Lecture: Volcanic Eruption

Eruption – occurs when magma, along with several other materials, is ejected into the volcano’s
vent.
Effects observed during an eruption include earthquakes, release of ash clouds that results in
the
darkening of the sky, lahar (mudflows created when lava mixes with water) and flash floods,
acid rains,
and tsunamis, especially if the volcano is located near the coastline.
Magma – molten rock material inside Earth’s crust. It can be classified based on the dissolved
materials in
it, its temperature, and its viscosity, or the resistance to flow.
a. Basaltic magma – contains 45-55% silica. It is rich in iron, magnesium, and calcium, but
contains low
potassium and sodium. Its temperature recorded was about 1000-12000C. It is the least
viscous, or
the most fluid of all the types of magma.
b. Andesitic magma – middle magma. Its temperature is about 800-10000C. It has silica content
of about
55-65% with average amounts of iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium.
c. Felsic magma – composed of slow moving or viscous forms of magma composed of rhyolite
and
dacite. It is very thick and slow moving. Highly explosive. It contains 65-75% silica, and is low in
iron,
magnesium, and calcium, but it is high in potassium and sodium. Its temperature is just about
650-
8000C. It creates a caldera after an eruption just like in Yellowstone Park.
Why do volcanoes erupt?
1. The buoyancy of magma
2. The pressure in dissolved gases
3. The addition of magma in the magma chamber
Lava Flow Materials
1. A’a (pronounced as ah-ah) is a form of lava with a rough and spiky texture.
2. Pahoehoe (pronounced as pah-hoy-hoy) is a lava flow characterized by displaying a series of
small
lobes that continually break out from Earth’s crust. When cooled, this lava flow shows a bizarre
structure (either pillow like or ropelike) and has a smooth surface.
3. Pillow lava is produced by non-explosive volcanic eruptions under the ocean. This type of
magma
solidifies quickly and produces pillow-like rocks.
Pyroclastic Materials – the solid fragments of materials that have been extruded in a volcanic
eruption.
They can be classified according to their sizes:
a. Ash – small particles that are expelled to the air during volcanic eruptions.
b. Lapilli – rock or lava fragments blasted into the air by an erupting volcano
c. Blocks – large fragments of solid rocks ejected by volcanoes; most of them are angular in
shape
because they come from the fractured rocks inside the volcanoes.
d. Bombs - large fragments of rocks that are still partially melted. Some hit the ground and form
like cow
dung; thus, they are also called cow-dung bombs.
Other Pyroclastic Materials:
e. Agglutinate - forms when different partially molten particles such as cinders, scoria, or
pumice have
landed on the surface and solidify together, causing them to be somewhat “welded” with one
another.
f. Cinders – or scoria are lava fragments thrown and solidified in air, forming dark eruption. It is
a
collective term for all airborne volcanic products.
g. Pumice – is a light-colored volcanic rock that has many gas bubbles. It is a product of the
expansion of
gases during an eruption