News

Thousands flee volcano eruption in Indonesia

Published: 16 June 2015

Thousands of people living in the vicinity of a volcano on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra have been evacuated from their homes after it began erupting, according to BBC. (Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33139538)

"A lava dome is growing in the crater. The dome is very unstable; when pieces of it collapse, pyroclastic flows are generated which are lethal to anyone in their path."
- John Stix

Expert: John Stix, professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at McGill University

Expertise: Understanding physical processes and forecasting eruptions at active subduction-zone volcanoes; geochemistry of volcanic gases, their use for eruption prediction, and their impact on the atmosphere; new infrared remote sensing techniques to measure gases at active volcanoes; integration of geological, geochemical, and geophysical datasets to model volcano plumbing systems.

Contact: 514-398-5391, john.stix [at] mcgill.ca. Prof. Styx can answer in English and French.

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