Le volcanisme est peut-etre le processus geologiquele plus spectaculaire a l'echelle humaine, mais aussi souvent le plus meurtrier, deux raisons qui justifient les efforts pour mieux comprendre ce phenomene fondamental. Divers domaines des sciences de la Terre concourrent a la recherche en volcanologie.
The transport of chemical elements by uprising magma is one of the fundamental processes by which material is recycled through subduction along convergent plate-boundaries. Obtaining quantitative information on the mass balance of volatile elements is hampered by their complex behavior in magmatic systems.