Written in flowing prose & supplemented with compelling photography, this is the story of a new active volcano in the middle of a Mexican cornfield & its effect on a local agrarian people.
"El Monstruo!" Every day is the same for Pablo's father. Then one afternoon the ground growls, hisses smoke, and swallows up his plow. A volcano is erupting in the middle of his cornfield!
Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology deals with dating, chronology, stratigraphy, volcanic activity, and with the impacts of volcanism on animals, plants, human populations, and the environment. Some of the chapters explain how such findings must be weighed against other causes that influence human behavior and survival, such as factors of social customs, climatic change, shifting biogeographic patterns, disease, and the ability to adapt. Each of the chapters that assess the possible human response to volcanism does so by searching for multiple explanations of the archaeological record, avoiding the simple argument that people were dramatically and inevitably overcome by catastrophic geologic events. The book begins with discussions of volcanism as seen by geologists and pedologists. These include s a general overview of volcanoes and volcanism; a review of the production, dispersal, and properties of tephra and of the geologic methods used to study tephra; and the nature of volcanic soils and their economic impact. Subsequent chapters use the geologic and modern records to examine volcanoes as hazards to people. The final series of papers deals with the interrelationships between volcanism and human occupations as seen through the archaeological, paleobotanical, and paleozoological records.
Physical landscapes are one of the most fascinating facets of our Planet, which tell stories about the evolution of the surface of the Earth. This book provides up-to-date information about the geomorphology of the selected ‘classic’ sites from around the world and shows the variety of geomorphological landscapes as moulded by different sets of processes acting over different timescales, from millions of years to days. The volume is written by nearly fifty geomorphologists from more than twenty countries who for many years have researched some of the unique sceneries on the planet. The thirty six chapters present each continent of the world. They describe landscapes of different origin, so that the reader can learn about the complexity of processes behind the sceneries. This is a useful reference book, linking geomorphology with global initiatives focused on nature conservation.
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens caused tragic loss of life and property, but also created a unique opportunity to study a huge disturbance of natural systems and their subsequent responses. This book synthesizes 25 years of ecological research into of volcanic activity, and shows what actually happens when a volcano erupts, what the immediate and long-term dangers are, and how life reasserts itself in the environment.