Understanding stress and deformation in active volcanoes

No eruption, no caldera collapse, and no landslide can take place in a volcano unless its state of stress is suitable for the associated type of rock failure. The state of stress, in turn, results in deformation, and both stress and deformation depend on the mechanical properties of the rocks that constitute the volcano. Understanding stress and deformation in volcanoes is thus of fundamental importance for understanding unrest periods and for accurate forecasting volcano failure, such as may result in large-scale lateral and vertical collapses and eruptions.