Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics

Volcanic Activity
Volcanic activity ranges from emission of gases, non-explosive lava emissions to extremely
violent explosive bursts that may last many hours. The types of eruptions determine the relative
volumes and types of volcaniclastic material and lava flows, consequently the shapes and sizes of
volcanoes.

A volcanic event occurs when there is a sudden or continuing release of energy caused by near-
surface or surface magma movement. The energy can be in the form of earthquakes, gas-emission
at the surface, release of heat (geothermal activity), explosive release of gases (including steam
with the interaction of magma and surface of ground water), and the non-explosive extrusion or
intrusion of magma. An event could be non-destructive without release of solids or magmatic
liquid, or if there is anything to destroy, could be destructive with voluminous lava flows or
explosive activity. Destruction usually refers to the works of mankind (buildings, roads,
agricultural land, etc.).

A volcanic event can include

(1) an eruptive pulse (essentially an explosion with an eruption plume, but also non-explosive
surges of lava. A pulse may last a few seconds to minutes,

http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/~fisher/erupt.htm
(2) an eruptive phase that may last Volcanic
a few hours toActivity
days and consist of numerous eruptive pulses
that may alternate between explosions and lava surges, and

(3) a single eruption or eruptive episode, composed of several phases, that may last a few days,
months or years (Fisher and Schmincke, 1984). Paricutin, Mexico was in eruption for nine years.
Stromboli, Italy has been in eruption for over 2000 years.

Simkin et al. (1981) define eruptions in terms of inactive periods. An eruption that
follows its predecessor by less than 3 months is considered to be a phase of the earlier
eruption unless it is distinctly different (explosive versus effusive, different magma
type).

Some volcanoes (e.g., domes and basaltic scoria cones) may form completely within a
few weeks or months. Others, such as shield volcanoes and composite volcanoes may
show high order discontinuities such as major chemical changes, volcano-tectonic
events like caldera collapse, or long erosional intervals, and may last 10 m.y. or more
before volcanism completely dies out.

During a single eruption, styles of activity and types of products may change within
minutes or hours, depending upon changes in magma composition, volatiles, or other
magma chamber and vent conditions.
http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/~fisher/erupt.htm
 Various Hazards
Associated with a
Volcano

USGS Fact Sheet 002-97

 Mt. Pelee, West Indies, 1902

Mt. Pelee is famous for the May 8, 1902 eruption which killed 29,000 people and destroyed the city
of St. Pierre. This is the largest number of casualities for a volcanic eruption this century. Photograph
of Mt. Pelee by Heilprin, May 26, 1902.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_mt_pelee.html
 Hazards
* lava flows
* lahars/mudflows
* pyroclastic flows/ash flow tuffs/base surges
* plinian ash fall (tephra); other ballistic ejecta
* landslides/debris avalanches
* tsunamis
* lava domes
* volcanic gases & acid rain
* atmospheric gases and particulates
* famine
* water discharge/floods/jokulhaups (glacial
bursts)
* gas emissions and global climate change
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/volcanic_hazards.html
Five Types of
Volcanoes
Description of Volcano Types
 Magma Types

Volcano Statistics prepared by Bill Leeman

Characteristics of common magma types
Composition Low Silica Medium Silica High Silica
(SiO2) (<53%) (53-66%) (>66%)
Common name basalt andesite - dacite rhyolite
(intrusive equivalent) (gabbro) (diorite-tonalite) (granite)

Color dark green, gray, or gray, green white, tan, pink

black

Viscosity ('dry')# fluid intermediate viscous

Typical volcanoes shield, cinder cone, rift stratovolcano, cinder cone stratovolcano
•# Note that viscosity will decrease with increasing water content

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/Volcanoes1.html
 Topography of
Shield vs Stratovolcano
Shield vs Composite (stratovolcano)
 Types of Eruptions
Variety Typical products Volume Violence Typical Volcano
or effects Type
Hawaiian Basaltic lavas large low shield
(Kilauea, 1983)

Icelandic Basalt sheet flows huge none shield

(Laki, 1783) flood basalt

Strombolian Basaltic lava & cinders moderate moderate composite

(Paracutin, 1943) cinder cone

Vesuvian Intermediate ash moderate high composite

(Ruiz, 1985)

Plinian Rhyolite to andesite large very high composite

(Vesuvius, 79 AD) ash tephra, pyroclastic
flows

Cataclysmic Rhyolite ash, pumice, & huge very high composite

ash flows
(Krakatau, 1883)

Phreatic steam & fragmented small small maar, shield,

composite
(Kilauea, 1924) rocks

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/Volcanoes1.html
 Types of Eruptions

The type of volcanic eruption Is often labeled with the name of a well-known volcano where characteristic
behavior is similar--hence the use of such terms as "Strombolian," "Vulcanian," "Vesuvian," "Pelean,"
"Hawaiian," and others. Some volcanoes may exhibit only one characteristic type of eruption during an
interval of activity--others may display an entire sequence of types.

In a Strombolian-type eruption observed during the 1965 activity of Irazú Volcano in Costa Rica, huge clots
of molten lava burst from the summit crater to form luminous arcs through the sky. Collecting on the flanks
of the cone, lava clots combined to stream down the slopes in fiery rivulets.

In contrast, the eruptive activity of Parícutin Volcano in 1947 demonstrated a "Vulcanian"-type eruption, in
which a dense cloud of ash-laden gas explodes from the crater and rises high above the peak. Steaming ash
forms a whitish cloud near the upper level of the cone.

In a "Vesuvian" eruption, as typified by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy in A.D. 79, great quantities
of ash-laden gas are violently discharged to form cauliflower-shaped cloud high above the volcano.

In a "Peléan" or "Nuée Ardente (glowing cloud) eruption, such as occurred on the Mayon Volcano in the
Philippines in 1968, a large quantity of gas, dust, ash, and incandescent lava fragments are blown out of a
central crater, fall back, and form tongue-like, glowing avalanches that move downslope at velocities as great
as 100 miles per hour. Such eruptive activity can cause great destruction and loss of life if it occurs in
populated areas, as demonstrated by the devastation of St. Pierre during the 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée on
Martinique, Lesser Antilles.
Tilling: Volcanoes http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/
 Types of Eruptions

Hawaiian" eruptions may occur along fissures or fractures that serve as linear vents, such as during the
eruption of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii in 1950; or they may occur at a central vent such as during the
1959 eruption in Kilauea Iki Crater of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. In fissure-type eruptions, molten,
incandescent lava spurts from a fissure on the volcano's rift zone and feeds lava streams that flow downslope.
In central-vent eruptions, a fountain of fiery lava spurts to a height of several hundred feet or more. Such lava
may collect in old pit craters to form lava lakes, or form cones, or feed radiating flows.

Phreatic" (or steam-blast) eruptions are driven by explosive expanding steam resulting from cold ground or
surface water coming into contact with hot rock or magma. The distinguishing feature of phreatic explosions
is that they only blast out fragments of preexisting solid rock from the volcanic conduit; no new magma is
erupted. Phreatic activity is generally weak, but can be quite violent in some cases, such as the 1965 eruption
of Taal Volcano, Philippines, and the 1975-76 activity at La Soufrière, Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles).

The most powerful eruptions are called "plinian" and involve the explosive ejection of relatively viscous
lava. Large plinian eruptions--such as during 18 May 1980 at Mount St. Helens or, more recently, during 15
June 1991 at Pinatubo in the Philippines--can send ash and volcanic gas tens of miles into the air. The
resulting ash fallout can affect large areas hundreds of miles downwind. Fast-moving deadly pyroclastic
flows ("nuées ardentes") are also commonly associated with plinian eruptions.
Tilling: Volcanoes http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/
 Explosiveness
Eruption type is a function of magma composition, viscosity, and gas content (all influenced by plate tectonic
setting), recurrence time between eruptions, magma volume, replenishment of magma reservoir, strength of
surrounding rocks, and access of external water.
Non-explosive:

* Flood lavas - basaltic, can be highly voluminous - Iceland, Columbia River Plateau and other
flood basalt provinces, lunar mare (cf. large igneous provinces or 'LIPs')
* Hawaiian style - similar to flood type, but with some tephra and fast-moving fluid lavas, often
channelized; these tend to form large shield-like cones
* Mid-ocean ridges (e.g., Juan de Fuca Ridge) - largely restricted to spreading center rifts as small
cones and sheet flows
Explosive (in order of increasing energetics):
* Strombolian - bombs, molten ejecta, lavas --> symmetrical scoria cones, mafic compositions
* Vulcanian - ejecta blocks, pasty silicic lavas --> scoria cones & stratovolcanoes of tephra layers
and ejecta deposits
* Surtseyan - hydrovolcanic, magma and water mixtures --> large clouds of fine pyroclastic dust,
near vent rings of coarser ejecta
* Vesuvian/Plinian - very explosive, wide distribution of tephra, can lead to caldera collapse in
large stratovolcanoes (Vesuvius, Pinatubo)
* Peleean - collapse of ash columns --> pyroclastic flows (nuees ardentes), debris avalanche
deposits or ignimbrites (Mt. Pelee, Martinique)
* Bandaian - lateral explosion --> cyclone-like (up to 150 km/hr) base surge deposits (Mount St.
Helens)

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/Volcanoes1.html
 Volumes of Mass and Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI)
Volumes extruded
Volcanic Explosive Index [VEI] - roughly tenfold increase in ejecta volume (and energy release) for
each VEI-step; applied to explosive or pyroclastic volcanoes. Certain types of eruptions (e.g., flood
basalts, ignimbrite flows) are not included. Also, time-history of eruptive activity is highly variable
between volcanoes - some deposits accumulated over significant time periods (years, Mazama)
whereas others were formed in days (Krakatoa).

* 0 - only fumarolic activity

* I - <0.00001 km3 (e.g., 1949 Yakeyama, old detritus)
* II - <0.0001 km3 (e.g., 1926 Tokachidake, old detritus)
* III - <0.001 km3 (e.g., 1893 Asama, 0.0005 km3 fragmental ejects)
* IV - <0.01 km3
* V - <0.1 km3 (e.g., 1959 Oshima; 0.03 km3 lavas)
* VI - <1 km3 (e.g., 1911 Taal; 1707 Fuji; 1980 Mt. St. Helens, 0.5 km3 pyroclastics)
* VII - <10 km3 (e.g., 1888 Bandai; 1.2 km3 old detritus)
* VIII - <100 km3 (e.g., 1883 Krakatoa, 18 km3; 1470 B.C. Santorini, 30 km3;
Mazama, >40 km3 pyroclastics)
* IX - >100 km3 (e.g., 1815 Tambora, 150 km3 pyroclastics)
Maximum volumes for a single event generally increase with silica content and vent size - up to
100s - 1000s km3 for large caldera-related silicic eruptions; can be significant for large basalt
eruptions.
Caldera sizes - range up to 100 x 35 km (Toba), 70 x 40 km (Yellowstone). There is a complete
spectrum to smaller sizes. Number of examples decreases with increasing size.

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/volcanic_hazards.html
 Sizes of Selected Eruptions
Examples Volume of Energy Explosivity
magma (km3) (ergs * (VEI)
10^22)
Santorini, 1628 BC 60 90000 6
Crater Lake, 4650 BC 60 60000 6
Tambora, 1815 50 42000 7
Katmai, 1912 14 20000 6
Laki, 1783 13 86000 4
Krakatau, 1883 6 5000 6
Coseguina, 1835 5 5000 5
Vesuvius, 79 AD 3 2500 5
Bezymianny, 1955-6 3 2200 5
Paricutin, 1943-52 1.6 2800 3
Mauna Loa, 1950 0.5 1400 0
Mt. Saint Helens 0.4 100 5
Kilauea, 1959-60 0.2 500 2
Kilauea, 1952 0.6 180 0
Taal, 1965 0.03 10 4 http://www.ruf.rice.edu/
~leeman/Volcanoes1.ht
Bikini A-bomb test NA <1 NA ml
 Probabilities of Eruption
Probabilities of eruptions
Recurrence intervals [R] for eruptions increase with size of eruptions (as indicated by volcanic
explosive index [VEI]). R is a function of volume of magma input, type of magma, type of reservoir,
and strength of containing rocks, among other factors (tectonic activity, access of water to magma
body, triggering earthquakes, etc.). Larger R generally implies higher probability of a violent
eruption.
Areal density of volcanoes in regions - problems involved in counting distinct volcanoes - is a
parasitic cone a different volcano? (recall Mt. Shasta, which has numerous parasitic cones on the
main cone; also, the main cone sits on eroded remnants of at least 2 older stratocones).
Individual volcanoes - estimates are based on relatively few events in a comparatively short
period of observation; average recurrence intervals and uncertainties (one standard deviation) are
as follows for selected volcanoes:
Mauna Loa - since 1832, an eruption has occurred on average every 3.8 ± 3.0 yr
Kilauea - since 1750, averaged an eruption every 3.2 ± 6 yr
Hekla (Iceland) - since 930 AD, averaged an eruption every 54 ± 36 yr
Vesuvius - averaged an eruption every 5.3 ± 4.8 yr - because the last eruption occurred in 1944, a
new one seems overdue and may be more violent than usual. However, activity may be
Mt. Pelee - since 1792, avg 364 ± 473 yr between eruptions (VEI = 3-4)
Fuji - since 781 AD, avg 71 ± 113 yr between eruptions (last eruption was in 1707!)
Mt. St. Helens - since 1500, avg 37 ± 58 yr between eruptions, more violent events are less
frequent
•http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/volcanic_hazards.html
 Distance and Areas of Impact
➣Scales of impact

Distances covered

* lavas - up to >100 km (depending on magma type, viscosity, volume ejected,

topography, etc.)
* glowing avalanches (nuees ardentes) - up to >50 km (roughly 10-20 * height of
volcano)
* ash/tephra - 100s to 1000s of km (depending on volume of ejecta and column height
[proportional to thermal energy released], wind velocity and distribution)
* volcanic projectiles (stones, bombs) - up to 50-100 km (depending on muzzle
velocity, size and density of particles, ejection angle, etc.)
* mudflows/lahars - up to 300 km (Cotopaxi volcano)

Areas covered per eruptive phase

* flood basalt eruptions - more than 10,000 km2 (but commonly 10s -100s); 1783 Laki
eruptions covered 565 km2
* glowing avalanches - up to 100s km2 (1902 Mt. Pelee, >80 km2)
* ignimbrites (ash flow tuffs) - up to 1000s km2
* lahars (up to 1000s km2)

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/volcanic_hazards.html
 Composite Volcanoes
Composite volcanoes

Some of the Earth's grandest mountains are composite volcanoes--sometimes

called stratovolcanoes. They are typically steep-sided, symmetrical cones of large
dimension built of alternating layers of lava flows, volcanic ash, cinders, blocks, and
bombs and may rise as much as 8,000 feet above their bases. Some of the most
conspicuous and beautiful mountains in the world are composite volcanoes, including
Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador, Mount Shasta in California, Mount
Hood in Oregon, and Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier in Washington.

Most composite volcanoes have a crater at the summit which contains a central
vent or a clustered group of vents. Lavas either flow through breaks in the crater wall
or issue from fissures on the flanks of the cone. Lava, solidified within the fissures,
forms dikes that act as ribs which greatly strengthen the cone.

The essential feature of a composite volcano is a conduit system through which

magma from a reservoir deep in the Earth's crust rises to the surface. The volcano is
built up by the accumulation of material erupted through the conduit and increases in
size as lava, cinders, ash, etc., are added to its slopes.
Tilling: Volcanoes http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/
 Shield Volcano
Shield volcanoes
The internal structure of a typical shield volcano

Shield volcanoes, the third type of volcano, are built almost entirely of fluid lava flows. Flow after
flow pours out in all directions from a central summit vent, or group of vents, building a broad,
gently sloping cone of flat, domical shape, with a profile much like that of a warrior's shield. They
are built up slowly by the accretion of thousands of highly fluid lava flows called basalt lava that
spread widely over great distances, and then cool as thin, gently dipping sheets. Lavas also
commonly erupt from vents along fractures (rift zones) that develop on the flanks of the cone. Some
of the largest volcanoes in the world are shield volcanoes. In northern California and Oregon, many
shield volcanoes have diameters of 3 or 4 miles and heights of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The Hawaiian
Islands are composed of linear chains of these volcanoes including Kilauea and Mauna Loa on the
island of Hawaii-- two of the world's most active volcanoes. The floor of the ocean is more than
15,000 feet deep at the bases of the islands. As Mauna Loa, the largest of the shield volcanoes
(and also the world's largest active volcano), projects 13,677 feet above sea level, its top is over
28,000 feet above the deep ocean floor.

In some eruptions, basaltic lava pours out quietly from long fissures instead of central vents and
floods the surrounding countryside with lava flow upon lava flow, forming broad plateaus. Lava
plateaus of this type can be seen in Iceland, southeastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and
southern Idaho. Along the Snake River in Idaho, and the Columbia River in Washington and
Oregon, these lava flows are beautifully exposed and measure more than a mile in total thickness.

Tilling: Volcanoes http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/

 Cinder Cone
Cinder cones

Cinder cones are the simplest type of volcano. They are built from particles and blobs of
congealed lava ejected from a single vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently
into the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as cinders around the vent
to form a circular or oval cone. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the
summit and rarely rise more than a thousand feet or so above their surroundings. Cinder
cones are numerous in western North America as well as throughout other volcanic
terrains of the world.
In 1943 a cinder cone started growing on a farm near the village of Parícutin in Mexico.
Explosive eruptions caused by gas rapidly expanding and escaping from molten lava
formed cinders that fell back around the vent, building up the cone to a height of 1,200
feet. The last explosive eruption left a funnel-shaped crater at the top of the cone. After
the excess gases had largely dissipated, the molten rock quietly poured out on the
surrounding surface of the cone and moved downslope as lava flows. This order of
events--eruption, formation of cone and crater, lava flow--is a common sequence in the
formation of cinder cones.
Tilling: Volcanoes http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/
 Lava Domes

Lava domes

Volcanic or lava domes are formed by relatively small, bulbous masses of lava too viscous to
flow any great distance; consequently, on extrusion, the lava piles over and around its vent. A
dome grows largely by expansion from within. As it grows its outer surface cools and hardens,
then shatters, spilling loose fragments down its sides. Some domes form craggy knobs or spines
over the volcanic vent, whereas others form short, steep-sided lava flows known as "coulees."
Volcanic domes commonly occur within the craters or on the flanks of large composite
volcanoes. The nearly circular Novarupta Dome that formed during the 1912 eruption of Katmai
Volcano, Alaska, measures 800 feet across and 200 feet high. The internal structure of this
dome--defined by layering of lava fanning upward and outward from the center--indicates that it
grew largely by expansion from within.

Mont Pelée in Martinique, Lesser Antilles, and Lassen Peak and Mono domes in California are
examples of lava domes. An extremely destructive eruption accompanied the growth of a dome
at Mont Pelée in 1902. The coastal town of St. Pierre, about 4 miles downslope to the south, was
demolished and nearly 30,000 inhabitants were killed by an incandescent, high-velocity ash flow
and associated hot gases and volcanic dust

Tilling: Volcanoes http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/