Volcano team get measure of threat to Great Rift Valley

Little known volcanoes in one of Africa's most stunning locations are to be explored in a bid to understand the threat they pose to life, livelihood and the landscape. This is the only place on Earth that you can observe a continent splitting apart with the associated volcanoes and earthquakes - Marie Edmonds Researchers are to assess largely uncharted volcanoes in the East African Rift Valley, home to vast mammal migrations, mountain gorillas, spectacular peaks and fertile plains. The region's volcanoes, numbering more than 100, are shrouded in mystery. Dates of their last eruptions are mostly unknown and very few have detectors in place to highlight early signs of activity. The human and financial cost could be huge if any of the volcanoes in the densely-populated and economically crucial area of Ethiopia's main rift erupt without warning. Researchers aim to understand past volcanic behaviour, search for signs of current activity and make a long-range eruptive forecast for the region. A recent report for the World Bank ranked 49 of Ethiopia's 65 volcanoes in the highest category of hazard uncertainty.