Contact: Mike Horyczun
Director of Public Relations
(203) 413-6735
For Immediate Release
November 24, 2009
Bruce Museum Science Lecture Series:
“Why Volcanoes Explode”
3 p.m., Sunday, December 6, 2009
Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT
Dr. James D. Webster
The Bruce Museum in Greenwich presents the second lecture in the Bruce Museum’s 2009-2010
Science Lecture Series on the theme “Forces of Nature: Explosive Volcanoes.” Dr. James D. Webster
addresses “Why Volcanoes Explode” in his presentation on Sunday, at 3 p.m. on December 6, 2009.
Admission to the lecture is free to Museum members and students with identification. The cost to nonmembers is $5 at the door. Reservations are recommended. Call (203) 869-0376, ext. 420.
Each year 50 to 60 volcanoes erupt explosively on land, and every decade or so, some of erupt
quite violently. Eruptions like these can blast rock fragments, volcanic ash, and hot volcanic gases to
great heights in the atmosphere and, as a result, pose severe threats to life, property, and business.
In his presentation, Dr. Webster takes us on a tour of his field research at some of these explosive
volcanoes including Augustine in Alaska, Vesuvius in Italy, and White Island in New Zealand. Then it’s
back to his laboratory at the American Museum of Natural History to learn more. Dr. Webster describes
the dominant styles of volcanic eruptions on Earth and the settings in which volcanism occurs.
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-2He explores the causes that make some volcanoes explode forcefully and others erupt passively.
He also discusses the relationship between these amazing volcanoes and many of the world’s major
metal-ore deposits.
For the last 19 years, Dr. Webster has been the Curator of Mineral Deposits at the American
Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in
geology from North Carolina State University, the Colorado School of Mines and Arizona State University.
He has published extensively on his research in geochemistry and experimental petrology, which has
been supported by 7 National Science Foundation research grants and 3 grants to support summer
college student research assistants. He curated Gold, an AMNH traveling exhibition on the geology,
mining technology, and history of gold. He also was a co-recipient of the American Geophysical Union
2002 Excellence in Geophysical Education Award for the curation of the AMNH Gottesman Hall of Planet
Earth, a 10,000 square foot permanent exhibition on the materials and forces that shape our planet.
The Bruce Museum Science Lecture Series is supported by the Marjorie Sims Lawrence
Memorial Fund and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Elser.
The Bruce Museum is located at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. Museum
hours are: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Mondays
and major holidays. Free, on-site parking is available. General admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors
and students, and free for children under five and Bruce Museum members. Free admission to all on
Tuesdays. The Bruce Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For information, call the Bruce
Museum at (203) 869-0376, or visit the Bruce Museum website at www.brucemuseum.org.
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