volcanoes-mcp

MCP server for Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program

An MCP server implementation for providing access to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program within Claude Desktop.

Overview

This Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enables AI assistants and applications to:

• Query comprehensive geologic data and information provided by the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program
• Access volcano profiles, eruption records, and volcanic activity
• Analyze volcanic data to improve understanding of volcanic activity
• Create graphics and perform data analysis from the data

Users can run queries using natural language.

Sample Output

Q. Get information on the Buzzard Creek volcano in Alaska

A. I'll look up information about the Buzzard Creek volcano in Alaska for you.

get-volcano-details

{
  "verbose": true,
  "volcano_name": "Buzzard Creek",
}

Here's detailed information about Buzzard Creek volcano in Alaska:

Basic Information

Buzzard Creek is a small volcanic feature located in central Alaska, near the town of Healy along the Parks Highway. It sits at coordinates 64.0616°N, 148.4327°W at an elevation of 830 meters (2,723 feet).

Volcanic Features

The volcano consists of two Holocene tuff rings that formed craters:

• Larger crater: 300 meters wide
• Smaller crater: 66 meters wide, located about 200 meters southeast of the larger one
• Both craters contain small lakes
• The craters were formed by phreatomagmatic eruptions (explosive interactions between magma and groundwater)

Eruption History

• Last eruption: Approximately 3,000 years ago (around 1050 BCE)
• Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): 2
• The eruption was relatively minor, with a total ejecta volume probably not exceeding 0.001 cubic kilometers
• Most of the ejecta consists of accessory material (pre-existing rock fragments)

Geological Context

Buzzard Creek has several notable characteristics:

• Rock type: Basalt/Picro-Basalt
• Tectonic setting: Located over a subduction zone with continental crust
• Unusual location: Sits 320 km northeast of its nearest Holocene volcanic neighbor (Hayes volcano), making it quite isolated from the main Aleutian volcanic arc
• Geological position: Located directly over the northernmost corner of the subducting Pacific Plate

Historical Context

The ejecta from the eruptions overlies young glacial terraces that correlate with a glacial stage that ended about 10,000 years ago, helping scientists date the volcanic activity through radiocarbon dating methods.

Buzzard Creek represents a minor but geologically interesting volcanic feature that demonstrates how volcanic activity can occur in unexpected locations, even far from the main volcanic chains.

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @blake365/volcanoes-mcp --client claude

Extra Steps

If you want to make changes to the server you can do so by editing the src/index.ts file.

• Run npm install to install dependencies
• Run npm run build to build the server
• Quit and restart Claude Desktop after making changes

Connecting with Claude Desktop

1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration at:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the server configuration:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "volcanoes": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/Full/Route/to/Folder/volcanoes-mcp/build/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

1. Close/Quit then restart Claude Desktop

Once you restart you should see an icon for search and tools. Click this button to see the MCP tools available.

Troubleshooting

If you get errors when running the server you may need to provide the full path to the node command. For example, on macOS: /usr/local/bin/node