The first signs of an impending volcanic calamity can be hard to recognize. Dead trees and wildlife, cloudy tap water and unusual smells in the forest may all be explained by a variety of natural causes other than the stirrings of a magma chamber. Volcanologists who have to decide if such signals are benign or premonitory can face enormous personal and professional pressure. A false alarm can cost them their credibility and cost the local population millions of dollars in lost business; failure to predict a major eruption can result in tens of thousands of casualties. This dilemma lies at the heart of a spate of new films and television programmes.
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