed schemes for altering the absorption of solar radiation; studies of unintended environmental consequences; and evaluations of technological feasibility issues. Papers on historical, ethical, and governance issues are also welcome.

Keywords: geoengineering, global warming, climate intervention, carbon scrubbing, solar radiation management

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors

Options: Accepted abstracts will be presented as either oral or posters as determined by the convenors. This joint symposium is closely linked to the Union symposium U-06, which consists of solicited presentations only.

Organiser: IASPEI
Co-Sponsors: IAPSO and IAVCEI
Lead Convenor: Kenji Satake (Japan)
Co-convenors: Vassily Titov (United States of America), Alexander Rabinovich (Russia)

Scope: During 5 years after the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean tragedy, the science of tsunami, tsunami warning and mitigation measures have been advancing in unprecedented scale. The Indian  Ocean tsunami demonstrated the catastrophic potential of tsunamis in the absence of hazard and vulnerability assessments, mitigation, and warning systems. In six years after the Indian Ocean tsunami, the tsunami science and many tsunami-related programs have seen dramatic improvements, including observing systems, education and outreach tools, community resilience assessment tools, hazard and vulnerability assessments, modeling, and warning operations. This session provides a forum to discuss successes that have been achieved in the last six years and to identify areas where more studies and improvements are of urgent need.

Organiser: IASPEI
Lead Convenors: Christoph Clauser (Germany), Mike Sandiford (Australia), Alexander Gliko (Russia)

Scope: This symposium addresses topics in both tectonic heat flow (continental and marine) and geothermal energy. While it provides an environment for the researchers of both communities for discussions of their specific topics, problems and approaches it may also serve specifically as a forum for potential exchange of concepts and data used in one of the two fields in the other one. We therefore call for submission of papers and posters dealing with (a) the measurement of thermal rock properties and borehole temperature, the determination of heat flow and its interpretation with respect to tectonic and various transport processes in the Earth’s crust; and (b) the prospection, development, and operation of installations for the production of geothermal energy for heating and cooling, or for generating electric energy. In view of recent developments in Australia and elsewhere we specifically welcome contributions on engineered geothermal systems in hot, low permeability rock.

Organiser: IASPEI
Co-Sponsors: IAGA, IAVCEI
Lead Convenors: Hugh O'Neill (Australia), Greg Yaxley (Australia), Ian Jackson (Australia), Tetsuo Irifune (Japan), Catherine McCammon (Germany), Takashi Yoshino (Japan)

Scope: This symposium is intended to provide a forum for presentation and discussion of research into the physico-chemical behaviour of geological materials with implications for the structure and evolution of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. Topics of current interest include elasticity and rheology; diffusion; electrical conductivity; oxidation state of the mantle; carbon in the mantle under varying P-T-redox conditions; partial melting in a heterogeneous mantle and melt extraction; metamorphic phase equilibria and dehydration of subducting slab; refertilization and melting of the mantle wedge; the distinctive properties of cratonic roots; water in nominally anhydrous minerals and its impact on elasticity and rheology. Contributions on these and other related topics are welcome.
This Symposium is also listed by IAVCEI as J-V03.

Organiser: IASPEI
Co-Sponsors: IAVCEI-SEDI
Lead Convenors: Ian Jackson (Australia), Ian Campbell (Australia), Louis Moresi (Australia), Albrecht Hofmann (Germany), Hans-Peter Bunge (Germany)

Scope: This symposium, reflecting on the career-long contribution of Geoff Davies, is intended to provide an interdisciplinary forum for discussion of geophysical and geochemical constraints on mantle structure, chemical composition and dynamical processes. The separation of basaltic melt from refractory harzburgitic residue generates heterogeneity that is resistant to re-homogenization during subsequent mantle convection. Seismic tomography suggests that wavespeed heterogeneity is concentrated in the upper and lowermost parts of the mantle. Geochemical studies provide evidence of long-lived heterogeneity at various spatial scales. Numerical modelling of mantle convection favours at least episodic whole-mantle convection over the strictly layered alternative. Other topical issues include chemically equilibrated compositional models versus mechanical mixtures of components of contrasting chemical composition; melting of eclogite-pyroxenite lenses in a harzburgite mantle; the seismological observability of mantle plumes; the influence of pressure-induced electronic spin-pairing on wavespeed-depth gradients in the lower mantle; and the survival of heterogeneity in a vigorously convecting mantle.
This Symposium is also listed by IAVCEI as J-V04.

Organiser: IASPEI
Lead Convenors: J. Neuberg (United Kingdom), H Kumagai (Japan), J Johnson (United States of America)

Scope: Seismic and infrasonic monitoring of active and dormant volcanoes is the key element of any monitoring program undertaken by volcano observatories or research institutions. Major advances in volcano seismology have been made in recent years allowing us to identify several categories of volcanic seismic events, and interpret them in terms of different magmatic or tectonic processes encountered on a volcano. Attempts based on multi-disciplinary methodologies turned out to be particularly successful.
This session is dedicated to latest developments in volcano seismological monitoring techniques, interpretation and modelling methodology in a wider volcanological context.

We invite contributions for both oral and poster presentations that deal with any seismological aspects relevant to volcano monitoring, new methodologies as well as case studies from a wide variety of volcanic settings. This includes advances in seismic instrumentation, as well as theoretical approaches. Particularly welcome are studies that combine seismic and infrasound measurements with other monitoring or modelling techniques, such as ground deformation, gas monitoring, petrology and fluid dynamics of magmatic systems

Organisers: IASPEI, IAGA, IAVCEI
Lead Convenors: M. Johnston (United States of America), T. Harinarayana (India)

Scope: The realization that earthquakes, aseismic fault failure and tsunamis generate electromagnetic phenomena has been the subject of intense interest during the past few years. Crustal phenomena may arise directly and/or indirectly from source processes driving these tectonic events and may reflect the roles of fluids in active faulting. Unfortunately, not all aspects of these measurements, or theories proposed to explain them, are well understood. Tsunami effects arise from the movement of conducting seawater in the Earths’ magnetic field. This symposium will focus on the following four main areas of investigation:
- Measurements of electric and magnetic fields near active faults and with tsunamis
- Controlled laboratory observations and observations from natural laboratories such as locked faults, slipping faults and stress from dam loading/filling,
- Theoretical considerations regarding source generation mechanisms.
- Measurement resolution, data quality, identification separation and removal of spurious signal sources.
Each of these areas provides insight into, and quantification of, electromagnetic fields generated by earthquakes and tsunamis.

Organisers: IASPEI, IAGA, IAVCEI
Lead Convenors: M. Parrot (France), Y. Hobara (Japan)

Scope: Observations of electromagnetic phenomena associated with seismic and volcanic activities have been reported for many years. Perturbations occur not only in the lithosphere but also in the atmosphere and ionosphere, leading to the generation of a new science field, lithosphereatmosphere- ionosphere coupling. This session will accept papers dealing with new observational findings on the seismic effects with satellites. Contributions along the following lines are also encouraged:
- The TEC variation provided by GPS satellites,
- Coordinated satellite and ground-based EM experiments.

Organisers: IASPEI, IAGA, IAVCEI
Lead Convenor: J. Zlotnicki (France)
Co-convenors: Y. Sasai (Japan), V. Spichak (Russia)

Scope: Electromagnetic methods have been intensively applied to volcanic systems, hydrothermal and geothermal fields for understanding the structure and tectonic setting, and for monitoring the activity. Analyses of long time series undoubtedly show that magnetic and electric effects can precede volcanic eruptions, and geothermal activities. The development of new technologies and methodologies allows us to clarify the relationships among magmatic, hydrothermal, environmental and mechanical processes. Combination of land and satellite EM studies with other geophysical observations could also drastically improve the description and understanding of on-going processes.
The session will focus on the following lines:
- EM tomography and modelling of volcanic/geothermal environments,
- Integrated EM monitoring such as self-potential, magnetic, electric, magnetotelluric, combined with satellite observations,
- Joint EM, geochemical, thermal, ground deformation and seismic observations,
- Laboratory experiments and physical mechanisms of EM generation processes,
- Modelling of volcanic activity

This Symposium is also listed by IAVCEI as J-V09

Organisers: IASPEI, IAGA, IAVCEI
Lead Convenor: T. Nagao (Japan)
Co-convenors: Konstantinos Eftaxias (Greece), Friedemann Freund (United States of America)

Scope: It is generally believed that the achievement of the short-term earthquake prediction is very difficult. However, this topic is one of the ultimate goals of the solid earth sciences. Furthermore, to achieve short-term prediction, the unambiguous identification of precursory phenomena is essential. During the past few decades, there have been strong arguments about the reality of the existence of “reliable” precursory phenomena. In this session, we would like to focus not only on electromagnetic “precursors” but all suggestions of “reliable” earthquake precursors. Most important will be evidence showing clear uniqueness of these signals in the long-term record, relation to other independent geophysical data and their generation mechanisms. Thus, we would like to discuss the following topics from a critical points of view.
1) All kinds of evidences of precursory phenomena, involving seismic, geodetic, geochemical, hydrological, in addition to electromagnetic anomalies, and their inter-relationships.
2) Theoretical models and lab experiments to explain the physical mechanisms behind precursory phenomena.
3) Study of various data bases with new procedures (e.g. critical approach).