Introduction to special issue of Bulletin of Volcanology on "Advances in Kimberlite geology and volcanology"

The volcanology of kimberlite pipes and volcanoes has been a neglected area of mainstream volcanology research, until the last several years. Previously, published kimberlite research focused largely on petrological and geochemical aspects, with few studies on the physical eruption processes, the volcanic facies characteristics and their volcanological significance from the perspective of modern volcanology. To some extent this situation arose because of the constraints of confidentiality associated with the research, which was commonly controlled by major diamond mining and exploration companies in a very competitive industrial environment, as well as a lack of awareness of the opportunites for research amongst the volcanological community.