Volcanoes are, in every respect, fascinating: they form breathtaking landscapes and provide billions of people with living space, fertile ground, energy and mineral resources. Volcanoes were most certainly a cradle for the development and evolution of life on Earth, but their vigorous nature has also brought countless species close to or beyond extinction. To understand the inner workings of volcanoes in order to ultimately be able to interpret their behaviour and mitigate volcanic hazards is a motivation that unites all volcanologists. Volcanology is traditionally the study of volcanic eruptions, eruptive products (rocks) and landforms with the ultimate goal to understand volcanic phenomena and predict volcanic eruptions

Natural gas is a kind of efficient, economic, and clean energy. With the rapid development of our economies, the demand for natural gas is climbing year by year. With the development and advancement of exploration technology, the world’s largest volcanic gas reservoirs were discovered in China. As an important part of natural gas resources in China, the discovered resources in volcanic gas reservoirs reach up to several trillion cubic meters, the proved gas in place is up to several hundred billion cubic meters, and the production keeps growing annually. The exploration and development of natural gas in China is in a period of vigorous development. As a new domain, the rational development of volcanic gas reservoirs plays a more and more important role in the natural gas industry. <...>

Many geologists, particularly those in industry, have commented adversely on the adequacy of university geology courses as a realistic precursor to a vocational career in any branch of the earth sciences other than in the universities themselves. This volume, among other things, is evidence that university staff are concerned about this situation and are introducing the reality, stringency and urgency of industry into areas where, until recently, they have been absent or poorly represented. In this context the study of volcanic processes belongs almost entirely to academics, whereas ore genesis, although a fascinating intellectual subiect, is of prime concern to the mining industry.

The idea for this book carne into being between 1981 and 1982 when J. V. W. came to Monash University to take up a Monash Postdoctoral Fellowship. During this period a short course on facies analysis in modern and ancient successions was put together, integrating J.V.W.'s extensive volcanological experience in numerous modern volcanic terrains with R.A.F.C.'s extensive sedimentological and volcanological experience in older volcanic and associated sedimentary successions in the Palaeozoic and Precambrian of Australia. The enthusiastic response from the participants to the first short course, taught in May 1982, and to subsequent annual re-runs, encouraged us to develop the short course notes into this book <...>