2006 Guiness Book of World Records
2006 Edition
Guiness Book of World Records, 2006 edition



"Rosaly Lopes (USA) has discovered 71 active volcanoes on Io, making her the discoverer of more active volcanoes on Io (or on Earth) than anyone else."
The Year 2006 Edition
2006 Guiness Book of World Records
2006 Edition
Guiness Book of World Records, 2006 edition



The girl from Ipanema

DR ROSALY Lopes has just been recognised in the Guinness Book of Records for discovering more active volcanoes than anyone else in history.
But the NASA scientist is unlikely to be visiting any of them soon, as they're all at least 500 million miles away on one of the moons of Jupiter.
Brazilian Lopes, 47, discovered a total of 71 active volcanoes on Io, one of the largest of Jupiter's 60 known moons, during five years of mapping the region as part of the Galileo Flight Project.
As an astronomer specialising in planetary geology and volcanology, however, Lopes only has one eye on the telescope, spending much of her time in the less starry but no less fascinating study of our own volcanoes.
"I'm an astronomer by first degree and I took some optional courses in geology," explains Lopes, who studied at University College, London and later worked at the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
"I took a course in planetary geology and started doing my PhD.
"My professor was a volcanologist and he said I couldn't understand volcanoes on other planets if I hadn't seen them on Earth.
"So in 1979 he took me to Mount Etna. The first time I was there it erupted - and I was hooked! It was a very beautiful eruption, quite safe.
Then I went back later that year and the volcano was very quiet and suddenly had a very unexpected eruption, where several tourists died.
"In that first year I saw the best and the most beautiful of volcanoes and also the worst, where lives were lost. It taught me that you have to have respect for volcanoes."
Now the scientist, who was born close to Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, has translated her passion for her subject into a new book, The Volcano Adventure Guide, a kind of rough guide to the world's magma giants, aimed at travellers who want to do more than just watch the Discovery Channel."It's a practical tour guide," she says.
"A field guide to 30 volcanoes all around the world. Some are very active - I go through the dangers of various types of eruptions; those which are safe and you can go and see and photograph and those that are so dangerous you've just got to get out of there.
"There are different types of eruptions - some you can get quite close to the lava flows, but if you have something like Mount Etna, which erupted in 1980, you really have to get out of there."
And, unlike the moons of Jupiter, this time Lopes made sure she got up close and personal.
"I've visited all the volcanoes in the book - that was one of my criteria, to only write about volcanoes I've been to," she says.
For Lopes, volcanoes are clearly a thing of terrible beauty, but she seems unconvinced by some of the more dire prophecies of doom.
She is particularly dismissive of claims the supervolcano under Yellowstone Park in the US is overdue for an eruption that could potentially wipe out life on the planet.
"These statistics are somewhat iffy," she insists.
"Volcanoes are not like clockwork. There are a number of volcanoes that you can say are overdue but maybe things have changed. Also, the same volcano can have very small and very large eruptions. It doesn't have to be catastrophic.
"Yellowstone certainly has the potential to disrupt a large area of the US. But even if does erupt, which it shows no sign of doing, it needn't be catastrophic."
For the moment, Lopes has turned her attention to Saturn in her role of Investigation Scientist on NASA's current Cassini mission.
"Cassini is looking at Saturn, its moons and its rings," she explains. "I specialise not only in volcanoes but also in the geology of planets and moons, so my main interest is Titan, the largest Saturn moon. We're studying it with radar to examine the surface in detail.
"On Titan, the volcanoes are not like on Earth - the material is a strange mix of water and ammonia, what we call cryo-volcanism - cold volcanoes. They're not active as far as we know. Plus I'm looking at other features on the surface - river channels, impact craters, interesting features like that."Despite recent tragedies and setbacks with NASA's manned shuttle flights, Lopes is confident the US space programme has a healthy future.
"I'm optimistic," she says.
"At the Jet Propulsion Lab we've had a lot of very successful missions, like the Cassini and Mars missions. We have a very vigorous space programme and we believe it's going to remain that way."
Last week, Lopes flew from her home in Pasadena, California, where she lives with her son Tommy, 11, to attend a Cassini conference in London ("It's a very international mission," she says).
On Wednesday she will give a lecture on Titan and be presented with the prestigious Carl Sagan medal as part of the Division for Planetary Sciences' conference being held at the University.
The award, by the American Astronomical Society, recognises Lopes' efforts over the past 20 years in public outreach and education, particularly among Hispanic groups and young women.
"It's a great honour," beams Lopes.
"You have to be a working scientist who is active in your field and producing research, but also spend part of your time inspiring others, particularly young people, to take an interest in science.
"I do a lot of work with schoolkids and teachers and I also do a lot in Brazil. I'm the only Brazilian scientist working for NASA, so I'm something of a role model!"

The Volcano Adventure Guide is published by Cambridge University Press, priced £30.

The rough guide to volcanoes:

• Like earthquakes, volcanoes form at weak points in the Earth's crust, known as fault lines.
• When two tectonic plates collide, the event can provide the catalyst for volcanic activity.
• As one section slides on top of the other, the one beneath is pushed down into the mantle (the part of the Earth that surrounds the core).
• As water mixes with the mantle, it lowers the mantle's melting point, and the solid mantle melts to form a liquid, known as 'magma'.
• Since liquid rock is less dense than solid rock, magma begins to rise through the Earth's crust. It forces its way up, melting surrounding rock and increasing the amount of magma.
• Magma only stops rising when the pressure from the rock layer above it becomes too great. It gathers below the Earth's surface in a 'magma chamber'.
• When the pressure increases in the chamber, the crust finally gives way and magma spews out on to the earth's surface, forming a volcano. When it reaches the surface, magma becomes known as lava.

Volcano facts and figures:

• It is estimated that one in 10 of the world's population live within "danger range" of volcanoes.
• According to the Smithsonian Institute, there are 1,511 active volcanoes across the globe, and many more dormant ones that could recharge at any moment.
• The world's biggest volcano is Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii. It is 9km high (4km above sea level and 5km below) and last erupted in 1984.
• The biggest eruption ever is thought to have been at Yellowstone, USA, around 2.2 million years ago. The eruption caused 2,500 cubic kilometres of ash to be thrown into the air, with devastating consequences for the planet.
• You could fit Tokyo, the world's biggest city, in the Yellowstone crater.
• New Zealand has more volcanoes than any other country, followed by Iceland.
• When Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, AD 79, it covered the historic city of Pompeii in ash, wiping out the population and preserving a moment in time that is still a source of fascination to historians and tourists today.


Books by Dr. Rosaly Lopes:

The Volcano Adventure Guide - Buy it Today by clicking Here!


Volcanic Worlds: Exploring the Solar System Volcanoes (with Tracy Gregg) - Buy it Today by clicking Here!

Io After Galileo (with John Spencer) - Buy it Today by clicking Here

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