VOLCANO-RELATED
HAZARDS
Michelle D. Cueto
What is a volcano?
A volcano is a vent
vent
or 'chimney' that
connects molten
rock (magma) from
cone within the Earth’s
crust to the Earth's
surface.
conduit The volcano
includes the
surrounding cone of
erupted material.
magma chamber
Location of Volcanoes
Majority of volcanoes are formed as the result of plate
boundary movement such as the Ring of Fire. The Pacific
Ring of Fire contains over ½ of the world’s volcanoes.
Volcanoes can also form in the
middle of a plate. These are
known as “hot spot” volcanoes
and form because magma is able
to reach the surface due to a
weak/thin spot in the lithosphere.
Examples: Hawaiian volcanoes and
Yellowstone National Park.
What are the parts of a Volcano?
1. Vent- the vent is the
opening from which
lava flows. Dust, ash,
and rock particles can
also be thrown out of
the vent!
2. Crater- the top
of the volcano.
It is a funnel
shaped pit. It
is formed when
the material
explodes out of
the vent!
3. Caldera-A vast
depression at the top of a
volcanic cone, formed
when an eruption
substantially empties the
reservoir of magma
beneath the cone's
summit. Eventually the
summit collapses
inward, creating a
caldera.
4. Volcanic Conduit-
A tube like
passage through
which magma
travels within a
volcano.
5. Magma Chamber is a large
underground pool of molten rock
found beneath the surface of the
Earth's crust. The molten rock in
such a chamber is under great
pressure, and given enough time,
that pressure can gradually
fracture the rock around it
creating outlets for the magma.
Types of Volcanoes
There are 3 types of Volcanoes:
Shield
Cinder Cone
Stratovolcano
Volcanoes are
classified by
how they form!
Shield Volcano
Is wide and somewhat flat.
It forms from an effusive (quiet)
eruption of lava.
Lava flows out quietly and for great
distances.
Cinder Cone Volcano
Has tall, very
steep sides.
Has explosive
eruptions.
This eruption
produces a lot of
cinder and ash.
Stratovolcano Volcano
Forms from explosive
eruptions.
Produce a lot of lava and ash.
Has steep sides.
MOST COMMON TYPE OF
VOLCANO!
Volcanic eruptions occurs when hot
materials are thrown out of a volcano.
Lava, rocks, dust, and gas compounds are
some of these "ejecta".Eruptions can come
from side branches or from the top of the
volcano. Some eruptions are terrible
explosions that throw out huge amounts of
rock and volcanic ash and kill many
people. Some are quiet outflows of hot
lava.
How and why do volcanoes erupt?
Pressure builds deep in the earth where the magma is.
Suddenly the gases escape and violently explode.
When magma reaches the surface, how easily it flows depends
on its viscosity (stickiness) and the amount of gas (H2O, CO2,
S) it has in it.
EXPLOSIVE ERUPTIONS are the result of high levels of gas
and high viscosity (sticky) magma.
EFFUSIVE (QUIET) ERUPTIONS are the result of low amounts
of gas and (or) low viscosity (runny) magma.
VEI measures how explosive an eruption is based on the amount of
material released!
Explosive Eruptions
Explosive volcanic eruptions
can be catastrophic
Erupt 10’s-1000’s km3 of
magma, rocks, and other
materials
Send ash clouds >15 miles
into the stratosphere
Have severe environmental
and climatic effects such as
global cooling because ash Mt. Redoubt
blocks sunlight from reaching Above: Large eruption column and
Earth’s surface ash cloud from an explosive eruption
at Mt Redoubt, Alaska
During eruptions different volcanic
materials are emitted by the volcano.
These materials post threat and serve as
volcanic-related hazards like:
a. Lahar Flow
b. Ash Fall
c. Pyroclastic Flow
d. Ballistic Projectile
e. Volcanic Gasses
f. Lava Flow
Volcano-related Hazards
Lava Flow
- Are stream-like flows of
incandescent molten rock erupted
from a crater or fissure.
- Usually at temperatures from 700
to 1,200 °C (1,292 to 2,192 °F)
Volcano-related Hazards
Ashfall or Tephra Fall
-are showers of airborne fine- to
coarse-grained volcanic particles that
fallout from the plumes of a volcanic
eruption.
- Distribution of ashfall is dependent
on prevailing wind direction
Volcano-related Hazards
Pyroclastic Flows
( Pyroclastic Density Current)
- are turbulent masses of ejected
fragmented volcanic materials (ash
and rocks), mixed with hot gasses
that flow down slope at very high
speed.
- a dense, destructive mass of very
hot ash, lava fragments, and gases
ejected explosively from a volcano
and typically flowing downslope at
great speed.
Volcano-related Hazards
Lahar
- Are rapidly flowing thick mixture
of volcanic sediments (from the
pyroclastic flow materials) and
water, usually triggered by intense
rainfall during typhoons,
monsoons and thunderstorms
- Used to be white steam slowly or
drastically change to gray to dark
when there is an increasing amount
of ash.
Volcano-related Hazards
Ballistic Projectile
- Are volcanic materials directly
ejected from the volcano’s vent
with force and trajectory.
- the force of impact of falling
fragments, but this occurs only close
to an eruption
Volcano-related Hazards
Volcanic Gasses
- Gasses and aerosols released into
the atmosphere, which include
water vapour, hydrogen sulphide,
sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide,
hydrogen chloride and hydrogen
fluoride.
