Volcano

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the geological feature. For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). "Volcanic" redirects here. For other uses of "volcanic", see Volcanic (disambiguation).

Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islandsof Alaska photographed from theInternational Space Station, May 2006.

Ash plumes reached a height of 19 km during the climactic explosive eruption atMount Pinatubo, Philippines in 1991.

A 2007 eruptive column at Mount Etnaproducing volcanic ash, pumice and lava bombs.

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in the surface or crust of the Earth or a planetary mass object, which allows hot lava, volcanic ash and gases to escape from the magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. A mid-oceanic ridge, for example the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has examples of volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates pulling apart; the Pacific Ring of Fire has examples of volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic

plates coming together. By contrast, volcanoes are not usually created where two tectonic plates slide past one another. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the Earth's crust in the interiors of plates, e.g., in the East African Rift, the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and the Rio Grande Rift in North America. This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of "Plate hypothesis" volcanism.[1] Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes. These socalled "hotspots", for example Hawaii, are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the coremantle boundary, 3,000 km deep in the Earth. Erupting volcanoes can pose many hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption. Volcanic ash can be a threat to aircraft, in particular those with jet engines where ash particles can be melted by the high operating temperature; the melted particles then adhere to the turbine blades and alter their shape, disrupting the operation of the turbine. Large eruptions can affect temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere; however, they also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth, thereby warming the stratosphere. Historically, so-called volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines.
Contents
[hide]

1 Etymology 2 Plate tectonics

o o o

2.1 Divergent plate boundaries 2.2 Convergent plate boundaries 2.3 "Hotspots"

3 Volcanic features

o o o o o o o o o o

3.1 Fissure vents 3.2 Shield volcanoes 3.3 Lava domes 3.4 Cryptodomes 3.5 Volcanic cones (cinder cones) 3.6 Stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes) 3.7 Supervolcanoes 3.8 Submarine volcanoes 3.9 Subglacial volcanoes 3.10 Mud volcanoes

4 Erupted material

o o

4.1 Lava composition 4.2 Lava texture

5 Volcanic activity

5.1 Popular classification of volcanoes

5.1.1 Active 5.1.2 Extinct 5.1.3 Dormant

5.2 Technical classification of volcanoes

5.2.1 Volcanic-alert level 5.2.2 Volcano warning schemes of the United States

6 Decade volcanoes 7 Effects of volcanoes 8 Volcanoes on other planetary bodies 9 Traditional beliefs about volcanoes 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

Etymology
The word volcano is derived from the name of Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy whose name in turn originates from Vulcan, the name of a god of fire in Roman mythology.[2]The study of volcanoes is called volcanology, sometimes spelled vulcanology.

Plate tectonics

Map showing the divergent plate boundaries (OSR Oceanic Spreading Ridges) and recent sub aerial volcanoes.

Main article: Plate tectonics

Divergent plate boundaries

Main article: Divergent boundary

At the mid-oceanic ridges, two tectonic plates diverge from one another. New oceanic crust is being formed by hot molten rock slowly cooling and solidifying. The crust is very thin at mid-oceanic ridges due to the pull of the tectonic plates. The release of pressure due to the thinning of the crust leads to adiabatic expansion, and the partial melting of the mantlecausing volcanism and creating new oceanic crust. Most divergent plate boundaries are at the bottom of the oceans, therefore most volcanic activity is submarine, forming new seafloor. Black smokers or deep sea vents are an example of this kind of volcanic activity. Where the mid-oceanic ridge is above sea-level, volcanic islands are formed, for example, Iceland.

Convergent plate boundaries

Main article: Convergent boundary Subduction zones are places where two plates, usually an oceanic plate and a continental plate, collide. In this case, the oceanic plate subducts, or submerges under the continental plate forming a deep ocean trench just offshore. In a process called flux melting, water released from the subducting plate lowers the melting temperature of the overlying mantle wedge, creatingmagma. This magma tends to be very viscous due to its high silica content, so often does not reach the surface and cools at depth. When it does reach the surface, a volcano is formed. Typical examples for this kind of volcano are Mount Etna and the volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

"Hotspots"
Main article: Hotspot (geology) "Hotspots" is the name given to volcanic provinces postulated to be formed by mantle plumes. These are postulated to comprise columns of hot material that rise from the core-mantle boundary. They are suggested to be hot, causing large-volume melting, and to be fixed in space. Because the tectonic plates move across them, each volcano becomes dormant after a while and a new volcano is then formed as the plate shifts over the postulated plume. The Hawaiian Islands have been suggested to have been formed in such a manner, as well as the Snake River Plain, with theYellowstone Caldera being the part of the North American plate currently above the hot spot. This theory is currently under criticism, however. [1]

Volcanic features

Lakagigar fissure vent in Iceland, source of the major world climate alteration of 178384.

Skjaldbreiur, a shield volcano whose name means "broad shield"

The most common perception of a volcano is of a conical mountain, spewing lava and poisonous gases from a crater at its summit. This describes just one of many types of volcano, and the features of volcanoes are much more complicated. The structure and behavior of volcanoes depends on a number of factors. Some volcanoes have rugged peaks formed by lava domes rather than a summit crater, whereas others present landscape features such as massive plateaus. Vents that issue volcanic material (lava, which is what magma is called once it has escaped to the surface, and ash) and gases (mainly steam and magmatic gases) can be located anywhere on the landform. Many of these vents give rise to smaller cones such as Puu on a flank of Hawaii's Klauea. Other types of volcano include cryovolcanoes (or ice volcanoes), particularly on some moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune; and mud volcanoes, which are formations often not associated with known magmatic activity. Active mud volcanoes tend to involve temperatures much lower than those of igneous volcanoes, except when a mud volcano is actually a vent of an igneous volcano.

Fissure vents
Main article: Fissure vent Volcanic fissure vents are flat, linear cracks through which lava emerges.

Shield volcanoes
Main article: Shield volcano Shield volcanoes, so named for their broad, shield-like profiles, are formed by the eruption of low-viscosity lava that can flow a great distance from a vent. They generally do not explode catastrophically. Since lowviscosity magma is typically low in silica, shield volcanoes are more common in oceanic than continental settings. The Hawaiian volcanic chain is a series of shield cones, and they are common in Iceland, as well.

Lava domes
Main article: Lava dome Lava domes are built by slow eruptions of highly viscous lavas. They are sometimes formed within the crater of a previous volcanic eruption (as inMount Saint Helens), but can also form independently, as in the case of Lassen Peak. Like stratovolcanoes, they can produce violent, explosive eruptions, but their lavas generally do not flow far from the originating vent.

Cryptodomes
Cryptodomes are formed when viscous lava forces its way up and causes a bulge. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was an example. Lava was under great pressure and forced a bulge in the mountain, which was unstable and slid down the north side.

Volcanic cones (cinder cones)

Main articles: volcanic cone and Cinder cone Volcanic cones or cinder cones result from eruptions of mostly small pieces of scoria and pyroclastics (both resemble cinders, hence the name of this volcano type) that build up around the vent. These can be relatively short-lived eruptions that produce a cone-shaped hill perhaps 30 to 400 meters high. Most cinder cones erupt only once. Cinder cones may form as flank vents on larger volcanoes, or occur on their own. Parcutin in Mexico and Sunset Crater in Arizona are examples of cinder cones. In New Mexico, Caja del Rio is a volcanic field of over 60 cinder cones. Based on satellite images it was suggested that cinder cones might occur on other terrestrial bodies in the Solar system too; on the surface of Mars and the Moon.[3][4][5]

Stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes)

Cross-section through a stratovolcano (vertical scale is exaggerated): 1. Large magma chamber 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano 2. Bedrock 10. Throat 3. Conduit (pipe) 11. Parasitic cone 4. Base 12. Lava flow 5. Sill 13. Vent 6. Dike 14. Crater 7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano 15. Ash cloud 8. Flank

Main article: Stratovolcano

Stratovolcanoes or composite volcanoes are tall conical mountains composed of lava flows and other ejecta in alternate layers, thestrata that give rise to the name. Stratovolcanoes are also known as composite volcanoes, created from several structures during different kinds of eruptions. Strato/composite volcanoes are made of cinders, ash and lava. Cinders and ash pile on top of each other, lava flows on top of the ash, where it cools and hardens, and then the process begins again. Classic examples include Mt. Fuji in Japan, Mayon Volcano in the Philippines, and Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli in Italy. Throughout recorded history, ash produced by the explosive eruption of stratovolcanoes has posed the greatest hazard to civilizations as compared to other types of volcanoes. Shield volcanos have smaller pressure buildup from the underlying lava flow as compared to stratovolcanoes. Fissure vents and monogenetic volcanic fields (volcanic cones) have less powerful eruptions, as they are many times under extension. Stratovolcanoes have been a greater historical threat because they are steeper than shield volcanos, with slopes of 3035 compared to slopes of generally 510, and their loose tephra are material for dangerous lahars.[6]

Supervolcanoes
Main article: Supervolcano See also: List of largest volcanic eruptions A supervolcano is a large volcano that usually has a large caldera and can potentially produce devastation on an enormous, sometimes continental, scale. Such eruptions would be able to cause severe cooling of global temperatures for many years afterwards because of the huge volumes of sulfur and ash erupted. They are the most dangerous type of volcano. Examples include Yellowstone Caldera inYellowstone National Park and Valles Caldera in New Mexico (both western United States), Lake Taupo in New Zealand, Lake Toba inSumatra, Indonesia and Ngorogoro Crater in Tanzania, Krakatoa near Java and Sumatra, Indonesia. Supervolcanoes are hard to identify centuries later, given the enormous areas they cover. Large igneous provinces are also considered supervolcanoes because of the vast amount of basalt lava erupted, but are non-explosive.

Submarine volcanoes
Main article: Submarine volcano Submarine volcanoes are common features on the ocean floor. Some are active and, in shallow water, disclose their presence by blasting steam and rocky debris high above the surface of the sea. Many others lie at such great depths that the tremendous weight of the water above them prevents the explosive release of steam and gases, although they can be detected by hydrophones and discoloration of water because of volcanic gases. Pumice rafts may also appear. Even large submarine eruptions may not disturb the ocean surface. Because of the rapid cooling effect of water as compared to air, and increased buoyancy, submarine volcanoes often form rather steep pillars over their volcanic vents as compared to abovesurface volcanoes. They may become so large that they break the ocean surface as new islands. Pillow

lava is a common eruptive product of submarine volcanoes.Hydrothermal vents are common near these volcanoes, and some support peculiar ecosystems based on dissolved minerals.