We head to New Zealand to ask how a hotter planet will affect volcanoes.

We spend a lot of our time thinking about climate change, but listener Paul has a question that isn’t usually part of the conversation. He wants to know whether a hotter atmosphere will affect how often volcanoes erupt, or make them more explosive when they do.

CrowdScience travels to New Zealand to search for answers, exploring volcanic craters and discovering traditional Maori knowledge about volcanoes.

Contributors:
Geoff Kilgour, Volcanologist, Geological and Nuclear Sciences Taupo, New Zealand
Heather Handley, Volcanologist, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Pouroto Ngaropo, Historian and Matauranga Māori expert, Rotorua, New Zealand

Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producer: Emily Bird
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production Co-Ordinator: Connor Morgans
Sound Engineer: Steve Greenwood

(Photo: Icelandic volcano. Credit: KRISTINN MAGNUSSON/Getty Images)

Source: BBC World Service – CrowdScience, Could climate change lead to more volcanic eruptions?