Volcanologist facts for kids

A volcanologist is a scientist who studies volcanoes. They learn how volcanoes form, how they erupt, and what happens during their eruptions. This field of study is called volcanology. Volcanologists often visit volcanoes, especially active ones, to see eruptions up close. They collect samples like tephra (which includes ash and pumice), rocks, and lava. A big goal for volcanologists is to predict when a volcano will erupt. While it's very hard to do accurately right now, being able to predict eruptions could help keep people living near volcanoes safe.

What a Volcanologist Does

Exploring Earth's Secrets

Volcanologists try to understand what rocks tell us about the inside of the Earth. While some parts of their job are very exciting, like studying active volcanoes, much of their work involves looking at volcanoes that are no longer active or are just sleeping. They use clues from rocks to figure out the Earth's chemistry and how it works deep down.

Where Volcanologists Work

Volcanologists usually divide their time between working outdoors and in a laboratory. When they are in the field, they might travel to faraway or isolated places where volcanoes are located. They collect different samples and information, often in challenging outdoor conditions. If you want to be a volcanologist, be ready to travel, spend time away from home, do physical activities, and work in all kinds of weather.

Once they have collected their samples, they go back to their lab. There, they analyze the data and share what they've found with other scientists. Volcanologists who work at universities might also teach classes to students. Most volcanologists work full-time, and they might work extra hours when they are doing fieldwork, which happens quite often.

Earning a Living

Volcanologists earn a good salary. On average, they make about $90,890 each year. The highest-earning volcanologists can make around $187,200, while those starting out might earn around $48,270. Most of these scientists work for different government agencies, universities, or private research groups.

Future Job Opportunities

The demand for volcanologists is expected to grow by 16% over the next 10 years. This is faster than the average for most jobs. More people are becoming interested in protecting the environment, ensuring safety, and managing natural resources, which will create more jobs in this field.

Becoming a Volcanologist

To become a volcanologist, you usually need at least a bachelor's degree in geology, geophysics, or earth science. However, a bachelor's degree often only gets you an entry-level job. Most volcanologists have a master's or even a doctorate degree (Ph.D.). These advanced degrees give them much deeper knowledge about volcanoes. If you want to work at a university or get funding for your research, a Ph.D. is very helpful. In some places, you might even need a special license to predict volcano eruptions.

Famous Volcanologists

Many brave and smart people have dedicated their lives to studying volcanoes. Here are some of them:

• Plato (428–348 BC)
• Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD)
• Pliny the Younger (61 – c. 113 AD)
• George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788)
• James Hutton (1726–1797)
• Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu (1750–1801)
• Giuseppe Mercalli (1850–1914)
• Alfred Lacroix (1863–1948)
• Frank A. Perret (1867–1943)
• Alfred Rittmann (1893–1980)
• Sigurður Þórarinsson (1912–1983)
• Haroun Tazieff (1914–1998), who advised the French Government and Jacques Cousteau
• George P. L. Walker (1926–2005), a pioneering volcanologist who helped turn the study of volcanoes into a more scientific field
• Jean Louis Cheminée (1937–2003)
• Haraldur Sigurdsson (1939-), an Icelandic volcanologist and geochemist
• Katia and Maurice Krafft (1942–1991 and 1946–1991, respectively), a famous husband-and-wife team who died studying Mount Unzen in Japan in 1991
• Peter Francis (1944–1999)
• Henry Gaudru (born 1948)
• Keith Rowley (born 1949; Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago since 2015)
• David A. Johnston (1949–1980), who was killed during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
• Bill McGuire (born 1954)
• Harry Glicken (1958–1991), who also died at Mount Unzen in Japan in 1991

Images for kids

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  A volcanologist sampling lava using a rock hammer and a bucket of water

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  A lava tube on the side of Mauna Ulu volcano in Hawaii, United States.

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  Sampling a lava tube on the side of Mauna Ulu volcano in Kilauea, Hawaii, United States.

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  A scientist collecting pahoehoe lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park during the 1972-1974 eruption of Kilauea Volcano. Photo by R.L. Christiansen, February 12, 1972.

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  Sampling gases at a fumarole (a vent releasing volcanic gases) on top of Mount Baker, Washington.