http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/west.indies/soufriere/govt/

Here they have some official government announcements regard evacuations and also the scientific reports from the volcanological observatory on Monsterrat. However, they don't have some of the things that you have asked about, namely the feelings of the public involved. I think that for the moment they have evacuated all the people who were in direct danger. The volcano has a shape that is pretty common. It has a horseshoe-shaped caldera that is open at one end. There is a lava dome growing within the caldera. Every few days, part of the dome collapses in an avalanche of hot rocks, gas, and dust. Because the caldera is open at one side, any collapses that head that direction can go a long way--the people who live in this direction have been evacuated. The caldera wall protects the lower slopes of the island from collapses that go in other directions. Eventually, however, the dome may grow high enough so that it can send collapsed material over the rim of the caldera and at that point other parts of the island will have to be evacuated too. The island is volcanic in origin. This means that there have been eruptions in the past and that there will be eruptions in the future. There won't be a time when it is ever non-volcanic. It does seem to be the type of volcano that doesn't just erupt constantly on and on and on. This means that probably when the present eruption does end, there will be a pretty good period of time until the next one (no guarantees there, though)!

Can you go inside a volcano when it is not active ?
--Yes, but you always have to be careful and pay attention to what might happen.

How does the volcano become get so hot ?
--A volcano is a place on the Earth's surface where molten rock (magma) comes to the surface to erupt as lava or ash. It is hot (and molten) because the interior of the Earth is hot. The interior of the Earth is made hot by radioactive decay of naturally-occurring radioactive elements.

Why does the lava get so hot ?
--same answer

How does the lava get inside the volcano ?
--When molten rock is still underground we call it magma but once it has erupted (or while it is erupting) we call it lava. The magma is formed in the upper mantle, perhaps about 100 km below the surface, and it migrates upward to get into the plumbing system and magma chamber of the volcano.

How does it look inside the volcano ?
--If you look at some of the photos in the homepage that I gave you the address for above, you will get a good idea what the interior of the Monsterrat volcano looks like. You can't see underground, of course, but you can at least see what the inside of the caldera looks like.

Is the inside of the volcano empty , ever ?
--Every once in a while some volcanoes erupt so much material during a short period of time that magma supply from below can't keep up. This causes the magma chamber beneath the volcano to be pretty much empty. When this happens the volcano collapses in on itself and the hole that results is called a caldera.

What is lava made of ?
--Lava is molten rock, and because rocks come in all kinds of compositions, lava can also come in all kinds of compositions.

Has anyone ever lived after the lava attacked them ?
--Lava has never attacked anyone. There have been people who were burned by lava but they were not attacked. It is kind of like other burn injuries. If you are burned over a large percentage of your body your chances of survival are poor. If you are burned only slightly you will survive. A friend of mine was burned on his legs up to his knees. He spent 3 piainful months in the hospital but he is fine now.

Are there volcanoes in Massachusetts or Rhode Island ?
--no

When did the volcano first explode in Montserrat ?
--The only previously-recorded eruption on Monsterrat was around the year 1630. Of course there were undoubtedly eruptions before the arrival of westerners to write things down, and there were also many eruptions before any humans arrived.

How many eruptions have their been in MOntserrat ?
--see the previous answer

What is a volcanologist exactly ?
--A volcanologist is just what the name implies-a person who studies volcanoes. Of course there are many ways to study volcanoes. Some volcanologists work at volcano observatories and have active volcanoes in their own backyards to study. Other volcanologists study old extinct volcanoes. The benefit of these studies is that erosion has usually cut away the top parts of the volcano so that you can see into the interior. Other volcanologists study volcanic earthquakes, others work in chemistry laboratories and study the chemical compositons of lava and ash.

Is there any way that we can talk to the children in Montserrat about how they feel about the volcano ? Can we talk to the teachers ? Are any of their schools on line ?

--I don't know the answers to these ones. Perhaps on the home page that I directed you to above will be the address of someone who can answer these questions. You might find that the people there are having a difficult enough time already and they may not want to spend too much time talking to outsiders. Of course, if they've been evacuated away from their schools and jobs they may have lots of spare time on their hands and they might love to talk to some outsiders. You'll have to find out by asking.

Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii

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