Early Career Scientists in Volcanology

Volcanology stands at a pivotal moment. Advances in satellite remote sensing, machine learning, real-time monitoring networks, and high-resolution geochemical analysis are transforming how scientists observe, interpret, and communicate volcanic activity. At the centre of this transformation are early career scientists (ECS) — PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and those within the first five years of an independent position — who are not only adopting these tools but actively redefining the questions volcanology asks and the methods it uses to answer them.Despite their outsized contribution to the field’s momentum, early career researchers often face structural barriers to visibility: limited publication records, fewer invitations to contribute to high-profile special issues, and reduced access to the networks that drive collaborative science. This Research Topic addresses that gap directly. It provides a dedicated, open-access platform for early career volcanologists to publish rigorous, peer-reviewed work alongside their peers — creating a cohesive, citable collection that reflects the breadth, quality, and ambition of the next generation of volcanic scientists.This collection welcomes original research articles, systematic and narrative review articles, hypothesis and theory papers, data reports, and methods articles spanning the full thematic scope of modern volcanology. Contributions may address any spatial or temporal scale, from individual eruption episodes to long-term volcanic arc evolution, and from local community hazard exposure to global volcanic forcing of climate systems.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:Magma storage, ascent, and eruptive dynamics — crystallisation timescales, volatile exsolution, conduit flow modelling, magma mixing, and the triggers and precursors of eruptive activityVolcanic monitoring and real-time observation — seismic and infrasound analysis, ground deformation and geodesy, SO₂ and CO₂ flux measurements, multi-parameter early warning systems, and the integration of remote sensing with ground-based networksEruption phenomenology — explosive fragmentation, effusive lava transport, pyroclastic density currents, volcanic plume dynamics, and syn-eruptive processes across a range of eruption styles and settingsHazard assessment and risk modelling — probabilistic eruption forecasting, tephra dispersal and fallout modelling, lahar and lava flow inundation analysis, multi-hazard cascades, and the integration of physical models with exposure and vulnerability dataPetrology, geochemistry, and geochronology — magma composition and differentiation pathways, trace element and isotope systematics, volatile budgets in arc and intraplate settings, and timescales of magmatic processes resolved through diffusion chronometry or U-series methodsPhysical volcanology and deposit characterisation — stratigraphic reconstruction of past eruptions, grain-size and componentry analysis of pyroclastic deposits, lava flow field mapping, and the use of deposit records to constrain eruption source parametersSubmarine and extraterrestrial volcanism — deep-sea eruptive processes, hydrothermal system dynamics, and comparative planetology applied to volcanic landforms on other planetary bodiesVolcano–climate interactions — quantification of volcanic aerosol forcing, ice-core volcanic records, and the role of large igneous provinces in past climate perturbationsSocietal dimensions of volcanism — crisis communication and risk perception, participatory approaches to volcanic hazard management, the integration of Indigenous and local knowledge, and frameworks for co-producing knowledge with at-risk communitiesEmerging methods and technologies — the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to volcano monitoring datasets, drone-based data acquisition, novel laboratory experiments, and open-science practices in volcanological researchAuthorship eligibility: At least one author on each submitted manuscript must identify as an early career researcher at the time of submission. Senior co-authors are warmly encouraged, recognising that ECS-led work frequently emerges from collaborative research groups. We particularly encourage contributions from researchers based in volcanically active low- and middle-income countries, and from groups historically underrepresented in the volcanological literature.We invite early career volcanologists from all career stages, institutional backgrounds, and geographic regions to submit their work and help define the direction of this field for the decade ahead. Topic editors: Valerio Acocella Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81785/early-career-scientists-in-volcanology