Audience and Scope

The purpose of this paper is to inform elementary level students how volcanoes erupt. There are
many different types of volcanoes, and therefore different ways that they can erupt. A paper like
this would be found as an informative reference for students who are being introduced to the
method of volcanic eruptions.

Introduction

Volcanic eruptions are natural explosions of magma in different ways that last for different
amounts of time and can cause various amounts of damage. Volcanoes are a way that materials
from under the Earth are taken to the surface. They play a large part in how the shape of the
Earth was created.

The Earth’s crust is the outside layer around the Earth. Underneath the crust is the mantle, which
is extremely hot and has magma, which is melted rock. The mantle is under high pressure and
temperature, which causes the rock that forms the mantle to melt and flow up to the Earth’s
surface. A volcanic eruption occurs when magma is pushed up to the surface and when it hits air
and water, the magma will swell and lava (magma when it touches air) will come out of the top
and/or sides of the volcano (Cain).

Figure 1 shows all of the

main parts of a volcano.
How powerful the eruption is and what kind of an eruption takes place depends on a few
different factors. Some of these factors include how full the magma chamber was, the
temperature of the magma, how much water was in the air at the time of eruption, the types of
gases at the time of eruption and the amount of silica in the magma (“Science”).

There are four main types of lava:

-A low amount of water and silica (Silica is a mineral that makes up most of the Earth’s
crust.) cause runny lava that will flow easily over the Earth’s surface.

-A high amount of silica and not a lot of water causes thick lava that does not flow easily.
Sometimes it will form a dome over the top of the volcano because it does not move very far and
when the lava cools down, it hardens.

-A low amount of silica but a lot of water causes very runny lava and will cause a stream
of fluid lava.

-A high amount of both silica and water causes very thick lava and usually an explosion.
Because the lava will not move up the main vent (see Figure 1), the pathway is blocked, and the
lava has to get out somehow, so an explosion will occur (“Volcanic Eruptions”).

The type of lava will depend on the type of eruption that will be made.

Different Types of Eruptions

Because there are various types

of volcanoes and many ways
that lava can come out, there
are also different types of
eruptions that go with each
lava type. The types of
eruptions are:

1. Icelandic
2. Surtseyan
3. Hawaiian
4. Strombolian
5. Volcanian
6. Pelean
7. Plinian

Figure 2. The image shows all of the different types of volcanoes and the size of the
ash cloud with each picture shows about how powerful/explosive each eruption is.
1. Icelandic eruptions occur in cracks
in the Earth’s surface and lava will flow
in these long cracks, often causing a
raised area (plateau) after the lava
hardens and forms rocks. This type of
eruption is the least explosive and the
lava is the runniest, so it has only small
amounts of silica and water (“Icelandic
Eruption”).

Figure 3 shows an Icelandic eruption, where lava

is seen to be flowing in gaps in the Earth’s
surface.

2. Surtseyan eruptions mostly occur under-

water. Water will expand when it is heated
by the lava and turns to steam. The water
will explode and cause columns of ash and
steam. The lava has a small amount of silica
but a lot of water, making a very liquid type
of lava (Ball).

Figure 4. This is a Surtseyan eruption. The eruption

is occurring underwater.

3. Hawaiian eruptions occur when a fountain of lava bursts

through a conduit or another hole in the top or sides of a
volcano. This type of lava has a small amount of silica and
water, so the lava is not very thick. Because of this, the lava
can travel very far from the volcano before cooling and
hardening (Ball).

Figure 5. This picture shows a Hawaiian eruption. There is a stream of lava

and there is also lava shooting out of the top of the volcano, so it is probably
not a very thick type of lava.
4. Strombolian eruptions consist of
bursts of lava from the conduit.
The bursts of lava are caused by the
bursting of gas bubbles that are
lighter than lava and travel up the
conduit until they reach some air.
The lava in this eruption usually has
low amounts of silica and low
amounts of water, so the lava is
runny (Ball).
Figure 6. This picture was taken during a
Strombolian eruption and shows the burst of
lava that occurs in this type of eruption.

5. Volcanian eruptions are a type of eruption that occur after

the volcano has not erupted in a long time. The volcano
starts with a violent, noisy eruption, and then starts to let out
lava. The lava is thicker, so it has a higher amount of silica.
This type of eruption also produces a lot of gas and ash
(“Volcanic Eruptions”).

Figure 7. The photo on the left is showing a Volcanian eruption that is

making a huge cloud of ash.

6. Pelean eruptions have very thick lava. The lava contains a

high amount of silica, which usually forms a cover over the top
of the volcano until it erupts. When the eruption occurs, the
cap is blown off and the lava slowly will leak out because it is
very thick. After a while, the lava will harden, forming another
cap over the top until the next eruption (“Volcanic Eruptions”).

Figure 8 shows a Pelean eruption. These

eruptions are moderately explosive.
 7. Plinian eruptions occur when very
thick lava is released with a large
amount of energy. A large cloud of gas
and ash is also released. The thickness
of lava is due to large amounts of water
and silica. These are the largest and
most violent types of eruptions (Ball).

Figure 9. This picture of a Plinian eruption is

showing a huge explosion with a large ash cloud.

Conclusion
Volcanic eruptions are a way that materials can go from under the Earth’s surface to above it.
There are different types of lava that a volcano can have, which will cause different types of
eruptions. The eruptions can go from nonviolent and relatively undamaging, to extremely
violent/explosive and cause a lot of damage.
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Cain, Fraser. "How Volcanoes Erupt." Astronomy. Universe Today, 20 may 2009. Web. 17 Oct
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"How a Volcano Erupts." Science. Topbits.com, 2010. Web. 17 Oct 2010. <http://www.tech-
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"Icelandic eruption." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 20 Oct.

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Pictures:

Figure 1: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect2/Sect2_1b.html

Figure 2: http://cranialrectalresearch.wordpress.com/

Figure 3: http://www.geostudy.zoomshare.com/

Figure 4: http://www.explorevolcanoes.com/Typesof%20volcano.html

Figure 5: http://www.treasurevacations.com/destinations/Hawaii/index.html

Figure 6: http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Thumblinks/etnastromb_page.html

Figure 7: http://thegeogblog.edublogs.org/

Figure 8: http://www.explorevolcanoes.com/Typesof%20volcano.html

Figure 9: http://www.examiner.com/geological-adventures-in-national/volcano-anniversary-mt-
pinatubo-erupts-the-philippines