Volcanoes

What is a volcano?
A point on the earths crust where magma
forces its way to the surface
Ash and gases may also escape

Where do they occur?

On subduction zones
On constructive plate boundaries
On hot spots

What types of volcanoes are there?

Acid volcanoes
Highly explosive
Magma/lava is viscous
(thick)
Found where oceanic
crust is subducted under
continental crust

Basaltic volcanoes
Less explosive*
Magma/lava less viscous
(runny)
Found at rift zones
(constructive boundaries)
and hotspots
* Continental hotspots are basaltic but
potentially highly explosive

Acid (rhyolitic) volcanoes

Lava domes
Formed of layers of lava
high in silica
Lava is viscous and does
not run very far
Rounded form
composed completely of
lava

Stratovolcanoes
Also called composite
volcanoes
Formed of layers of lava
and ashes
Lava is viscous
Distinct cone shape

Example lava dome

Mount St Helens - Washington state, USA

before
during

after

Example - stratovolcano
Mount Pinatubo, Luzon, Philipines

before
During

after

Other famous stratovolcanoes

Fuji,
dormant
Vesuvius,
active

Krakatoa,
active

Kilamanjaro,
dormant

Location of stratovolcanoes
Along subduction
zones
Often found in
volcanic arcs*
E.g. Cascade
range, USA

*not to be confused with Island chains formed over hotspots

Basic (basaltic) volcanoes

Also known as shield volcanoes
Formed of widespread layers of lava low
in silica low viscsity, lava travels very far
Low form spread over a great distance

Example basic volcano

Eyjafjallajkull, Iceland

Example 2
Kilauea, Hawaii

Calderas
Collapsed volcanoes
Magma chamber has emptied and the
ground has sunk
Often becomes a lake
New volcanoes can form, or pressure can
build from below, lifting the ground
If acidic, this can cause a catastrophic
eruption in the form of a super-volcano

Caldera - Santorini

Destroyed the Minoan civilization

due to tsunamis circa 1600BC
May have given rise to the Atlantis
myth

Yellowstone national park

Yellowstone is a hotspot

Hotspots
Tectonic plate
moves over a
magma plume
Occasionally
erupts, creating a
volcano
Hawaii basic
Yellowstone - acid

Major hotspots

Volcanic Explosivity index (VEI)

1 Hawaiian gentle (Kilauea)

2 Strombolian explosive (Stromboli)
3 Vulcanian severe
4 Pelan cataclysmic (Mt.Pele)
5 Plinian paroxysmal (St.Helens)
6 plinian/ultra-plinian colossal (Krakatoa)
7 ultra-pliniansuper-colossal (Tamb.)
8 supervolcanic mega-colossal (Y.st)

Number 8 has never been experienced in human history

The list has been simplified. See correct details here:
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/VEI.html

Volcanic hazards
Most hazards during
eruptions are caused
by what comes out of
a volcano
In worst case scenarios
then a volcano may
violently explode

Volcanic hazards lava flows

Mostly associated
with basic volcanos
Slow moving 1 5
kmh
Low risk to human
life
Cover large areas
and destroy large
amounts of
infrastructure

Hazards pyroclastic flows

Hot clouds of ash and gas
Move downhill, close to the ground,
following valleys
High speed up to 500 kmh
As far as 30 km
Up to 7000 C
Highly dangerous

Hazards - lahars
Occur on high volcanos
covered in snow and ice, or
wet mud/soil
Eruption causes snow to
melt, or lava mixes with
mud
Flows downhill like wet
concrete

Hazards ash clouds

Slow moving
Weight of ash can
collapse buildings
Destroys crops, pollutes
water
Affects air traffic
Can enter high
atmosphere and cause
cooling disrupting
climate

Hazards lava bombs

Molten rocks thrown out of volcano

Pummice smaller rocks
Travel short distances
Can start fires

The Decade Volcanoes

16 volcanoes identified as potentially
highly hazardous to humankind

So why live near a volcano?

Aesthetic beauty
e.g. Mount Fuji,
Japan
Mining of minerals
and diamonds
Geothermal
energy and hot
springs

So why live near a volcano?

Highly fertile soils soft rocks and high
mineral content

So why live near a volcano?

Poverty cheap
marginal land
Overcrowding
and population
pressure
nowhere else to
live
Common
problems in
LEDCs

So why live near a volcano?

Complacency or naivete
nothing will happen

Confidence
we will be warned and have time to get away

Tradition/family
we have always lived here

Predicting volcanic eruptions

Monitoring seismic disturbances (tremors)

Changes in volcano profile (shape)
Chemical changes in groundwater
Emissions of gases
Thermal monitoring (temperature)

Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano in Italy
It is the only volcano on the European
mainland to have erupted in the last 100
years
It is not currently erupting
It is dormant, not extinct

 Vesuvius is
in southern
Italy near
Naples
Location:
4049N
1426E

Naples
Vesuvius

Vesuvius is a composite volcano

(strato-volcano)

Vesuvius - data
Height (elevation)
1,281 metres
(4,203 ft) above
sea level
Has a collapsed
caldera from a
previous eruption

Formed at the collision of two

tectonic plates the African and
the Eurasian
A converging,
destructive
boundary, with
very little
movement
Several volcanoes
nearby, none
active

An acid volcano
Potential for
violent eruptions
Slow moving lava
Explosions
Hot ash/cinders
Pyroclastic flows
Real danger!

History of eruptions
1800 BC destruction of Bronze age
settlements then several more times
79 AD destruction of Pompeii
At least 40 times until the last eruption in
1944 witnessed by allied troops towards
the end of WWII
= once every 40-50 years

Pompeii Ad79

Pompeii AD79
Massive eruption of Vesuvius buries the
towns of Pompeii under a thick layer of
burning ashes and pumice up to 2.8
metres deep and Herculaneum under 23
metres of ash and pumice
Eruption lasted for two days
Deaths unknown estimates from 5000 to
25000

Causes of deaths

Burial under ash and pumice

Killed by pyroclastic flows
Collapsing building
Rain of lava bombs
Starvation
Disease
Drowning (many fled to the sea for rescue)

Buried alive!

The population of Naples is 960,000

(as of 2012)
The centre of Naples is 15km from
Vesuvius
the population of the Naples suburban
region is nearer 3 million

Reducing the risks

Round-the-clock monitoring of the volcano
Tremors, gasses, changes in water

Identifying hazard areas

Weak spots, secondary vents, predicting
routes of pyroclastic flows

Creating an evacuation plan

Zoning, warning systems, public education

Evacuation plans?
Red zone immediate risk from pyroclastics
Blue zone secondary zone of floods and lahars
Yellow zone mostly ash and other debris

Useful links

http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.
com/IGCSE+Plate+Tectonics+and+GCSE+Pla
te+Tectonics
http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundame
ntals/chapter10.html
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/index.p