Prepared by

Mrs. Amany Adel

Gaber Hussien
Teacher of Earth
science of stem
Menoufia
Weeks: Week 01 - Week 02
ES.3.01:

Show understanding of the link between volcanoes

and earthquakes and the theory of plate tectonics
by using earthquake and volcano data to draw plate
boundaries.
In this session student should be able to

•1. Trace and construct maps of volcanoes and earthquakes using USGS data and satellite images.

• 2. Use maps to examine and describe the distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes at global,
regional, and local scales.

•3. Interpret patterns of volcanoes and earthquakes in terms of plate tectonic theory.

4 Identify The geographical distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes form patterns that
coincide with some continents' boundaries, with some other patterns aligned along the
middle areas of oceans
 Volcanoes

• The volcano is a hole or fracture in the earth’s crust which permits the molten rocks and the trapped gases
to leave outside the Earth’s surface.
• The molten rocks are coming from temporary chambers or cavities of magma (magma reservoir) present at
great depths under the earth’s surface.

Reasons of volcanoes and their eruptions

• The Energy of trapped gases in the molten materials are considered main force of volcanic
eruptions, which is evident in the areas of subduction plate tectonics where they cause fractures
in Earth Surface through which these volcanoes erupted.

• The magma is erupted through the cracks and in the earth’s crust rocks to reach the surface and
the rising magma is working on melting what encounter of rocks.
• When magma reaches the surface of the Earth it is called lava. When lava is exposed to air and normal
atmospheric pressure, it cools rapidly and solidifies to form volcanic rocks, which usually in the form of
a cone.
❖ Volcanoes components:
The opposite figure represents the parts of a volcano, which consists of:

• Volcanic Vent (Crater)

• Volcanic neck: The volcanic substances are erupted through it into the crater.
• The volcanic cone: It represents the shape of the volcano and contains the volcanic vent.
• Reservoir of magma (magma chamber)

❖ Types of volcanoes:
The volcanic eruptions are considered the most the horrific and catastrophic phenomena in
nature and the volcanoes are divided into: -

• Most volcanoes become completely extinct volcanoes (inactive volcanoes) after their eruptions
where magma chambers are completely empty of molten material.

• Others continue in their eruptions as “Stromboli” volcano in Italy

• Others erupt at discontinuousperiods as “Vesuvius” volcano in Italy and “Etna” volcano in Sicily Island.

❖ Volcanoes products:

• During volcanic eruptions, molten minerals substances “lava” come out the craters, with estimated
temperature about 1200°C.

• Lava are accompanied by large quantities of gases and vapours such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide,
carbon dioxide, water vapour and others, that associated together with some erupted minute mineral
materials called volcanic ash which all these spread in air.

• Also volcanic bombs and volcanic breccia are got out from the volcanic vents.
 The effects and benefits of volcanoes:

It has clear effect of the earth’s surface where it:

.1 They add annually millions of tons of volcanic rocks to the earth’s surface, which may appear as thin sheets with great
extension and appear as volcanic plateaus ormountains.

.2 Appearance a new volcanic island if volcanic eruptions happened under the surface of
the water in the seas and oceans.

.3 The volcanoes lead to the formation of very fertile soil of volcanic ash.

.4 The formation of volcanic rounded lakes if rain water gathered in the craters extinct
Volcanoes

. 5 The formation of metamorphic rocks as a result of touching magma to surrounding rocks.

So volcanoes are considered of the construction factors of the earth’s crust.
 Geological Structure of Igneous Rocks in Nature
First: shapes of intruded plutonic igneous bodies

. 2 Batholith
Lopolith
The largest intruded igneous bodies and it extends hundreds of
kilometers and its thickness is several kilometers

. 2 Domes:
Produced when magma rises in narrow slot and then

accumulates, rather than spreading horizontally, it may be

normal dome and called “Laccoliths” in case of high viscosity
magma which press on the above layers rocks to bend layers up
causing Anticline fold.
 Or it may be inverted dome and called “lopoliths” when the opposite is happening and
magma is of low viscosity which bends layers down causing Syncline fold.

. 3 Dykes:
These result when magma is intruded in the
surrounding rock so that they are cutting them.

. 4 Sills:
They result when the magma is intruded
concordant (parallel) with the bedding planes and
they are not intersecting them.
 Second: Shapes of Extruded Volcanic Rocks

1. Lava Flows:

When lava of volcanic eruptions is consolidated on earth’s surface. It takes the shapes of
ropes or pillows.

. 2 Volcanic Pyroclastics:
They are produced by breaking down the volcanic necks and including:
a) Volcanic breccia: rocks have sharp edged fragments which spread around the volcano.
b) Volcanic ash: very fine grained carried by wind for long distances and may crossed
the seas to deposit on another continent.

. 3 Volcanic Bombs:
They are oval-shaped massive rocks, composed of lava materials that freezes (solidified) near the earth’s
surface.
Types of Volcanoes

Volcanoes

• A volcano is a vent through which molten rock and gas escape from a magma chamber.

• Volcanoes differ in many features, such as height, shape, and slope steepness.

• Some volcanoes are tall cones and others are just cracks in the ground ( Figure 4.59).

• As you might expect, the shape of a volcano is related to the composition of its magma.

Composite Volcanoes

• Composite volcanoes are constructed of felsic to intermediate rock.

• The viscosity of the lava means that eruptions at these volcanoes are often explosive.
Eruptions at Composite Volcanoes

• Viscous lava cannot travel far down the sides of the volcano before it solidifies, which creates the
steep slopes of a composite volcano.

• In some eruptions the pressure builds up so much that the material explodes as ash and small
rocks.

• The volcano is constructed layer by layer, as ash and lava solidify, one upon the other ( Figure
4.61). The result is the classic cone shape of composite volcanoes.
Shield Volcanoes

Mt. Fuji in Japan is one of the world’s most easily recognized composite volca- noes.

Shield volcanoes get their name from their shape.

• Although shield volcanoes are not steep, they may be very large.

• Shield volcanoes are common at spreading centers or intraplate hot spots ( Figure 4.62).

• Hawaii has some spectacular shield volcanoes including Mauna Kea, which is the largest mountain on Earth
from base to top.

• The mountain stands 33,500 ft high, about 4,000 feet greater than the tallest mountain above sea level, Mt.
Everest.
 Eruptions at Shield Volcanoes

• The lava that creates shield volcanoes is fluid and flows easily.

• The spreading lava creates the shield shape. Shield volcanoes are built by many layers over time
and the layers are usually of very similar composition.

• The low viscosity also means that shield eruptions are non-explosive.

Cinder Cones

• Cinder cones are the most common type of volcano.

• A cinder cone has a cone shape, but is much smaller than a composite volcano.

• Cinder cones rarely reach 300 meters in height, but they have steep sides.
• Cinder cones grow rapidly, usually from a single eruption cycle.

• These volcanoes usually flank shield or composite volcanoes. Many cinder cones are found in Hawaii.
 Eruptions at Cinder Cones

• Cinder cones are composed of small fragments of rock, such as pumice, piled on top of one another.

• The rock shoots up in the air and doesn’t fall far from the vent.

• The exact composition of a cinder cone depends on the composition of the lava ejected from the volcano.

• Cinder cones usually have a crater at the summit. Most cinder cones are active only for a single eruption.

Summary

• Magma composition determines both eruption type and volcano type.

• Composite cones are built of felsic to intermediate lava and shield volcanoes of mafic lava.

• Cinder cones are made of small fragments of a variety of compositions usually from a single eruption.
Volcanoes at plate boundaries

Convergent Plate Boundaries

• Converging plates can be oceanic, continental, or one of each. If both are continental they
will smash together and form a mountain range.

• If at least one is oceanic, it will subduct. A subducting plate creates volcanoes.

• In Concept Plate Tectonics we moved up western North America to visit the different types of
plate boundaries there.

• Locations with converging in which at least one plate is oceanic at the boundary have
volcanoes.
Melting

• Melting at convergent plate boundaries has many causes.

• The subducting plate heats up as it sinks into the mantle.

• Also, water is mixed in with the sediments lying on top of the subducting plate.

• As the sediments subduct, the water rises into the overlying mantle material and lowers its
melting point.

• Melting in the mantle above the subducting plate leads to volcanoes within an island or
continental arc.
Pacific Rim

• Volcanoes at convergent plate boundaries are found all along the Pacific Ocean basin, primarily
at the edges of the Pacific, Cocos, and Nazca plates.

• Trenches mark subduction zones, although only the Aleutian Trench and the Java Trench
appear on the map in the previous lesson, Volcanoes I: What is a Volcano?

• The Cascades are a chain of volcanoes at a convergent boundary where an oceanic plate is
subducting beneath a continental plate. Specifically the volcanoes are the result of subduction
of the Juan de Fuca, Gorda, and Explorer Plates beneath North America.

• The volcanoes are located just above where the subducting plate is at the right mantle depth
for melting.

• The Cascades have been active for 27 million years, although the current peaks are no more
than 2 million years old.

• The volcanoes are far enough north and are in a region where storms are common, so many
are covered by glaciers.
The Cascades are shown on this interactive map with photos and descriptions of each of the
volcanoes:
 Divergent plate boundaries

At divergent plate boundaries hot mantle rock rises into the space where the plates are moving
apart.

As the hot mantle rock convects upward it rises higher in the mantle.

The rock is under lower pressure; this lowers the melting temperature of the rock and so it
melts.

Lava erupts through long cracks in the ground, or fissures.

Mid-Ocean Ridges

• Volcanoes erupt at mid-ocean ridges, such as the Mid-Atlantic ridge, where seafloor spreading
creates new seafloor in the rift valleys.

• Where a hotspot is located along the ridge, such as at Iceland, volcanoes grow
high enough to create islands (Figure 110).
Continental Rifting

Eruptions are found at divergent plate boundaries as continents break apart.

The volcanoes in Figure 111 are in the East African Rift between the African and Arabian plates.

Remember from Concept Plate Tectonics that Baja California is being broken apart from mainland
Mexico as another example of continental rifting.
 Volcanoes at Hotspots
• Explain the relationship between hotspots and volcanic activity away from plateboundaries.

Hawaii is a hotspot, or is it a hot spot?

• Both, actually. Hawaii is definitely a hot vacation spot,

particularly for honeymooners.

• The Hawaiian Islands are formed from a hotspot beneath

the Pacific Ocean.

• Volcanoes grow above the hotspot.

• Lava flows down the hillsides and some of it reaches the ocean,
causing the islands to grow.

• Too hot now, but a great place in the future for beach lovers!
Intraplate Volcanoes

• Although most volcanoes are found at convergent or divergent plate boundaries, intraplate
volcanoes may be found in the middle of a tectonic plate.

• These volcanoes rise at a hotspot above a mantle plume.

• Melting at a hotspot is due to pressure release as the plume rises through the mantle.

• Earth is home to about 50 known hotspots

• Most of these are in the oceans because they are better able to penetrate oceanic lithosphere to
create volcanoes. But there are some large ones in the continents.

• Yellowstone is a good example of a mantle plume erupting within a continent.

Pacific Hotspots

• The South Pacific has many hotspot volcanic chains.

• The hotspot is beneath the youngest volcano in the chain and older volcanoes are found to the northwest.

• A volcano forms above the hotspot, but as the Pacific Plate moves, that volcano moves off the hotspot.

• Without its source of volcanism, it no longer erupts.

• The crust gets cooler and the volcano erodes.

• The result is a chain of volcanoes and seamounts trending northwest from the hotspot.
The Society Islands are the exposed peaks of a great chain of volcanoes that lie on the Pacific Plate. The
youngest island sits directly above the Society hotspot ( Figure 4.65).
• The most famous example of a hotspot in the oceans is the Hawaiian Islands.

• Forming above the hotspot are massive shield volcanoes that together create the islands.

• The lavas are mafic and have low viscosity.

• These lavas produce beautiful ropy flows of pā hoehoe and clinkery flows of a’a, which will be
described in more detail in Effusive Eruptions.

Continental Hotspots

• The hotspots that are known beneath continents are extremely large.

• The reason is that it takes a massive mantle plume to generate enough heat to penetrate through the
relatively thick continental crust.

• The eruptions that come from these hotspots are infrequent but massive, often felsic and explosive.

• All that’s left at Yellowstone at the moment is a giant caldera and a very hot spot beneath.
Hotspot Versus Island Arc Volcanoes
How would you be able to tell hotspot volcanoes from island arc volcanoes? At island arcs, the volcanoes are all
about the same age. By contrast, at hotspots the volcanoes are youngest at one end of the chain and oldest at the
other.

Summary
• Volcanoes grow above hotspots, which are zones of melting above a mantle plume.
• Hotspot volcanoes are better able to penetrate oceanic crust, so there are more chains of hotspot
volcanoes in the oceans.
• Shield volcanoes commonly form above hotspots in the oceans.
Earth’s Volcanoes and Their Locations

• A volcano is a vent or fissure in Earth’s crust that allows magma, gases, and ash to escape from
below the surface.

• Magma is the molten rock material generated within Earth.

• When the molten rock comes out of a volcano, it is called lava.

• Geologists have known for a long time that there are many volcanoes along the edges of
certain continents.
 Figure 3 Lava flows
occur on the
continents and on the
ocean floor.

• Volcanoes can erupt under the ocean or on land.

• Volcanoes under the ocean form in the following way.

• All of Earth’s ocean basins have a continuous mountain range extending through them.

• This range is called a mid-ocean ridge.

• These ridges are broad rises in the ocean floor.

• They are usually in water depths of 1000
or 2000 m.

• They are 50,000 km long in total.

• Figure 4 shows a vertical cross section of

a mid-ocean ridge.

• At the crest of the ridge there is a

steep- sided rift valley.

• Magma from deep in Earth rises up into

the rift valley to form volcanoes under
the sea.

• Volcanic rocks on the floors of all

the ocean basins are evidence that
there are more volcanoes under
water than on land. Figure 4 Cross section of a mid-ocean ridge.
• Volcanoes have also been observed by scientists in deep-diving submersibles.
(A submersible is equipment that is intended for use under water.)

• At a few places along the mid-ocean ridges, as in Iceland, volcanic activity is especially
high and volcanoes build up enough to form islands.

Figure 5 The plates

of Earth and the Ring
of Fire around the
Pacific Ocean. The
circles show active
volcanoes.
• Volcanoes that erupt on land are much more dangerous than volcanoes beneath the ocean.

• Eruptions along the western edge of the United States have formed the Cascades volcanic
mountain range.

• They also form island chains, such as the Aleutians in Alaska.

• Volcanoes like these are common in a narrow belt all around the Pacific Ocean.

• Geologists call this the “Ring of Fire.”

• A famous example of an eruption along the Ring of Fire was the dramatic eruption of Mount
Saint Helens in Washington in 1980.

• A small percentage of volcanoes occur in the interior of a plate.

• The Hawaiian Islands, shown in Figure 6, are an example.

• Studies of volcanic rock show that the islands get older the further northwest they are
located.

• Only the youngest island, the “Big Island” of Hawaii, has active volcanoes.

Figure 6 The
Hawaiian Islands
chain and the
Emperor seamount
chain.
 Figure 7 Satellite image of
the Hawaiian Islands.

• How do geologists explain the pattern of the Hawaiian Islands?

• Deep beneath Hawaii, there is a fixed source of abundant rising magma, called a hot spot.

• As a plate moves across this area, it passes over the fixed hot spot.

• Magma from the hot spot forces its way through the moving plate to form a chain of islands.
• The sharp bend in the chain was formed when the direction of movement of the plate
changed abruptly at a certain time in the past.

• Far to the northwest, the chain consists of seamounts.

 Geo Words

• plate tectonics: a theory in which the lithosphere is divided into a number of plates that
move relative to one another.

• volcano: a vent in the surface of Earth through which magma and associated gases and ash
erupt.

• magma: naturally occurring molten rock material generated within Earth.

• lava: fluid rock that comes out of a volcano.

• mid-ocean ridge: a continuous mountain range extending through the North

and South Atlantic Oceans, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific Ocean.

• rift valley: the deep central cleft in the crest of the mid- ocean ridge.
• hot spot: a fixed source of abundant rising magma that forms a volcanic center that has
persisted for tens of millions of years.

• seamount: an elevation of the seafloor, 1000 m or higher, either flat- topped or peaked.