Our Changing Planet

Volcanic eruptions show nature’s incredible power but put local communities at risk. About 800 million people live within 100 km of volcanoes erupting or with potential to do so. We monitor volcanoes to mitigate hazards but estimates of the probability and impact of eruptions are uncertain. Understanding magma transport and storage, and their links to surface observations is key to predict eruptions and save lives. Erupted rocks are an archive that can be considered a probe into a volcano. Their messages help us understand a volcano’s internal processes, as psychologists exploring the mind.

We may be entering a mass extinction, with around 1 million species thought to be at risk this century. Habitat loss and climate change are creating a perfect storm for biodiversity. Understanding biodiversity changes is one of the most pressing scientific questions of our time. But it’s not all bad news. Some species are thriving under the human domination of the planet. And there are changes that we can make as nations and individuals that can help. I will talk about our recent work seeking to understand how and why biodiversity is changing, and what we can do to make the situation better.