History, monitoring and prediction of geohazards

This is part of a foresight publication covering the outcomes of the 'Deep-Sea Frontier Workshop: an integrated an approach to study the deep-sea floor and its history' - June 1-2, 2006 - held in Naples, Italy, which brought together 70 representatives from the oil industry as well as programme managers and administrators of national and European funding agencies. During this workshop, experts from a wide range of scientific disciplines such as geophysics, seismology, sedimentology, geochemistry, paleontology, paleoclimatology, paleooceanography, marine geology, volcanology, marine biology, microbiology, fisheries, and marine policy jointly discussed the challenges, chances and threats of innovative research and technology developments in marine sciences. The specific contribute reported here delas with the first of the six priorities identified during the workshop, i.e. history and prediction of geohazards. Being part of a foresight publication, the paper contains not only a general overview of the state of the art in the subject, but addresses key scientific open questions and key recommendations for the future.