Question: dont we already know everything about volcanoes

David Pyle answered on 18 Mar 2011:

No! There are 1500 volcanoes which are thought to have erupted in the past 10,000 years, and most have the potential to erupt again. Only a small fraction of these volcanoes is monitored, and few have been studied in any detail. Many of the largest explosive eruptions of the past 30 years (El Chichon, Mexico, 1982; Pinatubo, Philippines, 1991; Chaiten, Chile, 2008) occurred at volcanoes that had not previously been studied and were unmonitored. Chichon and Pinatubo were not recognised as ‘potentially active volcanoes’ until they erupted. So if you want to reduce volcanic risk and save lives, we need to keep working on them.