But as seismologist Horst Langer says, Etna's changing landscape is a hazardous working environment.

CNN: Keeping track of Etna's pulse

Seismologist Susanna Falsaperla told CNN that developments in technology mean scientists can now monitor every single change on the volcano.

CNN: Keeping track of Etna's pulse

Iranian or Chinese seismologists working within it are supposed to be as objective and impartial as, say, an Australian seismologist.

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Carrieann Bedwell, a USGS seismologist, said a 7.8-magnitude quake was "a large event for any area" and could be expected to cause damage in inhabited places.

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Seismologist Bruce Bolt of the University of California, Berkeley, told radio station KCBS that the Bolinas area is where the 1906 earthquake began, but he found no particular significance in that.

CNN: 5.0 quake jolts Bay Area

During Wednesday's quake, the tectonic plates were likely shifting sideways rather than up and down, leaving less of a chance for the giant waves, said Susanne Sergeant, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey.

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