Volcanoes

View From Space - Klyuchevskaya, Russia

Shiveluch, Russia
Cleveland Volcano, Alaska
Mount Etna From Space
Mount Etna From Space
Mount Etna From Space
Mount Etna
• Volcano- place on Earth’s surface that
allows magma and other material to erupt

• Magma- found beneath the Earth’s

surface, it is liquid rock

• Lava- magma that reaches the Earth’s

surface
 Where Does Magma Come From?
• Earth’s interior is hot (25 C/km near surface
= 1000 C at 40 km)
• Pressure inhibits melting
– Mantle is solid
– Never far below melting point
• Volcanoes fed by small pockets 0-100 km
deep
– Rising hot material may melt
– Water can lower melting point
Why Igneous Rock Classification Matters
• Silica Content = Viscosity
• Silica Content Governs Violence of
Eruptions
– Silica Poor (Basalt): Fluid lavas, generally little
explosive activity
– Intermediate Lavas (Andesite): Pasty lavas,
explosive eruptions common
– Silica-Rich Lavas (Rhyolite): Extremely viscous
lava and explosive eruptions
 Volcanic Terminology
• Crater- funnel shaped • Dormant- sleeping
pit, or depression at top volcano
of volcano • Extinct- not known to
• Caldera- when a crater have erupted in modern
becomes too large, it history
collapses: also can form • Active- Erupts fairly
when the top of a regularly
volcano collapses or
explodes
Types of Volcanoes
 A Cinder
Cone:
Wizard
Island, Crater
Lake, Oregon
Anatomy of a Cinder Cone, Hawaii
Shield Volcano: Haleakala, Hawaii
Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland
Stratovolcano: Mount Shasta,
California
Lava Dome, California
 Products of Eruptions
Lava Flows Gases
Pyroclastic Debris • Steam
• Bombs • Carbon Dioxide
• Lapilli • H2S
• Ash • SO2
Mudflows • HCl
Landslides • HF
 Environmental Hazards of Volcanoes
Pollution Mudflows
• SO2, HCl in Water • Direct Damage
Lava Flows (Colombia, 1985)
Falling Ejecta • Floods (Several Types)
Ash Falls Blast (Mt. St. Helens, 1980)
• Building Collapse Pyroclastic Flow (St. Pierre,
• Crop Destruction 1902)
Gas (Lake Nyos, Cameroon,
1986)
Pyroclastic Flow or Nuee Ardente
(French: Fiery Cloud)
How Calderas Form
Crater Lake, Oregon
The Stump of Mount Mazama
 Supervolcanoes?
• Magma Chamber Collapse (Yellowstone?)
– Destruction of crops
– Destruction of high technology
– Economic Disruption
– Climatic Effects
• Flood Basalts
– Climatic Effects
– Toxicity
Jemez Caldera, New Mexico
Jemez Caldera, New Mexico
Collapsing Volcanoes – Mount Rainier
Collapsing Volcanoes - Hawaii
Landslide, Mount Saint Helens
Shastina and Landslide Deposit
Mount Shasta and Landslide Deposit
Evolution of Volcanoes
An active volcanic landscape
 Evolution of Volcanoes
A volcanic landscape after a million years or so