A follow-up to the TV series "Savage Skies", "Savage Earth" explores the immense power of the forces acting on our planet through the eyes of those who have been most affected by it - be they scientists, researchers or innocent bystanders. It puts earthquake and volcanic activity into context by explaining the complexities of plate tectonics and continental drift using clear, acessible text and helpful diagrams.

Savage Earth

Science & Math

Scarth, Alwyn

Nature & Ecology

Harpercollins Pub, Ltd.

This reference book puts earthquakes and volcanic activity into context by explaining the complexities of plate tectonics and continental drift using both text and helpful diagrams. Subsequent sections of the book go into more detail looking first at earthquakes, and then at volcanoes, using a mixture of historical and contemporary accounts of major incidents in order to illustrate the often devastating effects. Real-life accounts by many of the interviewees featured in the television series, "Savage Skies", are also included. The final section deals with the science of earthquake and eruption prediction and the difficulties it presents to scientists around the world. Full of dramatic photographs, stories and concise explanation, "Savage Earth" is a reference guide to readers interested in the forces of science and nature. It contains everything you wanted to know about earthquakes and volcanoes but were too embarrassed to ask your children.

Savage Earth: The Dramatic Story of Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Earth Sciences

HarperCollins, UK

Volcanoes have contributed in large part to the formation of the Earth's crust and atmosphere--and are intimately tied to the history of humanity. The most ancient civilizations of Europe have preserved the imprint of these spectacular and often terrifying phenomena. The explosion of Santorini, some 3600 years ago in the Aegean, undoubtedly inspired the Greek fables of Atlantis, the eruptons of Etna (Sicily) are the origin of the image of the forges of Cyclops and other myths, and the concept of Hades was linked to numerous volcanoes in the Mediterranean. Italy was the birthplace of the science of volcanology, and the Atlantic (Iceland and the Azores) volcanoes have given unrivalled opportunity for the study of volcanic islands recently formed. This book, both reference and guide, presents the causes, initiation, and growth of these volcanoes against a background of their environmental aspects and contemporary activity. Special attention is given to the impact on the people who live on or around them. The volcanoes of and volcanic activity in the Mediterranean basin, the Atlantic, and France and Germany are described in clear prose with a minimum of technical jargon. A glossary of volcanic terms used in the local languages is included, and the book is well illustrated with black and white photographs and maps, and an 8-page color insert.

Volcanoes of Europe

Tanguy, Jean-Claude

Oxford University Press

On May 8, 1902, on the Caribbean island of Martinique, the volcano Mount Pelée loosed the most terrifying and lethal eruption of the twentieth century. In minutes, it killed 27,000 people and leveled the city of Saint-Pierre. In La Catastrophe, Alwyn Scarth provides a gripping day-by-day and hour-by-hour account of this devastating eruption, based primarily on chilling eyewitness accounts. Scarth recounts how, for many days before the great eruption, a series of smaller eruptions spewed dust and ash. Then came the eruption. A blinding flash lit up the sky. A tremendous cannonade roared out that was heard in Venezuela. Then a scorching blast of superheated gas and ash shot straight down towards Saint-Pierre, racing down at hundreds of miles an hour. This infernal avalanche of dark, billowing, reddish-violet fumes, flashing lightning, ash and rocks, crashed and rolled headlong, destroying everything in its path--public buildings, private homes, the town hall, the Grand Hotel. Temperatures inside the cloud reached 450 degrees Celsius. Virtually everyone in Saint-Pierre died within minutes. Scarth tells of many lucky escapes--the ship Topaze left just hours before the eruption, a prisoner escaped death in solitary confinement. But these were the fortunate few. An official delegation sent later that day by the mayor of Fort-de-France reported total devastation--no quays, no trees, only shattered facades. Saint-Pierre was a smoldering ruin. In the tradition of A Perfect Storm and Isaac's Storm, but on a much larger scale, La Catastrophe takes readers inside the greatest volcanic eruption of the century and one of the most tragic natural disasters of all time.

La Catastrophe: The Eruption of Mount Pelee, the Worst Volcanic Disaster of the 20th Century

History

Americas

Capricious, vibrant, and volatile, Vesuvius has been and remains one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes. In its rage, it has destroyed whole cities and buried thousands alive. In its calm, its ashes have fertilized the soil, providing for the people who have lived in its shadows. For over two millennia, the dynamic presence of this volcano has fascinated scientists, artists, writers, and thinkers, and inspired religious fervor, Roman architecture, and Western literature. In Vesuvius, Alwyn Scarth draws from the latest research, classical and eyewitness accounts, and a diverse range of other sources to tell the riveting story of this spectacular natural phenomenon.
 Scarth follows Vesuvius across time, examining the volcano's destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D., its eruptions during the Counter-Reformation that were viewed as God's punishment of sinners, and the building of the world's first volcano observatory on Vesuvius in the 1840s. Scarth explores the volcano's current position overlooking a population of more than three million people and the complex attitudes maintained by the residents, at once reverent, protective, and fearful. He also considers the next major eruption of Vesuvius, which experts have indicated could be the most powerful since 1631. The longer Vesuvius remains dormant, the more violent its reawakening will be, and despite scientific advances for predicting when this might occur, more people are vulnerable than ever before.
 Exploring this celebrated wonder from scientific, historical, and cultural perspectives, Vesuvius provides a colorful portrait of a formidable force of nature.

Vesuvius: A Biography

Princeton University Press

Why do volcanoes erupt, and in so many different ways?What happens when a volcano erupts in the sea?How can eruptions be predicted or even modified?Many such questions are posed and answered in this clearly written and wide-ranging introduction to volcanoes. From time immemorial the power and drama of volcanoes have terrified those who lived in their vicinity and fascinated those from afar. This book sets these impressive phenomena in their world context and explains their formations and effects, focusing especially on the many styles of eruptions and the multitude of volcanic landscape forms that result. Lava flows, cinder cones, domes, and calderas are all discussed, along with hycrovolcanic features, stratovolcanoes, and volcanic islands.Examples and illustrations from around the world and throughout time--from Vesuvius' eruption in A.D. 79 to Pinatubo's in June, 1991–provide an overview of all aspects of volcanic processes. The author includes various eyewitness accounts of volcanic events and illustrates his scientific points with photographs and line drawings. A final chapter examines the latest methods of predicting volcanic eruptions and moderating their effects.Volcanoes is an unusually accessible introduction to a perennially fascinating subject.

Volcanoes: An Introduction (Volume 19) (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series)

Texas A&M University Press

Why do volcanoes erupt, and in so many different ways? What happens when a volcano erupts in the sea? How can eruptions be predicted or even modified? Many such questions are posed and answered in this clearly written and wide-ranging introduction to volcanoes. From time immemorial the power and drama of volcanoes have terrified those who lived in their vicinity and fascinated those from afar. This book sets these impressive phenomena in their world context and explains their formations and effects, focusing especially on the many styles of eruptions and the multitude of volcanic landscape forms that result. Lava flows, cinder cones, domes, and calderas are all discussed, along with hycrovolcanic features, stratovolcanoes, and volcanic islands. Examples and illustrations from around the world and throughout time--from Vesuvius' eruption in A.D. 79 to Pinatubo's in June, 1991–provide an overview of all aspects of volcanic processes. The author includes various eyewitness accounts of volcanic events and illustrates his scientific points with photographs and line drawings. A final chapter examines the latest methods of predicting volcanic eruptions and moderating their effects. Volcanoes is an unusually accessible introduction to a perennially fascinating subject.

Volcanoes (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series, Number Nineteen) (Volume 19)

Volcanoes are intimately tied to the history of humanity, they help forge the Earth's crust and atmosphere, and they are very much an active feature of today. The archaeology of most ancient civilizations of Europe preserves the imprint of spectacular and volcanic phenomena while, in modern times life is still affected by large eruptions from Europe’s active volcanic systems. The eruption of Santorini, some 3600 years ago in the Aegean, probably inspired the Greek fables of Atlantis; the eruptions of Etna on Sicily are the origin of the forges of Cyclops and other myths; and the regular eruptions from Stromboli earned its Roman name, ‘the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean’. Eruptions in Iceland over the past few centuries have shaped more recent European history and highlight the dramatic effects that distant large eruptions can have on our modern way of living. This thoroughly revised and updated edition reflects modern research and is now illustrated in colour throughout. It presents the volcanoes of Europe, as they are today and tells how they have shaped our past. The volcanic systems of the Mediterranean basin, the Atlantic, and of mainland Europe are introduced and described in clear prose with a minimum of technical jargon. Some of Europe’s ancient volcanic systems is also described as these have been fundamental in shaping the science of volcanology. The origins, history and development of Europe’s volcanoes is presented against a background of their environmental aspects and contemporary activity. Special attention is given to the impact of volcanoes on the people who live on or around them. The book is written for student, amateur and professional earth scientists alike. To help guide the reader, a glossary of volcanic terms is included together with a vocabulary of volcanic terms used in European languages.

Jerram, Dougal

Liverpool University Press

Volcanoes are intimately tied to the history of humanity, they help forge the Earth's crust and atmosphere, and they are very much an active feature of today. The archaeology of most ancient civilizations of Europe preserves the imprint of spectacular and volcanic phenomena while, in modern times life is still affected by large eruptions from Europe’s active volcanic systems. The eruption of Santorini, some 3600 years ago in the Aegean, probably inspired the Greek fables of Atlantis; the eruptions of Etna on Sicily are the origin of the forges of Cyclops and other myths; and the regular eruptions from Stromboli earned its Roman name, ‘the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean’. Eruptions in Iceland over the past few centuries have shaped more recent European history and highlight the dramatic effects that distant large eruptions can have on our modern way of living. This thoroughly revised and updated edition reflects modern research and is now illustrated in colour throughout. It presents the volcanoes of Europe, as they are today and tells how they have shaped our past. The volcanic systems of the Mediterranean basin, the Atlantic, and of mainland Europe are introduced and described in clear prose with a minimum of technical jargon. Some of Europe’s ancient volcanic systems is also described as these have been fundamental in shaping the science of volcanology. The origins, history and development of Europe’s volcanoes is presented against a background of their environmental aspects and contemporary activity. Special attention is given to the impact of volcanoes on the people who live on or around them. The book is written for student, amateur and professional earth scientists alike. To help guide the reader, a glossary of volcanic terms is included together with a vocabulary of volcanic terms used in European languages.

Volcanoes: An Introduction

Why do volcanoes erupt, and in so many different ways? What happens when a volcano erupts in the sea? How can eruptions be predicted? These are a few of the questions addressed in this wide-ranging introduction to volcanoes. Assuming little background knowledge, and providing a comprehensive glossary explaining technical terms, this title deals with all aspects of volcanic features and processes. It examines them as distinctive, and often dramatic, features of the landscape, as well as potential sources of danger to human beings.; Volcanoes provide an exciting way in which to analyze some of the major geological processes. The author sets them in their world context and explains their formation, especially in relation to the many styles of eruption, and the multitude of volcanic landscape forms that result. Some major eruptions are selected to illustrate this eruptive variety and the impact on surrounding populations. Distinctive landscape forms, from flows to cones and calderas, are described with reference to the "biographies" of the volcanoes. There are chapters devoted to stratovolcanoes, hydrovolcanic features and erosional processes. A final chapter examines the latest methods of predicting volcanic eruptions and moderating their effects.; Drawing on an unusually wide range of sources in the French, Spanish and Portuguese literature, as well as English, the author presents examples and illustrations from around the world, including the Aegean, the French West Indies, the American West, the Azores and the Canary Islands, Italy and central France. He has also translated various eye-witness accounts of volcanic events and has included a revised version of Pliny's account of the eruption of Vesuvius.

CRC-Press

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Books by Scarth, Alwyn

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Scarth, Alwyn. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Savage Earth

Savage Earth: The Dramatic Story of Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Volcanoes of Europe

La Catastrophe: The Eruption of Mount Pelee, the Worst Volcanic Disaster of the 20th Century

Vesuvius: A Biography

Volcanoes: An Introduction (Volume 19) (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series)

Volcanoes (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series, Number Nineteen) (Volume 19)

Volcanoes of Europe

Volcanoes of Europe

Volcanoes: An Introduction