Word: lavas
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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While Iceland may be frigid on the outside, it's molten lava on the inside. The most exciting evidence of the heat within is provided by the island's many geysers. Geysir, the original blowhole from which all others get their name, now lies dormant on a grassy slope below Bjarnfell Mountain, 120 km east of Reykjavik. But Geysir's neighbor, Strokkur, is positively explosive; thousands flock yearly to watch it fire off a dazzling 30-m spout of scalding water every few minutes. Icelanders take full advantage of their country's volcanic potential: when the mercury drops, they warm...
...atop lava rocks and enclosed by brick or stone, these glowing hearths add dramatic flair. Fireplaces are also trendy poolside, either built in with a mantel or small and portable...
Choosing the rocks most worthy of the attention of all this hardware won't be easy. J.P.L. scientists admit that Gusev Crater looks a little less pristine than they had hoped. Since the time its water vanished, the terrain may have been covered by lava, blasted by incoming meteorites, and then further eroded by millions of years of winds. It will take some doing to find the rocks that have been least affected by all that. Making a choice and then getting to a prize sample could take more than five days. On a mission that may last no more...
...about Roman engineering techniques and volcanology than your average Tom Clancy, and there are moments when the story feels like just an excuse to show off another nifty piece of research. Still, if Pompeii lumbers heavily at first, it eventually picks up speed, helped along by squalls of flying lava and gusts of uncommonly sharp writing, as well as by the undeniable pathos of Harris' most successful character, the great natural philosopher Pliny, who insists on recording his observations of Vesuvius up to the moment when it sweeps away heroes and villains alike...
...occasionally spews lava, but it’s not out-of-control, going-to-kill-people lava,” he said...