The International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) General Assembly is held every few years in a city near a volcanically active area. This year, over 1000 volcanologists, geophysicists, and geochemists from 43 countries convened July 19-24 in Kagoshima, Japan.
IAVCEI meetings focus on efforts to mitigate volcanic disasters, and encompass volcano monitoring, eruption forecasting, and research in volcanology and related disciplines. Many presentations this year focused on the real-time acquisition of volcano monitoring data, as well as the use and improvement of databases and tools to handle such large data sets.
The DECADE (Deep Earth CArbon DEgassing) initiative, launched by DCO in 2012, held a brainstorming session during the Commission of Chemistry of Volcanic Gases meeting (July 21st, 7-9 PM). Tobias Fisher and Patrick Allard of the DCO Reservoirs and Fluxes Scientific Steering Committee led a discussion addressing which volcanoes should be targeted by the DECADE project and thus equipped with gas monitoring equipment.
The exciting scientific program was complemented with a number of uniquely Japanese social events, including tea degustation, calligraphy lessons, and the chance to try a kimono and/or a samurai costume. And during the mid-conference field trip, attendees were lucky enough to witness Sakurajima volcano erupt (pictured), complete with a magnificent ash plume, ballistic rocks, and flank shaking.
The next IAVCEI General Assembly will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, 22 June- 2 July 2015.
Meeting report contributed by Marion Le Voyer, Carnegie Institution of Washington/Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. Photo contributed by Celia Dalou, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA
