Volcanic Eruptions

Volcanic Eruptions
• Magma forms in the asthenosphere
– Convection currents in the mantle bring
magma towards the surface
• Magma tries to flow into any open crack
• When magma reaches a weak spot in the
crust, a volcano forms
• Lava is magma that has reached the surfa
ce
Magma Reaches Earth’s Surface
• Volcanoes are systems of passage ways t
hrough which magma moves.
• Inside a Volcano
– Magma collects below the volcano in the
magma chamber
– Magma flows upward through a tube (pi
pe) that connects the magma chamber t
o the surface.
Magma Reaches Earth’s Surface
• Inside a Volcano
– Gas and magma leave through vents
• Central vent is the opening at the top
• Side vent anywhere along the side of the volcano
– Lava pours out of the vents and creates a lav
a flow
– A bowl shaped area called crater may form ar
ound the central vent
 Magma Reaches Earth’s Surface
• A Volcanic Eruption
– Dissolved gases are trapped
in magma under extreme
pressure (CO2 in a soda bottle)
– as magma flows , pressure because there
is less rock on top of it.
– the dissolved gases expand and form bubbles
– When a volcano erupts, the force of the expandi
ng gas forces magma up the pipe until it explode
s out the vent
Content checkpoint… think/pair share…take tw
o minutes to answer these questions with a partner nearby…..

•What happens to the pressure in the m

agma as it rises toward the surface?
 Kinds of Volcanic Eruptions
• Volcanic eruptions can be quiet or explosiv
e.
• Eruptions depend on the properties of mag
ma
– Silica content
– a very common mineral composed of silicon
and oxygen (SiO2). Silicates make up about 9
5% of the Earth's crust.
Kinds of Volcanic Eruptions
Viscosity- substance is a measure of its consiste
ncy. Defined as the ability of a substance to resi
st flow. The inverse of fluidity

*Composition plays an even greater role in deter

mining a magma's viscosity
CONTROLS ON EXPLOSIVITY
GEN. RULE: Viscosity of the magma determ
ines an eruption
nonexplosive eruptions are typical of basa
ltic-to-andesitic magmas which have low vi
scosities and low gas contents, whereas e
xplosive eruptions are typical of andesiti
c-to-rhyolitic magmas which have high visc
osities and high gas contents.
 Kinds of Volcanic Eruptions
• Quiet Eruptions
– Magma has low silica content = low visc
osity
– Magma flows easier so gases bubble o
ut gently
– Lava can flow many kilometers from the
vent
– Produce both pahoehoe and aa lava
– Example: Hawaiian Islands – Mount Kil
auea
Pahoehoe
 Pahoehoe

lava with a smooth, shiny, or s

wirled surface and comes from
the Hawaiian verb hoe, "to pad
dle" (since paddles make swirl
s in the water).
Aa
 Aa

basaltic lava forming very rough

jagged masses with a light frothy
texture.
 Kinds of Volcanic Eruptions
• Explosive Eruptions
– Magma has high silica content = high vis
cosity
– Magma doesn’t always flow out of vent
and so it builds up (like a cork in a bottle
)
– Trapped gases build up pressure until th
ey explode
– Magma is pushed out of the vent with in
credible force
 Kinds of Volcanic Eruptions
• Volcano Hazards
– Quiet eruptions cause lava to flow far --- bur
ning and burying everything in its path
– Explosive eruptions can bury entire towns in
ash, cause landslides, avalanches, cause da
mage from gases and cinders/bombs.
 Hawaiian
• fluid basaltic lava is thrown into
the air in jets from a vent or lin
e of vents (a fissure) at the sum
mit or on the flank of a volcano.
The jets can last for hours or e
ven days, a phenomenon known a
s fire fountaining.
fluid lava is ejected
from a vent as fire f
ountains or lava flows
. The 1969 eruption a
t Mauna Ulu, a vent o
f Kilauea Volcano in
Hawaii, was a spectac
ular example of fire
fountaining.
 Strombolian
• distinct bursts of fluid lava (usuall
y basalt or basaltic andesite) from
the mouth of a magma-filled sum
mit conduit.
• The explosions usually occur ever
y few minutes at regular or irregul
ar intervals.
 Strombolian
• The explosions of lava, which
can reach heights of hundreds
of meters, are caused by the b
ursting of large bubbles of gas,
which travel upward in the ma
gma-filled conduit until they re
ach the open air.
Short bursts of
glowing lava, cre
ated from the b
ursting of large
gas bubbles at t
he summit vent
of a volcano
 Vulcanian
• short, violent, relatively small e
xplosion of viscous magma (us
ually andesite, dacite, or rhyolit
e)
• create powerful explosions
• material can travel faster than
350 meters per second (800 mp
h) and rise several Km into the
air.
 Vulcanian
• Produce tephra, ash clouds, and p
yroclastic density currents (clouds
of hot ash, gas and rock that flow a
lmost like fluids).
 Relatively small but
violent explosions of
viscous lava create
columns of ash and
gas and occasional p
yroclastic flows, as
seen at this eruptio
n of the Santiaguito
volcanic dome compl
ex in Guatemala.
 Plinian
• Largest and most violent
• Release enormous amts. of energy
and create eruption columns of ga
s and ash that can rise 50 km hig
h at speeds of 100m per sec.
• Caused by the fragmentation of g
assy magma
Mount St. Helens in
Washington State e
xperienced a Plinian
eruption following a
major flank collapse
in 1980
 Lava Domes
• Form when very viscous, rubbly la
va is squeezed out of a vent with
out exploding
• A dome-building eruption may go
on for months or years
 Surtseyan
• Kind of hydromagmatic eruption (
magma or lava interacts explosivel
y with water)
• Lavas created tend to be basalt
• Hydro magmatic activity built up s
everal square km of tephra over t
he first several months of the er
uption
Lava erupting through
water creates the dra
matic plumes of scori
a and billowing ash-an
d-gas clouds
Example :
eruption occurred at
Surtsey, a volcanic isl
and off the coast of I
celand.
Content checkpoint… think-pair-share take

.
two minutes to answer these questions with a partner nearby

• What is pyroclastic flow?

• How does volcanic ash cause damage?

• What is the main difference between a

quiet eruption and an explosive eruption
?
 Stages of Volcanic Activity
• Monitoring Volcanoes
– Geologists use tiltmeters to detect slight chang
es in surface elevation cause by magma movin
g underground
– They monitor gases escaping from a volcano
– Increase in temperature might mean magma is
nearing the surface
– The changes detected may give a short warnin
g time BUT
• We cannot be certain the type of eruption or how po
werful it will be
 Geothermal Activity
• Geo = Earth, therme = heat
• Geothermal activity – when magma a fe
w km beneath the surface heats undergro
und water.
– Ex) hot springs and geysers found near past a
nd present volcanic activity
• Hot Springs
– Forms when underground water is heated by
magma or hot rock
– The heated water rises and collects in pools
• Geysers
– Fountains of water and steam that erupt from
the ground
– The heated water and steam build up pressur
e until finally it erupts
– Ex) Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park
• Geothermal Energy
– Heated water can provide an energy source
– Heated water can be used to power turbines a
nd create electricity
A panoramic view of
the Geysers geother
mal power plant in G
eysers, Calif. The sit
e, located above San
ta Rosa, is the larges
t geothermal develop
ment in the world.