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Are all volcanic eruptions scary and violent? Which countries have the most active volcanoes? And how can an eruption in Indonesia make it snow during the summer here in America? Tom Simkin, a volcano scientist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., answers these questions and much more.
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Simkin: My job is to learn more about how volcanoes work. Though there is a wide variety of approaches, our program here at the Smithsonian looks at volcano histories all over the world and for the past ten thousand years. Through the years we've worked with volcano watchers around the world and gathered a lot of information from libraries and the Internet.
TFK: Have you ever visited an erupting volcano?
Simkin: Yes, several times. It's fascinating and really shows nature's enormous power in relation to our own small lives. Seeing an eruption's effects on people who live near it makes our work a very serious job.
TFK:What made you decide to be a volcano scientist?
Simkin: I didn't know what I wanted to be, even in college. After college, though, I worked in the Pacific Northwest. That's where I met geologists who lived fascinating lives by studying the history of the Earth through its rocky surface. I was later attracted to the study of volcanic rocks, and soon after starting with the Smithsonian I had the opportunity to work on a new eruption in the Galapagos Islands. I was hooked and have never looked back.
TFK: Where are the most fascinating examples of volcanic activity happening in the world today?
Simkin: Probably the eruptions that take place on the deep ocean floor. At least three-quarters of the lava erupted on the planet each year comes from volcanoes on the deep sea floor. This is easily the most common type of volcanic activity on our planet, yet we know very little about it.
TFK: Is there any particular volcano eruption from the past that you find most fascinating?
Simkin: The REALLY big eruptions of the past. An 1815 eruption in Indonesia killed over 60,000 people. It also put so much ash and gas into the atmosphere that it dimmed sunlight at the Earth's surface. The cooler weather that resulted caused June snowfalls in New England and massive crop failures. Only 2 million years ago, not long in geologic time, an eruption from Yellowstone was over 10 times larger, dropping inches of ash on places as distant as Los Angeles. Imagine the effect it must have had on the weather!
|  The word volcano comes from Vulcan, the name the ancient Romans gave to their god of fire. While most eruptions are not violent, this volcano puts on a fiery show near the city of Manila in the Philippines. |
Simkin: Most volcanoes are RARELY scary and violent. There is still activity, however, deep inside a volcano even though it may look like a peaceful nearby mountain. The period between large eruptions of a single volcano is often hundreds of years long. This allows plants to grow and hide evidence of the volcano's past behavior. Good geological studies are needed to be sure that such an event does not take people by surprise.
TFK: Any other cool facts you'd like to tell us about volcanoes?
Simkin: People in the U.S. might be surprised to learn that only Indonesia and Japan have more active volcanoes than we do. Some U.S. volcanoes are well known, like those in Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest, but the largest number are in Alaska.
TFK: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Simkin: Helping build understanding of how the Earth works is a great thrill and passing on this understanding is one of the best parts of working at the Smithsonian.
TFK: What advice do you have for kids who'd like to have a science-related job like yours when they grow up?
Simkin: Don't let anything beat down your natural-born curiosity! Instead, feed it and it can lead you to a life of fascination and reward.
