What is a volcano?

• A volcano is a vent
vent
or 'chimney' that
connects molten rock(magma)
________________
________________
from within the Earth's crust
cone ________________
to the Earth's surface
to the Earth's
surface.
conduit • The volcano
includes the
surrounding cone of
erupted material.
magma chamber
 Location of Volcanoes
Majority of volcanoes are formed as the result of
plate boundary movement such as the rings of fire.
__________________________________________.
The Pacific Ring of Fire contains over ½ of the world’s
volcanoes.
Volcanoes can also form in
the middle of a plate.
These are known as
"hot spots" volcanoes
___________________
and form because
magma is able to reach
the surface due to a
weak/thin spot in the
lithosphere.

Hawaiian volcanoes
Examples: _____________
and Yellowstone National Park
___________________
___________________
 What are the parts of a
Volcano?
1. Vent- the vent
is the ______ opening from

____________
what which lava flows

___________.
Dust, ash, and
rock particles
can also be
thrown out of
the vent!
2. Crater- the top
of the volcano.
It is a funnel
shaped pit. It is
formed when
____________
the material explodes out of the vent

____________
____________
3. Caldera-A vast
depression at the top of
a volcanic cone, formed
when an eruption
substantially empties the reservoir
___________________
of magma beneath the cone's
___________________
___________________
summit
___________________.
Eventually the summit
collapses inward,
creating a caldera.
4. Volcanic
Conduit-A
____________
tube like passage

____________
through which
magma travels
within a volcano.
5. Magma Chamber is
underground pool of molten
a large _________________
rock
_________________found
beneath the surface of the
Earth's crust. The molten
rock in such a chamber is
under great pressure, and
given enough time, that
pressure can gradually
fracture the rock around it
creating outlets for the
magma.
 Types of Volcanoes
• There are 3 types of Volcanoes:

Shield
____________
____________
Cinder cone

____________
Stratovolcano

Volcanoes are
classified by
how they form!
 Shield Volcano
• Is _______________
wide and somewhat flat

____________.
• It forms from an
effusive (quiet)
eruption of lava.
• Lava flows out
_________________
quietly and for great distance

_________________.
 Cinder Cone Volcano
Has ________
tall, very steep sides

____________.
Has ________
explosive

eruptions.
This eruption
produces a lot of
cinder and ash.
 Stratovolcano Volcano
▪ Forms from
explosive eruptions
______________
eruptions.
▪ Produce a lot of lava
and ash.
▪ Has _______
steep sides.
▪ __________________
MOST COMMON TYPE OF
VOLCANO
__________________
___________!
How and why do volcanoes erupt?
Pressure builds deep in the Earth where magma is.
• ________________________________________
_________________________________.
Suddenly the gases escape and violently explode.

• When magma reaches the surface, how easily it flows

depends on its viscosity (stickiness) and the amount of
gas (H2O, CO2, S) it has in it.

• EXPLOSIVE ERUPTIONS are the result of high levels of

gas and high viscosity (sticky) magma.

• EFFUSIVE (QUIET) ERUPTIONS are the result of low

amounts of gas and (or) low viscosity (runny) magma.

VEI measures how explosive an

eruption is based on the amount
of material released!
 Explosive Eruptions
• Explosive volcanic eruptions
can be catastrophic
• Erupt 10’s-1000’s km3 of
magma, rocks, and other
materials
• Send ash clouds >15 miles
into the stratosphere
• Have severe environmental
and climatic effects such as
global cooling because ash blocks
________________________ Mt. Redoubt
sunlight from reaching
________________________Earth's surface
_______________________. Above: Large eruption column and
ash cloud from an explosive eruption
at Mt Redoubt, Alaska
 Volcanic Hazards
pyroclastic flow
• ____________________
• Lahars/Mud flows
• Pyroclastic fall
• Lava flow
__________________
• Noxious Gas
• Earthquakes
_________________

Courtesy of www.swisseduc.ch
A truck carrying
volcanologists and a
film crew attempting
to out run a
pyroclastic flow in
Indonesia….the
pyroclastic flow was
traveling at about
25-30 meters per
second (~60 mph)
 Pyroclastic Flow
• For example, eruption of
____________________
Vesuvius in 79 AD

destroyed the city of Pompeii.

• Perhaps the biggest hazard are

pyroclastic flows. As mentioned
earlier these are ___________
hot, fast moving
,high particles
__________________________
__________________________
(something you don’t want to
get in the way of!).
Pompeii (79AD)

On August 24, 79AD Mount Vesuvius literally

blew its top, erupting tons of molten ash,
pumice and sulfuric gas miles into the
atmosphere. Pyroclastic flows flowed over the
city of Pompeii and surrounding areas.
 Pompeii (79AD)
Pyroclastic flows of poisonous gas and hot
volcanic debris engulfed the cities of Pompeii,
Herculaneum and Stabiae suffocating the
inhabitants and burying the buildings.
Pompeii (79AD)
The cities remained buried
and undiscovered for almost
1700 years until excavation
began in 1748. These
excavations continue today
and provide insight into life
during the Roman Empire.
 Vesuvius today
• Vesuvius remains a
hazardous volcano
with heavily populated
flanks:
Naples
– around 1.5 million
people live in the
city of Naples
Vesuvius
alone
– Naples is situated
Bay of approx. 20 miles
Naples from Vesuvius
– _______________
Pyroclastic flows can
Courtesy of www.swisseduc.ch flow up to 60 miles from
_______________
_______________!
source
 Mt Peleé, Martinique (1902)
• An eruption of Mt Peleé in 1902 produced a
pyroclastic flow that destroyed the city of St. Pierre.
29,000 died
Over _________________________!

before after
How do pyroclastic flows cause
devastation?
 Pyroclastic Flow – (1)direct impact

The direct force of a pyroclastic flow traveling at 10’s of meters

per second and carrying boulders as large as houses is
extremely damaging.
Pyroclastic Flow – (2)burial
 Pyroclastic Flow – (3)burns

Pyroclastic flows have temperatures commonly in

400 degrees Celsius
excess of ________________________. Hot
enough to burn forests and wooden structures.
 Pyroclastic Flow – (4) _________
lahars

• Hot volcanic activity can

__________________
melt ice and snow

• Melted water picks up

rock and debris forming
hot, fast moving mud
flows known as lahars.
• Lahars are a mixture of
rocks, soil, boulders and other
___________________
____________
debris and can
be very destructive.
 Pyroclastic- (5)
______________
Ash Load

– Collapses roofs
– Brings down power lines
– Kills plants
– Contaminates water
supplies
Respiratory hazard for humans
– ____________________
____________________
and animals
Effusive Eruptions

• Effusive eruptions are characterized by

outpourings of lava on to the ground
_____________________________________.
• This happens either because there is not
enough gas (volatiles) in the magma to break it
apart upon escaping, or the magma is too
Hawaiiviscous (sticky) to allow the volatiles to escape
quickly. Courtesy of www.swisseduc.ch
 Lava Flow

• It is not just explosive volcanic activity that

Effusive (lava)
can be hazardous. ________________ activity
is also dangerous.
 Lava Flow - Heimaey, Iceland

• Iceland, January
23,1973.
• Large fissure
eruption
threatened the
town of
Vestmannaeyjar.
 Lava Flow - Heimaey, Iceland
• ___________________
The Lava flow caught the

___________________
inhabitants by surprise
___________________
• Before the eruption was
over, approximately
one-third of the town of
Vestmannaeyjer had
been destroyed
 Lava Flow - Heimaey, Iceland
• However, the potential damage was reduced by
spraying seawater
___________________________ onto the advancing
lava flows.
• This caused them to slow and/or stop, or diverted
them away from the undamaged part of the town.
 So….
How do we minimize the risk of active
volcanoes?
Volcano Monitoring

Volcano Observatories
are set up on all active
volcanoes that
threaten the human
population. These are
designed to monitor
and potentially to
predict the eruptive
___________________
behavior of the volcano in
___________________
__________________.
question
Volcano Monitoring

• ____________
Seismicity

• _____________
Deformation

• ____________
Gas Output

These three things are

the most important
precursors to an
eruption.
 Seismic Activity
Earthquake activity
• _____________________commonly precedes
an eruption
magma pushing up
– Result of _____________________towards
the surface
– Increase volume of material in the volcano
shatters the rock
______________________
– This causes earthquakes
 Deformation Monitoring
• Tilltmeters can tell you when
____________________________________________.
new material enters the magma chamber
A

Note the
B presence of
earthquakes in
relation to the
deformation.
Often it is a
combination of
events that fore-
warns of an
eruption.
 Gas Monitoring
• Commonly gas output from a volcano increases or
changes compositions before an eruption
___________________________________________.
– As magma rises to the surface it releases (exsolves)
much of its gas content.
– This can be measured
 Noxious Gas
• 1,700 people living in the
valley below Lake Nyos in
northwestern Cameroon
mysteriously died on the
evening of August 26, 1986.
 Noxious Gas
• Lake Nyos is a crater lake inside a
dormant volcano
_______________________.
• The lake had become laden with
carbon dioxide gas
_____________________________.
• This gas had suddenly bubbled out of
the lake and asphyxiated nearly every
living being in the surrounding valley.
 Noxious Gas

• A management plan has been

developed to remove gas from the
lake to prevent a further tragedy.
• An artificial vent to the lake surface
was created with pipe.
• Water is pumped from the bottom
of the lake to the surface through
the pipe, where it can degas.
 In Summary..

• Volcanoes are _______________________.

extremely hazardous

• However, the volcano can be studied,

monitored and understood.
• Each volcano is different, and offers a unique
set of dangers
• Plans may be put into place to help control
potential damage.