2.1 The movers and shakers behind IAVCEI's formation in 1919

The movers and shakers who are credited with establishing the Section for Volcanology in IUGG in 1919 are Annibale Riccò (Italy), Alfred Lacroix (France), Henry S. Washington (USA) and Alessandro Malladra (Italy; Fig. 1; Gasparini and Johnson, 1995). Annibale Riccò (Fig. 1a) was a celebrated Italian astronomer, with interests in other natural sciences, including seismology. He served as an astronomer at the universities of Modena; Naples, Palermo, and at the time of appointment, Catania (all in Italy). Alfred Lacroix (Fig. 1b) was a French volcanologist at the Museum of Natural History in Paris and was most famous for his account of the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée, which killed ∼ 30 000 people in the coastal town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, and for defining the concept of nuées ardentes (“glowing clouds” or pyroclastic flows). Henry S. Washington (Fig. 1c) was a well-known American petrologist and geochemist at the Carnegie Institute in Washington DC, who was integral to introducing the normative mineralogy composition concept. Alessandro Malladra (Fig. 1d) was an Italian volcanologist from the Vesuvius Observatory in Naples.

At that inaugural general assembly of the International Research Council in Brussels, Belgium, in 1919, where IUGG was formed as a union of six disciplinary sections, Annibale Riccò was elected as the first president of the Section for Volcanology (SV), Alfred Lacroix and Henry Washington were elected vice presidents, and Alessandro Malladra was elected as secretary-general (SG). The process is not clear, but presumably it was by the consensus of the shakers and movers involved in setting up SV. Sadly, Riccò died after only 2 months into his term as president. Lacroix took over the duties of president de facto but was not formally installed as president until the first IUGG General Assembly in Rome, Italy, in 1922, at which Washington was elected vice president and Malladra was confirmed as secretary-general.

2.2 How IAVCEI evolved from 1919 onwards

At the 1922 IUGG General Assembly, SV decided to establish a bureau or office for the section in Naples, Italy, where Malladra was based. In his capacity as secretary-general, Malladra also oversaw the introduction of Bulletin volcanologique, the precursor to the Bulletin of Volcanology (BV). The title in French accords with French being one of the two official languages of IUGG. The first volume of BV was published in 1924, with Alessandro Malladra as the editor. He continued as editor until 1936, in addition to being secretary-general.

IAVCEI's first scientific conference or meeting, where scientists from several countries presented their research, volcanological issues were discussed and reports on significant recent volcanic eruptions were presented, was part of the first IUGG General Assembly held in Rome in 1922. The number of participants was not recorded, but representatives from Belgium, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA participated in IAVCEI's first general assembly (Gasparini and Johnson, 1995). At the 4th IUGG General Assembly in Stockholm, Sweden, it was decided to rename the IUGG Sections as Associations (Gasparini and Johnson, 1995), which was implemented at the 5th IUGG General Assembly in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1933 (Ismail-Zadeh, 2016). SV thus became the International Association for Volcanology (IAV) in 1933. At the 14th IUGG General Assembly in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1967, IAV was renamed IAVCEI in recognition of the importance of geochemistry and geochronology in understanding volcanic processes (Gasparini and Johnson, 1995).

Since 1922, IAVCEI has held regular major scientific meetings about every 2 years. The meetings held in conjunction with IUGG General Assemblies were called IAVCEI General Assemblies (GAs; where business and scientific meetings were held); these were held every 2–3 years, and since 1963, they have been held every 4 years, except during World War II (see http://www.iugg.org/assemblies/, last access: 11 July 2018, for a list of dates and locations). In between the GAs, IAVCEI has held its own major conferences, called IAVCEI Scientific Assemblies (SAs), although the one held in 1977 was a joint meeting with the International Association for Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI; see Supplement). Attendances have progressively increased from ∼500 in 1977 at the Durham, UK, SA to >1000 at the 2013 Kagoshima, Japan, SA and 1400 at the 2017 Portland, USA, SA. There was, however, a decrease in numbers immediately after the global financial crisis of 2008. Over the last 20 years, new conferences, initiated by the Commission for Cities and Volcanoes and called “Cities on Volcanoes” (CoV) conferences, have become very popular, attracting over 600 people at recent conferences. These are also held about every 2 years (see Supplement). All conferences are held in different locations and countries, and the venue is based on interested countries competing to host each conference.

3.1 Office bearers and committee

IAVCEI is managed by an elected committee called the IAVCEI Executive Committee. The principal office bearers of IAVCEI have been its presidents and secretaries-general (the latter is also the treasurer). In addition, a committee, variously consisting of one or, more recently, two vice presidents and four other members, provides advice and help in the decision-making process. Together with the president, secretary-general and immediate past president ex officio, they constitute the executive committee of IAVCEI. The current committee is listed on the IAVCEI website (https://www.iavceivolcano.org, last access: 11 July 2018), and the list of past IAVCEI office bearers is summarised in the Supplement. The lengths of committee terms have varied in the past, but since 1963 the terms for all committee members have been 4 years, except for the secretary-general, whose term is 8 years to provide continuity. Committee members can be re-elected after their first 4-year term for only one further 4-year term, but they may nominate for the presidency or secretary-general position thereafter. All committee positions are voluntary, and the IAVCEI community is indebted to those who have given their time to serve as committee members.

3.2 Election of IAVCEI executive committees by IAVCEI members and introduction of individual membership

The IAVCEI Executive Committee is now elected by IAVCEI members in the months before each IAVCEI general assembly, after an open call for nominations from IAVCEI members. The election is conducted by an election oversight committee appointed by the president, and is usually chaired by the past president, two terms earlier. The editor of the Bulletin of Volcanology is appointed by the executive committee after an open call for expressions of interest.

Prior to 1995, candidates for the IAVCEI committees were identified following enquiries by the outgoing executive committee about suitable candidates who were representative of the IAVCEI community worldwide. In 1995, under the presidency of Grant Heiken, the IAVCEI Executive Committee introduced personal membership in order to develop a stronger sense of community; to help raise funds for the many meetings and workshops that IAVCEI organised every year, which could not be adequately funded by annual budget allocations from IUGG; and to provide a sounder financial base for publication of the Bulletin of Volcanology. As a result, IAVCEI members became eligible to nominate, be nominated and vote for candidates for the IAVCEI Executive Committee. Officially, IUGG did not support individual membership or membership fees in the IUGG associations, and there had been many tense exchanges between IAVCEI and the IUGG executive before and after the 1995 declaration on individual membership. IUGG Statutes stated that the executive committees of the associations could only be voted on by the official national correspondents to each association who could only come from member countries of IUGG with membership dues paid. The problems with this scheme were many, including the disenfranchisement of many volcanologists who were very active in IAVCEI but came from countries that were not financial members of IUGG. This was clearly unfair in an increasingly modern, inclusive and democratic world. So from 1995 onwards, IAVCEI executive committees were elected by all members of IAVCEI irrespective of their countries of residence and contrary to the IUGG Statutes.

Unfortunately, this meant that while IUGG adhered to its statutes, IAVCEI executive committees could be declared illegitimate by IUGG if it chose. To overcome this constitutional impasse, the IAVCEI Executive Committee of 2011–2015 undertook a hard, and again at times tense, campaign to convince IUGG and its other member associations of the merits of allowing associations to introduce individual membership, the charging of membership fees and democratisation of the elections of association executive committees, if they so wished. This involved allowing all registered members, irrespective of country of residence, to be eligible to nominate candidates, to be nominated as a candidate and to participate in the election of the committees. At one stage, IAVCEI considered seceding from IUGG if these basic democratic principles were not agreed to. The proposal was overwhelmingly supported by the IUGG Council at its meeting at the IUGG General Assembly in Prague, given that two other associations also already had a form of personal membership in place, demonstrating that attitudes on personal membership in IUGG were changing. In addition, IAVCEI demonstrated that it was by far the most active association in IUGG in terms of conferences, workshops and short courses, which it could only do using funding generated by personal membership fees.

The only position now on the IAVCEI Executive Committee that must be filled by a representative from an IUGG financial member country is the president. This was a concession to IUGG, since the finances of IUGG, and thus the associations, which all receive an annual monetary allocation from IUGG, are all derived from the subscriptions paid to IUGG by member countries and from the budgets of the national academies of science of those countries. The perceived benefits of being a country member of IUGG is the right to contribute to the formulation of scientific policy at an international level through IUGG and then through the International Council for Science (ICSU), now called the International Science Council (ISC).

From 1995 to 2011, the election of the IAVCEI Executive Committee was conducted by hard-copy ballot papers and snail mail. The elections of the 2011–2015 and 2015–2019 IAVCEI committees were successfully conducted online.

3.3 Statutes

Gasparini and Johnson (1995) note that statutes (or constitution) for the International Association for Volcanology (IAV) were adopted at the general assembly in Helsinki, Finland, in 1960. It is assumed that prior to this IAV Statutes mirrored those of IUGG, although information on this is invited from readers. Following these 1960 statutes, IAV's scientific activities were managed through four sections, namely active volcanoes, volcano-physics, physics and chemistry of magmas, and paleovolcanology, and the presidents of these were members of the IAV Bureau. At the IUGG General Assembly in Zurich in 1967, IAV became IAVCEI, and more flexible working groups on topical research themes were introduced to replace the more rigid sections. There was then a further revision of IAVCEI's statutes at the 1979 IUGG General Assembly, in which “Working Groups were replaced by Commissions and Task Groups, the former having the aim of promoting and co-ordinating scientific activity on large themes on a permanent basis, the latter being focussed on temporary problems or on frontier areas of volcanological research” (Gasparini and Johnson, 1995).

In 1995 at the IAVCEI General Assembly in Boulder, USA, and again in revised statutes passed at the 2011 IAVCEI General Assembly in Melbourne, Australia, the concept of individual scientists becoming “affiliates” of IAVCEI and making “donations” were introduced. At the 2015 IAVCEI General Assembly in Prague, Czech Republic, the concept of membership for scientists from all countries, involving fee payment, was included in revised statutes, which are available on the IAVCEI website: https://www.iavceivolcano.org/about-iavcei/statute-and-by-laws.html (last access: 11 July 2018).

4.1 General assemblies

Since 1922, IAVCEI's general assemblies have been held in conjunction with the IUGG general assemblies. General assemblies serve as both scientific research meetings where new research is presented in a series of symposia and workshops and as business meetings where new committees are inducted and awards for research excellence are presented and celebrated. GAs also allow for joint interdisciplinary research symposia with other IUGG associations. The timing, locations and known numbers of delegates from all IUGG associations attending the IAVCEI–IUGG general assemblies can be found in the Supplement.

4.2 Scientific assemblies

IAVCEI's scientific assembly conferences, which occur between the general assemblies, seem to have only commenced in 1977 and have been held roughly every 4 years since then (see the Supplement for the timing, locations and known numbers of delegates). At scientific assemblies IAVCEI organises an in-house stand-alone scientific conference with emphasis on research, including a celebration of research achievements through presentation of research awards. In addition, there have been some “irregular” meetings, called Volcanological Congresses, which are also listed with scientific assemblies.

4.3 Cities on Volcanoes conferences

IAVCEI's Commission on Cities and Volcanoes has now organised 10 CoV conferences. These tend to cater more to consideration of volcanic hazard, eruption monitoring and civil response issues than the general and scientific assemblies (see the Supplement for the timing, and locations of CoV conferences). In addition, IAVCEI research commissions have organised many other conferences, workshops and field workshops all over the world, making IAVCEI one of the most active associations in IUGG.

5.1 Origin and history

Since very early in its history, IAVCEI has produced its own journal, called Bulletin volcanologique, from 1924 to 1984, renamed the Bulletin of Volcanology from 1986 on. The first volumes were released spasmodically, and in a confusing manner, in two series. Volume I, series I, has eight issues and/or parts, six of which were released over 2 years in 1924–1925 (Fig. 2), and the last, issue 8, was released in 1931. However, there is some discrepancy in published dates on the Bulletin of Volcanology website of Springer, which does not include original journal covers. The break from 1931 to 1937 presumably represents the impact of the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, with series II beginning in 1937. Volumes 3 and 4 (of series II) were published in 1938, volume 5 in 1939, and volumes 6 and 7 in 1940, which is when World War II was well under way (continuing until 1945); during this period no volumes of BV were published. The first post-World War II volume appeared in 1949 (Volume 8), and BV has been published more or less continuously since. No volume numbers were, however, skipped; their publication was just delayed. The covers of post-World War II volumes are labelled Series II, suggesting that after the initial volume I (series I, 1924–1936), the clock was reset in 1937 with the commencement of series II, beginning with another volume 1.

Figure 2Two versions of the cover of BV. (a) Volume 1, no. 1, from July–September 1924. (b) Cover design from last hard-copy version of BV, this issue being Volume 72, no. 4, 2010.

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The source of funding to support publication of BV in the early years is unclear, but in the 1950s to early 1960s funding was provided by UNESCO, and then during the 1960s and 1970s, it was provided by the National Research Council of Italy, as acknowledged on the covers of BV. From the mid-1980s, after publication was handed over to Springer in Germany, funding was provided by IAVCEI and also sourced from journal subscriptions, which continues to the present.

For over 40 years, from 1924 to 1966, the secretary-general was also the editor of BV. Up until 1986 the editors were all Italian, but after 1986 scientists from other countries became editors of BV. In 1975, at the IAVCEI General Assembly in Grenoble, France, it was decided that the processes by which BV was produced needed to be more rigorous, so a more inclusive international peer review process for research papers was established, with Volume 39 in 1976, edited by Franco Barberi and F. Esu Cugusi, being the first output under this new regime. It is unclear how the reviewing of papers prior to this was undertaken, but it was presumably largely done by the editor. Dissatisfaction amongst the IAVCEI community with the slowness of reviewing and processing of papers and publication of research papers came to a head in the mid-1980s, and a decision was made to transfer publication of BV to Springer in Germany, coinciding with the appointment of the first non-Italian editor of BV, Hans-Ulrich Schmincke, who was also the secretary-general at the time and was instrumental in the change in direction.

In 1986 BV was renamed Bulletin of Volcanology, was redesigned, took on a new look with the release of Volume 48 and has been continuously produced as a high-quality international journal since. From time to time its format has been revised and refreshed by each new editor. BV is now one of the two mainstream international volcanological journals, the other being the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (published by the independent, commercial science publisher Elsevier), which was initiated in the 1970s as a result of dissatisfaction in the international volcanological community with the processes and timescales associated with BV at the time. Other journals with a focus on volcanology have also emerged more recently (e.g. the the Journal of Applied Volcanology and Frontiers in Earth Sciences).

5.2 Editors of Bulletin volcanologique and Bulletin of Volcanology

These are the unsung heroes of IAVCEI. Their efforts, as volunteers, in managing the publication of research by the volcanological community on behalf of IAVCEI have long been undervalued. Until this compilation, IAVCEI did not even have a consolidated record of the who editors of BV were. The following were editors of BV during its history:

• Alessandro Malladra (Italy; also SG; 1924–1936)

• Francesco Signore (Italy; also SG; 1936–1959)

• Francesco Penta (Italy; also SG; 1959–1966)

• F. Esu Cugusi (Italy) – G. Marinelli (Italy; 1967)

• F. Esu Cugusi (Italy) – (Italy; 1968–1975)

• Franco Barberi (Italy) – F. Esu Cugusi (Italy; 1976–1984)

• Hans-Ulrich Schmincke (Germany; also SG) – Steve Sparks (UK; 1986–1989)

• Hans-Ulrich Schmincke (Germany; also SG) – Gail Mahood (USA; 1990–1992)

• Hans-Ulrich Schmincke (Germany; also SG; 1993–1995)

• Don Swanson (USA) – Chris Newhall (USA; 1996–1999)

• Tim Druitt (France) – Jean-François Lénat (France; 2000–2003)

• John Stix (Canada) - Jean-François Lénat (France; 2004)

• John Stix (Canada) – JR Clark (Canada; 2005–2010)

• James White (New Zealand) – Linda White (New Zealand; 2011–2016)

• Andrew Harris (France) – Frances van Wyk de Vries (France; 2017–date of publication).

In addition, the countless members of the editorial board and reviewers of BV over the years are acknowledged with thanks.

5.3 Publishers of Bulletin volcanologique and Bulletin of Volcanology and years

Bulletin volcanologique was published by Francesco Giannini e Figli in Naples, Italy, from 1924–1984, encompassing volumes 1 to 47; the Bulletin of Volcanology has been published by Springer, in Berlin, Germany, from 1986 to present, accounting for volumes 48 to 80.

5.4 From hardback only to digital only

From 1924 to 2013 BV was published in hard copy, and in the first part of the 21st century, it was published in both a hard-copy and digital version. From 2013 it became available only in digital form online through the Springer BV website or through institutional libraries.

5.5 A snapshot of the changing face of Bulletin volcanologique and Bulletin of Volcanology

BV has been redesigned numerous times since it was first published in 1924. The following are just some of the incarnations of the cover (Fig. 2).

11.1 Wager Medal

The first IAVCEI award, introduced in 1975, was for excellence in research. It was named the Wager Medal after Lawrence Rickard Wager (1904–1965), a petrologist at Oxford University, most famous for his seminal research on the petrological architecture and origins of the massive Skaergaard layered intrusive complex in Greenland. Although originally awarded every 4 years through a collaboration with the Royal Society of London, “the medal is (now) given every two years (i.e. at both Scientific and General Assemblies), to a scientist up to 15 years after Ph.D acquisition, who has made outstanding contributions to volcanology, particularly in the 8-year period prior to the Award” (IAVCEI website). Multiple nominations are usually received in each round. A list of past awardees can be found at the IAVCEI web page: https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-awards/wager-medal.html (last access: 11 July 2018).

11.2 Thorarinsson Medal

In 1987 IAVCEI introduced the Thorarinsson Medal sponsored by the Geological Society of Iceland. Named after the famous Icelandic volcanologist Sigurdur Thorarinsson (1912–1983), the award is made “every four years at the IAVCEI Scientific Assembly to a scientist of outstanding distinction who has made fundamental contributions to research in volcanology” (IAVCEI website). A list of past awardees can be found at the IAVCEI web page: https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-awards/thorarinsson-medal.html (last access: 11  July 2018).

11.3 Krafft Medal

The Krafft Medal, introduced in 2004, is named after the French husband-and-wife team Maurice and Katia Krafft, who were tragically killed by a block and ash flow during an eruption of Mount Unzen in Japan in 1991, together with another volcanologist, Harry Glicken, and 40 people from the media. The medal is sponsored through a trust fund established by the Krafft family and “is awarded every 4 years at the IAVCEI Scientific Assembly to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to volcanology through service to the scientific community or to communities threatened by volcanic activity. The Krafft Medal honours those who have shown altruism and dedication to the humanitarian and applied sides of volcanology and those who have made selfless contributions to the volcanological community” (IAVCEI website). A list of past awardees can be found at the IAVCEI web page: https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-awards/krafft-medal.html (last access: 11  July 2018).

11.4 George Walker Award

This award honours George P. L. Walker, originally from the UK, whose largely field-based research modernised and pioneered a quantitative approach to understanding volcanic eruptions, especially explosive eruptions. The award was introduced in 2004 and “is given every two years to a scientist up to 7 years after Ph.D acquisition. The award recognises achievements of a recent outstanding graduate in the fields of research encompassed by IAVCEI, or also a recent graduate whose achievements in volcanology involved operating in difficult circumstances” (IAVCEI website, 2018). The award is sponsored from a trust fund established by the Walker family. A list of past awardees can be found at the IAVCEI web page: https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-awards/george-walker-medal.html (last access: 11  July 2018)

11.5 The Fisher Medal

The Fisher Medal is in honour of Richard V. Fisher (1928–2002), who made major contributions to understanding the behaviour of pyroclastic density currents, based largely on field studies of their deposits: “The medal is given every 4 years at the IAVCEI Scientific Assembly to a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to volcanology based primarily upon field observations” (IAVCEI website). The medal was introduced in 2017. More information can be found at https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-awards/fisher-medal.html (last access: 11  July 2018).

11.6 Volcanic Surveillance and Crisis Management Award

The Volcanic Surveillance and Crisis Management Award honours the personnel from institutions or organisations responsible for monitoring volcanoes (volcano observatories and/or other institutions) that have made a remarkable contribution to the mitigation of volcanic hazards and volcanic risks. Volcano monitoring, eruption forecasting and the mitigation of volcanic hazards are key objectives of volcanologists and a duty of volcano observatories worldwide. Criteria for eligibility include the following: successful hazard assessment and mitigation efforts, effective volcano surveillance and eruption forecasting, and/or effective crisis management: “This award will be presented every 2 years at the Cities on Volcanoes Meeting (CoVs)” (IAVCEI website). The first award was given in 2018 (https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-awards/volcano-surveillance-and-crisis-management-award.html (last access: 11  July 2018)).