I recently published the pre-print for a paper based on my MRes thesis at the University of Bristol, ahead of submitting for peer review: "Seismic Efficiency during Volcanic Unrest: Insights from the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull Eruption". Available here: doi.org/10.31223/X52...

The (Re)Insurance-Academia Global Earthquake (RIAGE) workshop will be held at UCL, May 18-19 & is free to attend, in-person spaces limited but online also available. Opportunities to submit abstracts for oral/poster presentations across 6 thematic sessions. Details & registration here:

First RIAGE — (Re)Insurance-Academia Global Earthquake Workshop

The first RIAGE Workshop is a space for academics and industry experts to explore cutting‑edge earthquake risk research, CAT modelling, and resilience strategies for global insurance.

ucl.ac.uk

In the first of many conferences for this year (more on that soon), I really enjoyed attending & presenting at the 2026 VMSG Annual Meeting. Interesting conversations about volcanic hazard management, climatic implications, science communication & insurance. Plus a Lancaster volcanology reunion!

VMSG@vmsg.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Another fantastic VMSG Annual Meeting done! Huge thanks to everyone who came along, presented talks & posters, attended workshops & social events. The atmosphere was friendly and positive, & the science on show was superb! Special thanks to @isobelyeo.bsky.social and our Local Organising Committee.

Given the degree of aerosols ejected from the 2022 Tonga eruption, this report gives detailed findings on the resulting atmospheric impacts. It shows a small but measurable cooling effect, resulting in a surface temperature change x10 smaller than Pinatubo 1991.

Zeke Hausfather@zekehausfather.com · 8mo ago

A massive new report by over 100 scientists modeling the climate effects of the 2022 Hunga volcanic eruption finds "The record-high global surface temperatures in 2023/2024 were not due to the Hunga eruption": juser.fz-juelich.de/...

Malaysia faces substantial risks from rainfall-triggered landslides driven by extreme meteorological conditions. BGS has been awarded funding to support the country's climate resilience plan, focusing on minimising economic & social impacts from these hazard events. www.bgs.ac.uk/news/bgs-awa...

M 7.6 earthquake 73 km ENE of Misawa, Japan earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...

Here is the latest tsunami information for the M7.6 earthquake that just struck offshore northern Japan. The warnings are for waves up to 3 m, but the highest waves measured so far are <0.5 m. It is still possible for larger waves to arrive. 1/2 www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.ht... ⚒️ 🧪

Big week for webcams getting wiped out by volcanoes.

Paul Byrne@theplanetaryguy.com · 8mo ago

*This* is what the people of Pompeii, and Herculaneum, and many other hapless souls saw—this is what a pyroclastic density current looks coming RIGHT at you. Filmed from a CCTV camera during the Mount Semeru eruption on Java, Indonesia on 4 December 2022. Video credit: PT United Tractors Tbk

This paper by Dervisi et al. is a fascinating development in the world of earthquake aftershock prediction. Past WRN research partnerships have looked at forecasting aftershock hazard based on strain rate data, so it'd be interesting to see how this ML model performs in comparison.

British Geological Survey@bgs.ac.uk · 9mo ago

Earthquake forecasting tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can forecast the risk of aftershocks seconds after the initial tremor, a study by BGS, the @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social and University of Padua suggests. www.bgs.ac.uk/news/new-res... #BGSInternational

The underwater seismometer network is so great, as evidenced from yesterday's EQ off-Tohoku. Reposting unofficial visualization by x.com/kotoho76/sta...

When the Earth Moves: 25 Years of Probabilistic Fault Displacement Hazards eos.org/editors-vox/...

When the Earth Moves: 25 Years of Probabilistic Fault Displacement Hazards - Eos

Surface ruptures causing earthquakes pose risks to infrastructure and human lives, but advances in models and data in the last few decades have improved our ability to mitigate their effects.

eos.org

Seismologists & risk modellers are always aiming to better understand relationships between quakes on major faults. This Science article, based on Goldfinger et al. (2025), uses palaeoseismology to find possible stress triggering between the Cascadia subduction zone & northern San Andreas fault:

Big U.S. West Coast earthquakes could come as a one-two punch

Cascadia and San Andreas fault zones appear to generate synchronized earthquakes

science.org

This brilliant initiative & resulting White Paper gives important insights into the geohazards affecting Indonesia, challenges & research priorities for better understanding of hazard, & recommended solutions to address challenges, strengthen resilience & improve disaster risk reduction.

British Geological Survey@bgs.ac.uk · 11mo ago

Natural hazard disasters in Indonesia are responsible for the loss of hundreds to thousands of lives each year and costs the national economy US$1 to US$3 billion. Effective disaster risk reduction across the spectrum of geohazards depends on decisions grounded in the best available earth science.

Great to see @mikeaclare.bsky.social @noc.ac.uk quoted in this piece in the Guardian today www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se... about the Hunga Volcano eruption and the subsequent telecommunications outage in 2022.

Extremely offline: what happened when a Pacific island was cut off from the internet | Samanth Subramanian

A colossal volcanic eruption in January 2022 ripped apart the underwater cables that connect Tonga to the world – and exposed the fragility of 21st-century life

theguardian.com

The Matai’an landslide dam in eastern Taiwan has failed this afternoon (eos.org/thelandslide...), flooding Guangfu, about 15 km downstream focustaiwan.tw/society/2025.... Even in the middle of a typhoon, the resulting flood produced a detectable seismic signal at stations ~40 km away.

This article, based on a recent Seismological Research Letters paper from scientists at the Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC), examines occurrence of supershear earthquakes, the need for updated hazard planning & suitable building design to reflect risks: dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

'Supershear' earthquakes a major threat to California, say scientists

USC Dornsife researchers say powerful, fast-moving quakes will strike the Golden State, urge stronger building codes and better monitoring

dornsife.usc.edu

Yet another Nat Cat job? Actually, we're searching for TWO experts, specialized in tropical cyclones or earthquakes. US or UK, remote work definitely an option. Great job for an ECR physical scientist looking to join the insurance/reinsurance industry! eedu.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Natural Catastrophe Analyst - Earthquake/Hurricane Specialist

An exciting opportunity to join an established research network team at Willis (a WTW business), helping clients understand and manage risk while shaping the Willis “view of risk.” Using your scientif...

eedu.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com

🌋 Excited to share my new essay in Aeon: one of the most underappreciated global risks isn’t an asteroid or supervolcano—it’s the eruptions we don’t see coming:

Aeon Magazine@aeon.co · 11mo ago

The science of volcanoes and their relationship with the climate is hard to keep up with. Why do some volcanoes give us little warning before they blow? Are we ignoring the next big eruption?

Volcano alert: Scientists discover a signal that could transform early warning systems - the role of shear-wave splitting: www.earth.com/news/volcano...

Volcano alert: Scientists discover a signal that could transform early warning systems

Detecting a signal within earthquake waves called shear-wave splitting may improve early warning systems for volcano eruptions.

earth.com

This paper by Meredith et al. (2025) examines global city exposure to volcanic hazards, using metrics such as population and distance to GVP Holocene volcanoes to quantify and rank cities at risk. This data has also been visualised through a web app. nhess.copernicus.org/articles/25/...

Cities near volcanoes: which cities are most exposed to volcanic hazards?

Abstract. Cities near volcanoes expose dense concentrations of people, buildings, and infrastructure to volcanic hazards. Identifying cities globally that are exposed to volcanic hazards helps guide l...

nhess.copernicus.org

Just to illustrate how long waves from a #tsunami can keep going, this is a tide gauge record from Crescent City CA (known for its sensitivity to tsunami waves due to bathymetric and resonance effects) showing significant wave activity still continues 24+ hours after their first arrival. 🧪⚒️

Kamchatka earthquake highlights the advances in tsunami early warning systems 🌊 🛰️ BGS Prof David Tappin, Marine Geologist & tsunami expert explains how the Kamchatka event highlighted the improved mitigation measures now in place. www.bgs.ac.uk/news/kamchat...

This article, based on Yanites et al. (2025) in Science, discusses how hazardous events such as earthquakes, wildfires, & storms accelerate erosion & sediment transport, increasing sensitivity & risk of cascading hazards such as landslides & floods: theconversation.com/hurricane-he...

Hurricane Helene set up future disasters, from landslides to flooding – cascading hazards like these are now upending risk models

Risk models can’t rely just on the past anymore. A team of geoscientists suggests new ways to forecast evolving hazards in real time as cascading disaster risk worsens.

theconversation.com

Earthquakes in eastern #Canada? June 23, 2010 - a damaging M5 #earthquake in western Québec was felt in Ontario, #Québec and as far away as Washington DC. It triggered landslides and produced the strongest shaking ever felt in #Ottawa (~60 km away): earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/pprs-pprp/pu... ⚒️🧪

On 17-18th June, explosive eruptions at Mt. Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the Indonesian island of Flores sent ash >11.5km above sea level. This highlights volcanic hazards on varying scales; pyroclastic flows & lahars threatening local communities, & ash leading to flight cancellations & delays.

Bali flights cancelled after Indonesian volcano spews 10km-high ash tower

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the island of Flores, east of Bali, erupted on Tuesday afternoon, leading to several airlines cancelling flights

theguardian.com

The VAAC report for the Etna eruption today mentions a plume reaching 6,500 m / ~21,000 feet.

Jascha Polet@jascha.bsky.social · last yr.

A live feed of the current eruption of Etna can be found here: www.youtube.com/live/pO2zFFe... 🌋⚒️

Pyroclastic flows at Etna have been confirmed by INGV ⚒️🌋

Vond@vond.it · last yr.

❗ Violenta eruzione del Monte Etna, una potente esplosione è stata udita distintamente dalla popolazione nelle zone circostanti.

Pleased to announce the 4th major release of the @wsmproject.bsky.social, the biggest update of the database since the project began. With thousands of new data, the 2025 WSM brings the most comprehensive picture yet of Earth's present-day stress field. #Geomechanics W: www.world-stress-map.org

On 21 May 2025, a house was destroyed by a dramatic quick clay landslide at Sainte Monique in Quebec, Canada. Fortunately, no-one was killed:- eos.org/thelandslide... There is also excellent drone footage of the aftermath on Youtube, posted by Radio-Canada Info:- www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4JB...

In 2024, Europe saw average to slightly above-average fire danger for most of the year, with the highest values in September. Around 110,000 hectares burnt in Portugal that month, accounting for around a quarter of the overall total burnt area in Europe for the year. bit.ly/4ctJySA #ESOTC2024 #C3S