Simulating active volcanoes

The problem with trying to understand how active volcanoes such as Mount Etna work is that we cannot see what is going on inside them. We can try to get around the difficulty by examining the exposed interiors of ancient volcanoes and by utilizing geophysical techniques that allow us to monitor subterranean magma behaviour by recording associated ground deformation, locating thermal anomalies and monitoring seismic tremors. In conjunction with this geophysical work, we can simulate the internal ‘plumbing’ of an active volcano using that common culinary aid, gelatine