An exploding volcano can be a deadly force on earth, but may be a cosy nursery for life on other planets.

That is why renowned planetary geologist and volcanologist Rosaly Lopes has devoted much of her life searching for "alien volcanoes".

Dr. Lopes was recently on the Island and spoke at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) about her work.

"Volcanoes can help life because they can provide heat," said Dr. Lopes who is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "For life you need water and heat."

Dr. Lopes is based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In terms of the possibility of life on other planets, she said scientists are particularly interested in one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, which is near another moon, Io.

"There is not any life on Io because there is no water," she said. "But there could be the right conditions on Europa.

"Europa has a nice crust, but an ocean under the crust. We also think it still has volcanic activity under the crust. So there could be life there."

She said that is why the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seriously considering a mission to Europa.

"There would be no lander in the first trip," Dr. Lopes said. "It would be the first time any of the moons of Jupiter would have an orbiter. The orbiter would have a radar to see how thick the ice crust is. We don't know how far down the ocean is. It would be a precursor for a further mission."

Dr. Lopes worked on the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) team planning and analysing observations of Io from 1996 to 2001.

While looking at data from the Galileo spacecraft mission Dr. Lopes discovered 71 new active volcanoes on Io.

Galileo travelled the cosmos between 1989 and September 2003. It explored Jupiter and its moons since December 1995.

Dr. Lopes' discovery of the new volcanoes earned her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006.

"Io has a lot of volcanic activity," she said. "That is because it is in a peculiar orbit that gets it in a gravitational tug of war between its parent planet and other moons.

"This creates tides on the surface, and all the pushing and pulling makes the interior very hot."

One of her goals is to find an active volcano on Saturn's moon Titan.

"We think we have already done this but the evidence isn't very compelling, yet. It is a little frustrating. We don't have the real proof yet.

"We have been studying some areas of Titan that might have some gassing at least, but not big eruptions. It is very tantalising."

She is also looking at Neptune's moon, Triton.

"Volcanoes are the major way that planets lose their primordial heat," she said. "A lot of planets like Mars have had volcanoes in the past, but they are not active anymore.

"The crust on Mars is very thick now and the heat doesn't escape."

Dr. Lopes previously studied volcanoes on earth. Two of her latest books include 'Alien Volcanoes' and 'The Volcano Adventure Guide'.

"It is designed for people who want to go to visit a volcano as an adventure," she said. "It is not necessarily dangerous if you know what volcano to go to."

She said some people would never consider visiting a volcano because they think it is too dangerous, while other people do visit them but take silly risks.

Dr. Lopes said she has never been injured by a volcano, but she has had some near misses.

"Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy had a very unexpected single explosion in 1979," said Dr. Lopes. "I was about a mile away from the crater. Several people were killed who were closer.

"A year later, I was right next to it when it exploded again. Luckily, the stuff thrown out didn't come near me. I have had to dodge bombs of molten rock thrown out by the volcano."

She said her family used to worry about her work, but now that she studies volcanoes on other planets, they don't worry so much.

Dr. Lopes said her dream is to see an alien volcano close up.

"I still go to volcanoes on Earth," she said. "I have been to about 50 volcanoes or so. I would like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya. I am considering doing that this year or next year."

She became interested in alien volcanoes while studying for a degree in astronomy at the University of London.

"I took a course in the geology of the planets," she said. "I thought it was fascinating. That was what I wanted to do for my PhD."

She was especially inspired when one of her professors was suddenly called away to an eruption of Mount Etna.

"I was impressed," she said. Since then, she has had an impressive record herself.

After graduation, she became a member of the United Kingdom's Volcanic Eruption Surveillance Team.

She worked as curator of modern astronomy and deputy head of the astronomy section at the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. In 1989 she performed hazard mapping at the Vesuvius Observatory in Italy as a visiting researcher at Osservatorio Vesuviano, Naples.

In 2002, Dr. Lopes became investigation scientist on the Cassini RADAR Team.

For more information about Dr. Lopes, check out her website at http://www.volcanoadventures.com/lopes.html.