National Geographic - Volcano!

Narrator: OUR WORLD IS LIT BY TWO FIRES...

ONE ABOVE... AND ONE BELOW.

NOTHING CAN CONTAIN THE INFERNO BENEATH OUR FEET.

IN THE PAST THOUSAND YEARS,

VOLCANOES HAVE CLAIMED MORE THAN 300,000 LIVES.

NO BEAUTY MORE DEADLY THAN THE FIRE WITHIN.

THE ROCKY HEIGHTS OF THE ANDES, IN SOUTH AMERICA,

ARE MORE THAN MERE MOUNTAINS.

MANY ARE SLEEPING VOLCANOES.

IN COLOMBIA, A PEAK CALLED GALERAS

HAS SLUMBERED MORE THAN FOUR DECADES.

THEN, IN 1988, SOLDIERS STATIONED AT ITS SUMMIT

REPORTED SMALL EARTHQUAKES, AND THE SMELL OF SULFUR.

SOME SIX MILES AWAY,

THE CITY OF PASTO IS BUILT ON RICH VOLCANIC SOIL-

THE PRIDE OF LOCAL FARMERS.

GALERAS HAS NEVER HARMED PASTO,

BUT A LARGE ERUPTION COULD THREATEN UP TO 400,000 LIVES.

COLOMBIAN OFFICIALS

INVITED STANLEY WILLIAMS OF ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

TO WORK WITH LOCAL VOLCANOLOGISTS.

AN EXPERT ON LATIN AMERICAN VOLCANOES,

WILLIAMS HELPED ORGANIZE THE INTERNATIONAL GALERAS WORKSHOP

IN JANUARY 1993.

Williams: EL VOLCAN GALERAS ES EL VOLCAN HISTORICAMENTE

MAS ACTIVO EN TODO EL COLOMBIA...

Narrator: CLOSE TO A HUNDRED VOLCANOLOGISTS

FROM 15 NATIONS ATTEND.

AFTER THREE DAYS OF MEETINGS, THEY HEAD FOR THE SUMMIT.

GALERAS HAS BEEN STABLE FOR SIX MONTHS-

A REASSURING SIGN TO WILLIAMS AND HIS COLLEAGUES.

Williams: WE WERE VOLCANOLOGISTS WITH A LOT OF EXPERIENCE.

WE HAD BEEN WORKING FOR FIVE YEARS

BY THAT TIME ON THIS VOLCANO.

WE THOUGHT WE UNDERSTOOD GALERAS.

IN FACT, WE THOUGHT GALERAS WAS IN A RELATIVELY CALM TIME-

FOR AN ACTIVE VOLCANO.

Narrator: MOST SCIENTISTS JOIN FIELD TRIPS

ON THE OUTER SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAIN.

WILLIAMS LEADS A GROUP OF 12 ON A GRUELING, TWO-HOUR HIKE

TO THE INNER CRATER.

AS HIS COLLEAGUES EXPLORE THE TERRAIN, WILLIAMS KEEPS WATCH.

Williams: EVERYBODY OPENED UP THEIR CASES AND BACKPACKS

AND COLLECTED SAMPLES OF THE GASES OR READ THE GRAVIMETER.

GEOFF BROWN, PROFESSOR FROM ENGLAND,

IS THE EXPERT OF THE WORLD ON HOW TO USE GRAVITY ON VOLCANOES.

THE TWO COLOMBIAN SCIENTISTS WITH HIM WERE REALLY HAPPY

THAT THEY HAD A CHANCE TO WORK WITH GEOFF.

IGOR MENYAILOV IS A RUSSIAN

WHO COMES FROM A FAMILY OF VOLCANOLOGISTS.

IGOR WAS WORKING THAT DAY WITH NESTOR GARCIA,

AND NESTOR'S A COLOMBIAN- VERY GOOD FRIEND.

IT WAS AN EXCITING, POSITIVE FIELD DAY.

THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, WITH NO WARNING,

WE BEGAN TO HEAR A LOT OF NOISE.

I LOOKED DOWN INTO THE CRATER, AND AT IGOR AND NESTOR,

AND I YELLED, "WE'D BETTER GET OUTTA HERE NOW!"

I MADE IT RUNNING, NOT VERY FAR, BEFORE,

UH, THE FIRST BIG ROCK KNOCKED A BIG HOLE IN MY HEAD...

UH, BROKE MY JAW, RUINED MY EAR.

MADE IT ANOTHER 20 OR 30 FEET- I DON'T KNOW, NOT VERY FAR,

A LOT OF ROCKS HIT ME-

BUT THE NEXT BIG ONE BROKE MY LEFT LEG,

SHATTERED MY RIGHT LEG.

I TRIED TO RUN, BUT MY FOOT WAS DANGLING;

IT WAS HARDLY ATTACHED TO MY LEG. I CRAWLED.

THE PROBLEM WAS I WAS ON FIRE,

SO I HAD TO ROLL OVER AND TRY TO GET THE FIRE OUT.

SO I CRAWLED BEHIND A BIG ROCK.

Narrator: THE ERUPTION SPARES EVERYONE ON THE OUTER SLOPES.

BUT MEMBERS OF WILLIAMS' GROUP APPEAR AT THE SUMMIT

WITH GRIM REPORTS.

AT LEAST TWO SCIENTISTS ARE DEAD.

THE NAMES OF THE MISSING ARE QUICKLY TALLIED.

Luis Lemairie : ANDREW, MIKE...

YO STANLEY Y JOSE ARLES.

Mike Conway: LUIS, WITH HELP,

AND ANDREW MCFARLANE, WITH HELP, CAN MAKE IT OUT...

WITH HELP, NOT BY THEMSELVES.

Andy Adams: WE GOTTA SEND SOMEBODY DOWN THERE.

YEAH.

Narrator: WITHIN 15 MINUTES, THE ERUPTION IS OVER.

NOW WILLIAMS STRUGGLES TO REMAIN CONSCIOUS.

Williams: I HAD HOURS OF TIME

LYING THERE WITH DEAD PEOPLE VERY CLOSE,

AND, UM, THOUGHT ABOUT GOING HOME

AND BEING WITH MY WIFE AND KIDS.

I DIDN'T WANT TO DIE, THAT'S FOR SURE.

Narrator: LESS THAN THREE HOURS AFTER THE ERUPTION,

RESCUE TEAMS ARRIVE FROM PASTO.

THREE HIKERS AND SIX VOLCANOLOGISTS

ARE DEAD IN A BLAST NO ONE COULD FORESEE.

SEVERAL BODIES WILL NEVER BE FOUND.

RESCUERS LOCATE WILLIAMS WHEN HE CRIES OUT FOR HELP.

HE'S THE LAST SURVIVOR LIFTED OFF THE MOUNTAIN.

IN 48 HOURS, HE'LL BE FLOWN BY LEAR JET

TO A HOSPITAL IN ARIZONA.

16 SURGERIES SAVED A MANGLED LEG,

AND PATCHED A HOLE IN WILLIAMS' SKULL.

SKIN GRAFTS HIDE BURNS.

A HEARING AID REMEDIES A RUINED EAR.

ONLY HIS DETERMINATION SURVIVES INTACT.

GALERAS REMAINS A THREAT

TO THOUSANDS WHO LIVE IN ITS SHADOW...

A DANGER UNDIMINISHED BY THE TRAGEDY OF NINE DEATHS.

THE LOSS OF FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES BREAKS THE HEART,

BUT STRENGTHENS THE WILL.

Williams: I'VE WORKED ON GALERAS NOW FOR ABOUT EIGHT YEARS,

AND I'VE TRIED HARD

TO, ESSENTIALLY, GET CONTROL OF GALERAS,

AND GALERAS SAYS, "NO, I CAN'T BE CONTROLLED."

"HA, I'M MUCH BIGGER THAN YOU, MR. WILLIAMS."

AND I COME BACK AND SAY,

"NO, I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU DO THAT."

"I'M GOING TO COME BACK,"

"AND, UH, I'M GOING TO GET ON TOP OF GALERAS,"

AND I HAVE BEEN ON TOP OF GALERAS.

I'VE BEEN IN THE CRATER AGAIN... WE'RE SORT OF BATTLING IT OUT.

Narrator: IN THE PAST FIVE DECADES,

NEARLY 30 SCIENTISTS HAVE DIED IN ERUPTIONS.

VOLCANOLOGY IS A YOUNG AND DANGEROUS SCIENCE-

ONE THAT PITS US AGAINST THE POWER OF THE EARTH ITSELF.

WE LIVE ON A FIERY PLANET.

NEARLY 2,000 MILES BENEATH OUR FEET,

THE EARTH'S INNER CORE

REACHES TEMPERATURES OF 12,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

MOLTEN ROCK, OR MAGMA, RISES TO THE EARTH'S SURFACE-

A COLD, RIGID CRUST-FRACTURED INTO SOME 20 PLATES.

WHEN MAGMA BREAKS THROUGH CRUST, IT BECOMES LAVA,

AND GIVES BIRTH TO VOLCANOES.

MOST BLOSSOM ALONG THE UNSTABLE BOUNDARIES

WHERE ONE PLATE DIVES BENEATH ANOTHER,

OR TWO PLATES SPREAD APART.

EARTH'S OCEANS CONCEAL SOME 80 PERCENT

OF ALL VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.

AN UNDERWATER RIDGE 46,000 MILES LONG

MARKS THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN SPREADING PLATES.

LAVA FILLS THE GAPS.

THIS DEEP-SEA FIRE FUELS HOT SPRINGS.

AT MORE THAN 700 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT,

WATER RICH IN SULFUR SUPPORTS AN ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM,

IN THE TOTAL ABSENCE OF SUNLIGHT.

SOME VOLCANOES RISE FROM THE DEEP.

NOVEMBER, 1963... JUST SOUTH OF ICELAND,

FISHERMEN REPORT EXPLOSIONS.

WITHIN DAYS, THE WINDSWEPT ISLE OF SURTSEY IS BORN.

EARTH'S FIRE ALSO FORGED A TROPICAL PARADISE.

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ARE THE WORK

OF A SINGLE PLUME OF MAGMA

BURNING ITS WAY ACROSS THE PACIFIC PLATE.

THERE MAY BE NO FINER SETTING

FOR THE SPECTACLE OF THE LIVING EARTH.

WITH NEARLY CONTINUOUS ERUPTIONS DATING BACK TO 1790,

KILAUEA IS THE MOST ACTIVE VOLCANO ON EARTH-

AND ONE OF THE MOST BENIGN.

AT 2,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT,

ITS FLUID LAVA CAN FLOW FOR MILES,

AND RUIN REAL ESTATE.

BUT IT CAN GENERALLY BE ESCAPED AT A BRISK WALK.

THIS CONGENIAL FIRE

HAS BEEN ATTRACTING TOURISTS FOR OVER A CENTURY.

IT ALSO CAPTURED THE ATTENTION

OF AN EMINENT EAST COAST GEOLOGIST, THOMAS JAGGAR.

HE BELIEVED, "THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW A CRATER"

"IS TO LIVE WITH IT."

A VISIT TO KILAUEA IN 1909 CONVINCED HIM

HE HAD FOUND THE MOST LIVABLE VOLCANO IN THE WORLD.

IN JAGGAR'S DAY, "VOLCANOLOGY" MEANT LITTLE MORE

THAN A SHORT-TERM EXPEDITION TO THE AFTERMATH

OF A MAJOR ERUPTION. IT WAS TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.

IN 1912, JAGGAR FOUNDED WHAT, TODAY, IS CALLED

THE HAWAII VOLCANO OBSERVATORY.

SERVING THREE DECADES AS DIRECTOR,

HE MEASURED EARTHQUAKES, COLLECTED GASES,

AND CHARTED SUBTLE CHANGES IN KILAUEA'S SLOPES.

EVENTUALLY, HE SUCCESSFULLY PREDICTED SEVERAL ERUPTIONS.

MANY CONSIDER HIM A FOUNDING FATHER OF MODERN VOLCANOLOGY.

TODAY, HAWAII'S VOLCANOES ARE THE BEST STUDIED IN THE WORLD.

DECADES OF FIRSTHAND OBSERVATIONS

ARE REVEALING PATTERNS AND PRECURSORS.

PREDICTING ERUPTIONS IS ALMOST...

ROUTINE.

EACH VOLCANO IS UNIQUE, WITH ITS OWN PULSE, ITS OWN LIFE CYCLE.

BUT ONE RULE OF FORECASTING

"THE KEY TO THE FUTURE IS THE PAST."

SAKURAJIMA...

THE "ISLAND OF FIRE," IN SOUTHERN JAPAN.

A NOBLEMAN COMMISSIONED THESE WATERCOLORS

TO COMMEMORATE AN ERUPTION IN 1779.

WRITTEN ACCOUNTS OF THIS VOLCANO'S FURY

DATE BACK TO THE EIGHTH CENTURY.

SAKURAJIMA IS HOME TO SOME 7,000 PEOPLE.

ANOTHER HALF MILLION LIVE JUST ACROSS THE BAY.

THIS IS LIFE AT THE FOOT OF AN ACTIVE VOLCANO.

SAKURAJIMA HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY ACTIVE SINCE 1955.

IT ERUPTS UP TO 400 TIMES A YEAR,

AND DROPS MILLIONS OF TONS OF ASH ON ITS SURROUNDINGS.

LOCAL SCIENTISTS FORECAST THESE OUTBREAKS

WITH IMPRESSIVE ACCURACY.

RESIDENTS TUNE IN FOR ASHFALL REPORTS.