Forecasting volcanic eruptions across scales.

Volcanic eruptions vary in size and intensity by several orders of magnitude. Those that discharge minor amounts of magma can occur at several volcanoes at any given time. These small to moderate-sized eruptions primarily impact their immediate surroundings. By contrast, super-eruptions occur globally at intervals of tens of thousands of years. These rare events of magnitude 8 in the volcanic explosivity index (VEI) produce more than 1000 km3 of magma, causing devastating outcomes in adjacent regions and have major global climate implications (1). Volcanic eruption forecasting systems can mitigate loss of human lives and economic damage by observing precursors. Although considerable advances in monitoring techniques have been achieved in recent decades, many volcanoes remain poorly covered by detection instruments. In addition, predicting the time, size, and duration of a volcanic eruption is still in its infancy. Thus, improved monitoring and forecasting methods are desired for reliable pre-eruption hazard assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]