VOLCANO HAZARDS

WHAT IS A VOLCANO?

The term volcano signifies a vent, hill, or mountain

from which molten or hot rocks with gaseous
materials are or have been ejected. The term also
applies to craters, hills or mountains formed by
removal of pre-existing materials of by accumulation
of ejected materials.
A volcanic eruption is a process wherein molten rock
materials are emitted or ejected in the form of flowing
masses of lava or fragmental particles called
pyroclastic with gas from a crater, vent or fissure.
 PHIVOLCS CLASSIFICATION OF
VOLCANOES
The Philippines, because of its tectonic setting, has
around 300 named and unnamed volcanoes all over the
archipelago. At present, PHIVOLCS classifies volcanoes
into 3 categories: active, inactive and potentially active.
A volcano is classified as active based on the
following:
(1) if it has had eruptions in historic times supported by
numerous historical accounts;
(2) if it has oral folkloric history which suggests an
eruption that is remembered by our ancestors;
(3) if it has shown indications of seismic activity and
(4) if it has volcanic deposits less than 10,000 years as
determined by radiometric dating.
 PHIVOLCS CLASSIFICATION OF
VOLCANOES
 A volcano is said to be inactive if it has no record of
eruptions and its form has been changed by agents
of weathering and erosion with the formation of deep
gullies.
In 1997, PHIVOLCS introduced a third category-that
of potentially active. A volcano is said to be
potentially active if it is geologically young-looking,
which suggests it possibly erupted in less than
10,000 years.
 TYPES OF VOLCANOES

Types of Volcanoes There are different types of volcanoes

based on the form or shape of their edifice, which are actually
dependent upon the type of eruptions a volcano is capable of
and ultimately the chemical composition of the magma it
erupts.
a. Monogenetic cones (tuff/cones, cinder cones, maars) – low
symmetrical accumulations of cinder (scoria) and or tuff (ash).
These volcanoes are usually associated with low silica or
basaltic magma, usually for during just one eruption, and may
be lateral vents associated with bigger volcanic complexes.
 TYPES OF VOLCANOES

b. Volcanic domes/ Domes complexes – mound-shaped or convex

volcanoes formed by repeated slow extrusion of viscous magma.
Domes are associated with low- to high silica magma e.g. Hibok-
hibok Volcano.
c. Strato-volcanoes – cone-shaped volcanoes typically having one or
several summit craters and formed by repeated alternate deposition
of lava and pyroclastic. Stratovolcanoes are usually formed by
intermediate silica or andesitic magma . e.g. Mayon Volcano.
d. Calderas – large volcanic edifices typically composed of several
volcanic centers around a central 2 km wide crater. Calderas are
formed by highly explosive eruptions in between long periods of
dormancy and are typically associated with high-silica or rhyolitic
magma, e.g. Taal Caldera
TYPES OF VOLCANOES
TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

Volcanic eruptions are generally classified as wet or dry

eruptions depending on the role of water. More popularly
however, volcanic eruptions are characterized according to the
behaviour or styles of activity. The most common types of
eruptions are:
a. Phreatic or hydrothermal eruptions – steam-driven eruptions
caused by the contact of water with hot country rocks (not
magma). Phreatic eruptions are short-lived, producing only
ephemeral ash columns, but may be precursory to larger
eruptive activity.
b. Phreatomagmatic eruptions – very violent eruptions
generated by the explosive contact of erupting magma with
water. These eruptions produce voluminous columns of very fine
ash and, more importantly, laterally projected, high-speed and
hazardous pyroclastic currents called base surges.
TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

c. Strombolian eruptions – periodic weak to violent eruptions of

gas-charges fluid lava characterized by lava fountaining and flow.
d. Vulcanian eruptions – canon-like explosions produced by the
detonation of a solidified plug of magma in the volcanic conduit
by pressurized accumulated gas beneath it. Vulcanian eruptions
are characterized by tall eruption columns that can reach up to
20 km high and the generation of pyroclastic flows and ash fall.
e. Plinian eruptions – sustained and excessively explosive
eruption of voluminous gas and pyroclastic that produce tall
eruption columns in excess of 40 km and wellpronounced
umbrella clouds. Plinian eruptions produce caldera but more
importantly, voluminous pyroclastic flows that often form
widespread sheets of deposits called an ignimbrite field. These
eruption are known to cause global climactic changes due to the
injection of large quantities of volcanic gas into the stratosphere
 VOLCANIC HAZARDS

Volcanic hazards are phenomena arising from volcanic activity

that pose potential threat to persons or property in a given area
within a given period of time. Below is a list of volcanic hazards
common in Philippine active volcanoes.
VOLCANIC HAZARDS
VOLCANIC HAZARDS
VOLCANIC HAZARDS
 SIGNS OF IMPENDING VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
AND MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR RISK
MITIGATION

1. Seismicity – volcanic earthquakes are generated when

magma moves within or intrudes the volcanic system, when the
volcano edifice adjusts to magma movement or pressurization
of the groundwater system, and when magmatic gas seeps into
fissures in the enclosing magma or country rocks. Volcanic
earthquakes are monitored by a network of seismographs
around the volcano, and the characteristics of frequency,
location, magnitude and type of earthquakes recorded can show
ongoing magmatic processes beneath the volcano especially
those that can lead to an eruption.
 SIGNS OF IMPENDING VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
AND MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR RISK
MITIGATION
2. Ground deformation – magma movement, magmatic
pressurization and groundwater pressurization also
cause small to moderate ground deformation of the
volcano’s surface and its immediate vicinity. These
adjustments may be due to ground tumescence or
inflation which is attributed to magma intrusion, or
ground subsidence or deflation which is attributed to
magma withdrawal. Ground deformation is monitored by
geodetic surveys such as EDM surveys or Precise
leveling which measure the lengthening or shortening of
established baseline on the volcanic slopes. Ground tilt
is also measured remotely and in real-time with an
instrument called a tiltmeter permanently installed on
the volcanic slopes.
 SIGNS OF IMPENDING VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
AND MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR RISK
MITIGATION
3. Sulphur dioxide flux and other gas emissions – the
output of sulphur dioxide, a principal magmatic gas,
as well as of other gas species, is measured as an
indication of the volume and state of the magma near
or approaching the surface of a volcano. Sulphur
dioxide emission is indirectly measured using a
Correlation Spectrometer or COSPEC, a fly
spectrometer or FlySpec, or a Differential Optical
Absorption Spectrometer or DOAS. Spectrometers
measure gas flux as a function of how much ultraviolet
to visible light is absorbed or blocked in the
atmosphere.
 SIGNS OF IMPENDING VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
AND MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR RISK
MITIGATION
3. Sulphur dioxide flux and other gas emissions – the
output of sulphur dioxide, a principal magmatic gas,
as well as of other gas species, is measured as an
indication of the volume and state of the magma near
or approaching the surface of a volcano. Sulphur
dioxide emission is indirectly measured using a
Correlation Spectrometer or COSPEC, a fly
spectrometer or FlySpec, or a Differential Optical
Absorption Spectrometer or DOAS. Spectrometers
measure gas flux as a function of how much ultraviolet
to visible light is absorbed or blocked in the
atmosphere.
 SIGNS OF IMPENDING VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
AND MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR RISK
MITIGATION
4. Hydrology – the water in wells and springs are also
monitored for pH, chemistry and temperature for
changes that may be caused by the influx of new
magma. In some volcanoes, water levels are also
constantly measured for significant non-seasonal
fluctuation that may result from ground deformation.
5. Volcanic plumes – The plumes of active volcanoes
are regularly monitored for volume, intensity and color
which may change due to varying amounts of steam,
gas or ash. Space-borne satellite images also measure
volcanic plume chemistry by analysing the spectral
properties of the plumes.
 TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTION

A volcanic eruption can be non-explosive or

explosive. A non-explosive eruption is a quiet
effusion of lava. An explosive explosion can be
compared to an atomic bomb explosion,
exploding thick and dark ash clouds reaching
up to thousands of meters high. Volcanic ash
clouds are fine fragments ejected by a volcano
during such an eruption