Welcome to the September issue of Materials World

Standing in the Piazza IX Aprile in Taormina, Sicily, on the night of Monday 17 August, there is a frenetic buzz in the air. The crowd crane their necks to capture the visceral visual of the Mount Etna volcano, which had been continuously erupting since 6 August.

We thought we were looking at lava cascading down from the summit. We later found out that a second vent had opened at a lower altitude, throwing geoscientists and meteorologists into a spin, given that the eruption had just been downgraded from red to orange alert.

My family and I were fortunate to avoid the chaos of disrupted travel into Sicily’s Catania-Fontanarossa Airport before it went back on high alert. For us, and particularly my seven-year-old son, seeing (at a considerably safe distance) the red smoke plumes as we landed in Sicily and lava flowing in real time was a masterclass in geoscience. It prompted enthusiastic conversations about what was happening at the subsurface, as we devoured bite-size explainers from volcanologists.

That excitement has not waned on our return. My son is feverishly sharing his big holiday news on his return to school. With much talk about getting more young people interested in earth science, minerals and mining, could Mount Etna’s antics be a gateway for schools to engage pupils in other related fields? I certainly didn’t miss the chance to talk to my son and partner about Ascension’s efforts to extract rare-earth elements from volcanic glass.

And our visit to the dramatic volcanic canyon – the Alcantara Gorges – featured striking, geometric, basalt columns up to 50m high carved by the Alcantara River, providing further exciting material to ruminate over.

As we make plans to examine the stones and potential gems collected from the raised pebble beach in Taormina, I can’t help reflecting on a message from Welsh artist Rowan Huntley. 'There are many hidden stories behind the natural, geological origin of materials we take for granted in daily life. Art, through materials, can give all of these a louder voice.'

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Rupal Mehta, Editor