Volcano

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This article is about the geological feature. For other uses, see Volcano
(disambiguation) and Volcanic (disambiguation).
For broader coverage of this topic, see Volcanism.
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that
allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below
the surface.
Earth's volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major, rigid tectonic
plates that float on a hotter, softer layer in its mantle.[1] Therefore, on Earth,
volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging,
and most are found underwater. For example, a mid-oceanic ridge, such as
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates whereas
the Pacific Ring of Fire has volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates.
Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the crust's plates,
e.g., in the East African Rift and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and Rio
Grande Rift in North America. This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of
"plate hypothesis" volcanism.[2] Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also
been explained as mantle plumes. These so-called "hotspots", for example Hawaii,
are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the core–mantle
boundary, 3,000 km deep in the Earth. Volcanoes are usually not created where
two tectonic plates slide past one another.

Sabancaya volcano erupting, Peru in 2017

Cordillera de Apaneca volcanic range in El Salvador. The country is home to 170
volcanoes, 23 which are active, including two calderas, one being a supervolcano.
El Salvador has earned the epithets endearment La Tierra de Soberbios Volcanes,
(The Land of Magnificent Volcanoes).

Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from

the International Space Station, May 2006
Large eruptions can affect ambient temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric
acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth's troposphere; historically, large volcanic
eruptions have been followed by volcanic winters which have caused catastrophic
famines.

An eruption of Mount Pinatubo on June 12, 1991 three days before its climactic
eruption
 Fountain of lava erupting from a volcanic cone in Hawaii, 1983

Aerial view of the Barren Island, Andaman Islands, India, during an eruption in

1995. It is the only active volcano in South Asia.

Satellite image of Mount Shasta in California, January 2014

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Plate tectonics
o 2.1Divergent plate boundaries
o 2.2Convergent plate boundaries
 o 2.3Hotspots
 3Volcanic features
o 3.1Fissure vents
o 3.2Shield volcanoes
o 3.3Lava domes
o 3.4Cryptodomes
o 3.5Volcanic cones (cinder cones)
o 3.6Stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes)
o 3.7Supervolcanoes
o 3.8Underwater volcanoes
o 3.9Subglacial volcanoes
o 3.10Mud volcanoes
 4Erupted material
o 4.1Lava composition
o 4.2Lava texture
 5Volcanic activity
o 5.1Popular classification of volcanoes
 5.1.1Active
 5.1.2Extinct
 5.1.3Dormant and reactivated
o 5.2Technical classification of volcanoes
 5.2.1Volcanic-alert level
 5.2.2Volcano warning schemes of the United States
 6Decade volcanoes
 7Effects of volcanoes
o 7.1Volcanic gases
o 7.2Significant consequences
 7.2.1Prehistory
 7.2.2Historical
o 7.3Acid rain
o 7.4Hazards
 8Volcanoes on other celestial bodies
 9Traditional beliefs about volcanoes
 10See also
 11References
 12Further reading
 13External 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 comes from Vulcan, the god of fire
in Roman mythology.[3] The study of volcanoes is called volcanology, sometimes
spelled vulcanology.

Plate tectonics

Map showing the divergent plate boundaries (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 as
new oceanic crust is formed by the cooling and solidifying of hot molten rock.
Because the crust is very thin at these ridges due to the pull of the tectonic plates,
the release of pressure leads to adiabatic expansion (without transfer of heat or
matter) and the partial melting of the mantle, causing volcanism and creating new
oceanic crust. Most divergent plate boundaries are at the bottom of the oceans;
therefore, most volcanic activity on the Earth is submarine, forming new
seafloor. Black smokers (also known as deep sea vents) are evidence 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, thus creating magma. This magma
tends to be extremely viscous because of its high silica content, so it often does not
attain the surface but cools and solidifies at depth. When it does reach the surface,
however, a volcano is formed. Typical examples are Mount Etna and the volcanoes
in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Hotspots
Main article: Hotspot (geology)
Hotspots are volcanic areas believed to be formed by mantle plumes, which are
hypothesized to be columns of hot material rising from the core-mantle boundary
in a fixed space that causes large-volume melting. Because tectonic plates move
across them, each volcano becomes dormant and is eventually re-formed as the
plate advances over the postulated plume. The Hawaiian Islands are said to have
been formed in such a manner; so has the Snake River Plain, with the Yellowstone
Caldera being the part of the North American plate above the hot spot. This theory,
however, has been doubted.[2]

Volcanic features
Further information: Types of volcanoes

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

of 1783–84, has a chain of volcanic cones along its length.
Skjaldbreiður, 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; however, this
describes just one of the many types of volcano. The features of volcanoes are
much more complicated and their structure and behavior depends on a number of
factors. Some volcanoes have rugged peaks formed by lava domes rather than a
summit crater while others have landscape features such as massive plateaus.
Vents that issue volcanic material (including lava and ash) and gases
(mainly steam and magmatic gases) can develop anywhere on the landform and
may give rise to smaller cones such as Puʻu ʻŌʻō on a flank of Hawaii's Kīlauea.
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 the mud volcano is actually a vent of an igneous
volcano.
Fissure vents
Main article: Fissure vent
Volcanic fissure vents are flat, linear fractures 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 low-viscosity 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 lava. They are
sometimes formed within the crater of a previous volcanic eruption, as in the case
of Mount St. Helens, but can also form independently, as in the case of Lassen
Peak. Like stratovolcanoes, they can produce violent, explosive eruptions, but the
lava generally does not flow far from the originating vent.
Cryptodomes
Cryptodomes are formed when viscous lava is forced upward causing the surface
to bulge. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was an example; lava beneath the
surface of the mountain created an upward bulge which slid down the north side of
the mountain.
Volcanic cones (cinder cones)
Main articles: volcanic cone and Cinder cone

Izalco volcano, the youngest volcano in El Salvador. Izalco erupted almost

continuously from 1770 (when it formed) to 1958, earning it the nickname of
"Lighthouse of the Pacific".
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. Parícutin 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.[4][5]
[6][7]
Stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes)

Cross-section through a stratovolcano (vertical scale is exaggerated):

1. Large magma chamber

2. Bedrock
3. Conduit (pipe)
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Dike
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank
9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10.Throat
11.Parasitic cone
12.Lava flow
13.Vent
14.Crater
15.Ash cloud
Main article: Stratovolcano
Stratovolcanoes or composite volcanoes are tall conical mountains composed of
lava flows and other ejecta in alternate layers, the strata that gives rise to the name.
Stratovolcanoes are also known as composite volcanoes because they are created
from multiple 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
repeats. Classic examples include Mount 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 volcanic hazard to civilizations. Not only do
stratovolcanoes have greater pressure buildup from the underlying lava flow than
shield volcanoes, but their fissure vents and monogenetic volcanic fields (volcanic
cones) also have more powerful eruptions because they are often under extension.
They are also steeper than shield volcanoes, with slopes of 30–35° compared to
slopes of generally 5–10°, and their loose tephra are material for dangerous lahars.
[8]
 Large pieces of tephra are called volcanic bombs. Big bombs can measure more
than 4 feet(1.2 meters) across and weigh several tons.[9]
Supervolcanoes
Main article: Supervolcano
See also: List of largest volcanic eruptions
A supervolcano usually has a large caldera and can produce devastation on an
enormous, sometimes continental, scale. Such volcanoes are able to severely cool
global temperatures for many years after the eruption due to the huge volumes
of sulfur and ash released into the atmosphere. They are the most dangerous type
of volcano. Examples include Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National
Park and Valles Caldera in New Mexico (both western United States); Lake
Taupo in New Zealand; Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia; and Ngorongoro
Crater in Tanzania. Because of the enormous area they may cover, supervolcanoes
are hard to identify centuries after an eruption. Similarly, large igneous
provinces are also considered supervolcanoes because of the vast amount
of basalt lava erupted (even though the lava flow is non-explosive).
Underwater volcanoes
Main article: Submarine volcano
See also: Subaqueous volcano
Submarine volcanoes are common features of the ocean floor. In shallow water,
active volcanoes disclose their presence by blasting steam and rocky debris high
above the ocean's surface. In the ocean's deep, the tremendous weight of the water
above prevents the explosive release of steam and gases; however, they can be
detected by hydrophones and discoloration of water because of volcanic
gases. Pillow lava is a common eruptive product of submarine volcanoes and is
characterized by thick sequences of discontinuous pillow-shaped masses which
form under water. Even large submarine eruptions may not disturb the ocean
surface due to the rapid cooling effect and increased buoyancy of water (as
compared to air) which often causes volcanic vents to form steep pillars on the
ocean floor. Hydrothermal vents are common near these volcanoes, and some
support peculiar ecosystems based on dissolved minerals. Over time, the
formations created by submarine volcanoes may become so large that they break
the ocean surface as new islands or floating pumice rafts.
In 2018, a multitude of seismic signals were detected by earthquake monitoring
agencies all over the world in May and June. They created a weird humming sound
and some of the signals detected in November of that year had a duration of up to
20 minutes. An oceanographic campaign in May 2019 showed that the previously
mysterious humming noises were caused by the formation of an underwater
volcano off the coast of Mayotte.[10]
Subglacial volcanoes
Main article: Subglacial volcano
Subglacial volcanoes develop underneath icecaps. They are made up of flat lava
which flows at the top of extensive pillow lavas and palagonite. When the icecap
melts, the lava on top collapses, leaving a flat-topped mountain. These volcanoes
are also called table mountains, tuyas, or (uncommonly) mobergs. Very good
examples of this type of volcano can be seen in Iceland, however, there are also
tuyas in British Columbia. The origin of the term comes from Tuya Butte, which is
one of the several tuyas in the area of the Tuya River and Tuya Range in northern
British Columbia. Tuya Butte was the first such landform analyzed and so its name
has entered the geological literature for this kind of volcanic formation. The Tuya
Mountains Provincial Park was recently established to protect this unusual
landscape, which lies north of Tuya Lake and south of the Jennings River near the
boundary with the Yukon Territory.
Mud volcanoes
Main article: Mud volcano
Mud volcanoes or mud domes are formations created by geo-excreted liquids and
gases, although there are several processes which may cause such activity. The
largest structures are 10 kilometers in diameter and reach 700 meters high.

Erupted material
Main article: Volcanic rock
Pāhoehoe lava flow on Hawaii. The picture shows overflows of a main lava
channel.

The Stromboli stratovolcano off the coast of Sicily has erupted continuously for

thousands of years, giving rise to its nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean"
Lava composition
Another way of classifying volcanoes is by the composition of material
erupted (lava), since this affects the shape of the volcano. Lava can be broadly
classified into four different compositions:[11]

 If the erupted magma contains a high percentage (>63%) of silica, the lava is

called felsic.
o Felsic lavas (dacites or rhyolites) tend to be highly viscous (not very
fluid) and are erupted as domes or short, stubby flows. Viscous lavas tend to
form stratovolcanoes or lava domes. Lassen Peak in California is an
example of a volcano formed from felsic lava and is actually a large lava
dome.
o Because siliceous magmas are so viscous, they tend to
trap volatiles (gases) that are present, which cause the magma to erupt
catastrophically, eventually forming stratovolcanoes. Pyroclastic
flows (ignimbrites) are highly hazardous products of such volcanoes, since
they are composed of molten volcanic ash too heavy to go up into the
atmosphere, so they hug the volcano's slopes and travel far from their vents
during large eruptions. Temperatures as high as 1,200 °C are known to
 occur in pyroclastic flows, which will incinerate everything flammable in
their path and thick layers of hot pyroclastic flow deposits can be laid down,
often many meters thick. Alaska's Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, formed
by the eruption of Novarupta near Katmai in 1912, is an example of a thick
pyroclastic flow or ignimbrite deposit. Volcanic ash that is light enough to
be erupted high into the Earth's atmosphere may travel many kilometres
before it falls back to ground as a tuff.
 If the erupted magma contains 52–63% silica, the lava is
of intermediate composition.
o These "andesitic" volcanoes generally only occur above subduction
zones (e.g. Mount Merapi in Indonesia).
o Andesitic lava is typically formed at convergent boundary margins
of tectonic plates, by several processes:
 Hydration melting of peridotite and fractional crystallization

Sarychev Peak eruption, Matua Island, oblique satellite view

 Melting of subducted slab containing sediments[citation needed]

 Magma mixing between felsic rhyolitic and mafic basaltic
magmas in an intermediate reservoir prior to emplacement or lava flow.
 If the erupted magma contains <52% and >45% silica, the lava is
called mafic (because it contains higher percentages of magnesium (Mg) and
iron (Fe)) or basaltic. These lavas are usually much less viscous than rhyolitic
lavas, depending on their eruption temperature; they also tend to be hotter than
felsic lavas. Mafic lavas occur in a wide range of settings:
o At mid-ocean ridges, where two oceanic plates are pulling apart,
basaltic lava erupts as pillows to fill the gap;
 o Shield volcanoes (e.g. the Hawaiian Islands, including Mauna
Loa and Kilauea), on both oceanic and continental crust;
o As continental flood basalts.
 Some erupted magmas contain <=45% silica and produce ultramafic lava.
Ultramafic flows, also known as komatiites, are very rare; indeed, very few
have been erupted at the Earth's surface since the Proterozoic, when the planet's
heat flow was higher. They are (or were) the hottest lavas, and probably more
fluid than common mafic lavas.
Lava texture
Two types of lava are named according to the surface texture: ʻAʻa
(pronounced [ˈʔaʔa]) and pāhoehoe ([paːˈho.eˈho.e]), both Hawaiian words. ʻAʻa is
characterized by a rough, clinkery surface and is the typical texture of viscous lava
flows. However, even basaltic or mafic flows can be erupted as ʻaʻa flows,
particularly if the eruption rate is high and the slope is steep.
Pāhoehoe is characterized by its smooth and often ropey or wrinkly surface and is
generally formed from more fluid lava flows. Usually, only mafic flows will erupt
as pāhoehoe, since they often erupt at higher temperatures or have the proper
chemical make-up to allow them to flow with greater fluidity.

Volcanic activity

Fresco with Mount Vesuvius behind Bacchus and Agathodaemon, as seen

in Pompeii's House of the Centenary
Popular classification of volcanoes
A popular way of classifying magmatic volcanoes is by their frequency
of eruption[according to whom?], with those that erupt regularly called active, those that
have erupted in historical times but are now quiet called dormant or inactive, and
those that have not erupted in historical times called extinct. However, these
popular classifications—extinct in particular—are practically meaningless to
scientists. They use classifications which refer to a particular volcano's formative
and eruptive processes and resulting shapes.
Active
See also: Category:Active volcanoes, Category:Potentially active volcanoes,
and List of currently erupting volcanoes
There is no consensus among volcanologists on how to define an "active" volcano.
The lifespan of a volcano can vary from months to several million years, making
such a distinction sometimes meaningless when compared to the lifespans of
humans or even civilizations. For example, many of Earth's volcanoes have erupted
dozens of times in the past few thousand years but are not currently showing signs
of eruption. Given the long lifespan of such volcanoes, they are very active. By
human lifespans, however, they are not.
Scientists usually consider a volcano to be erupting or likely to erupt if it is
currently erupting, or showing signs of unrest such as unusual earthquake activity
or significant new gas emissions. Most scientists consider a volcano active if it has
erupted in the last 10,000 years (Holocene times)—the Smithsonian Global
Volcanism Program uses this definition of active. Most volcanoes are situated on
the Pacific Ring of Fire.[12] An estimated 500 million people live near active
volcanoes.[12]
Historical time (or recorded history) is another timeframe for active.[13]
[14]
 The Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes of the World, published by
the International Association of Volcanology, uses this definition, by which there
are more than 500 active volcanoes.[13] However, the span of recorded history
differs from region to region. In China and the Mediterranean, it reaches back
nearly 3,000 years, but in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada, it
reaches back less than 300 years, and in Hawaii and New Zealand, only around
200 years.[13]

Kīlauea's lava entering the sea

Lava flows at Holuhraun, Iceland, September 2014
As of 2013, the following are considered Earth's most active volcanoes:[15]

 Kīlauea, the famous Hawaiian volcano, was in nearly continuous, effusive

eruption (in which lava steadily flows onto the ground) between 1983 through
2018, and had the longest-observed lava lake.
 Mount Etna and nearby Stromboli, two Mediterranean volcanoes in "almost
continuous eruption"[vague] since antiquity.[clarification needed]
 Piton de la Fournaise, in Réunion, erupts frequently enough to be a tourist
attraction.
As of 2010, the longest ongoing (but not necessarily continuous) volcanic eruptive
phases are:[16]

 Mount Yasur, 111 years

 Mount Etna, 109 years
 Stromboli, 108 years
 Santa María, 101 years
 Sangay, 94 years
Other very active volcanoes include:

 Mount Nyiragongo and its neighbor, Nyamuragira, are Africa's most active

volcanoes
 Nyiragongo's lava lake

 Erta Ale, in the Afar Triangle, has maintained a lava lake since at least 1906.
 Mount Erebus, in Antarctica, has maintained a lava lake since at least 1972.
 Mount Merapi
 Whakaari / White Island, has been in a continuous state of releasing volcanic
gas since before European observation in 1769.
 Ol Doinyo Lengai
 Ambrym
 Arenal Volcano
 Pacaya
 Klyuchevskaya Sopka
 Sheveluch
Extinct
"Extinct volcano" redirects here. For the category of extinct volcanoes,
see Category:Extinct volcanoes.

Fourpeaked volcano, Alaska, in September 2006 after being thought extinct for

over 10,000 years

Mount Rinjani eruption in 1994, in Lombok, Indonesia

Extinct volcanoes are those that scientists consider unlikely to erupt again because
the volcano no longer has a magma supply. Examples of extinct volcanoes are
many volcanoes on the Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain in the Pacific Ocean
(although some volcanoes at the eastern end of the chain are active), Hohentwiel in
Germany, Shiprock in New Mexico, Zuidwal volcano in the Netherlands and many
volcanoes in Italy like Monte Vulture. Edinburgh Castle in Scotland is famously
located atop an extinct volcano. Otherwise, whether a volcano is truly extinct is
often difficult to determine. Since "supervolcano" calderas can have eruptive
lifespans sometimes measured in millions of years, a caldera that has not produced
an eruption in tens of thousands of years is likely to be considered dormant instead
of extinct. Some volcanologists refer to extinct volcanoes as inactive, though the
term is now more commonly used for dormant volcanoes once thought to be
extinct.
Dormant and reactivated
See also: Category:Dormant volcanoes and Category:Inactive volcanoes

Narcondam Island, India, is classified as a dormant volcano by the Geological

Survey of India
It is difficult to distinguish an extinct volcano from a dormant (inactive) one.
Dormant volcanoes are those that have not erupted for thousands of years, but are
likely to erupt again in the future.[17][18] Volcanoes are often considered to be extinct
if there are no written records of its activity. Nevertheless, volcanoes may remain
dormant for a long period of time. For example, Yellowstone has a repose/recharge
period of around 700,000 years, and Toba of around 380,000 years.
[19]
 Vesuvius was described by Roman writers as having been covered with gardens
and vineyards before its eruption of 79 CE, which destroyed the towns of
Herculaneum and Pompeii. Before its catastrophic eruption of 1991, Pinatubo was
an inconspicuous volcano, unknown to most people in the surrounding areas. Two
other examples are the long-dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the island
of Montserrat, thought to be extinct before activity resumed in 1995,
and Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska, which, before its September 2006 eruption,
had not erupted since before 8000 BCE and had long been thought to be extinct.
Technical classification of volcanoes
Volcanic-alert level
The three common popular classifications of volcanoes can be subjective and some
volcanoes thought to have been extinct have erupted again. To help prevent people
from falsely believing they are not at risk when living on or near a volcano,
countries have adopted new classifications to describe the various levels and stages
of volcanic activity.[20] Some alert systems use different numbers or colors to
designate the different stages. Other systems use colors and words. Some systems
use a combination of both.
Volcano warning schemes of the United States
Main article: Volcano warning schemes of the United States
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has adopted a common system
nationwide for characterizing the level of unrest and eruptive activity at volcanoes.
The new volcano alert-level system classifies volcanoes now as being in a normal,
advisory, watch or warning stage. Additionally, colors are used to denote the
amount of ash produced.

Decade volcanoes

Koryaksky volcano towering over Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on Kamchatka

Peninsula, Far Eastern Russia
Main articles: Lists of volcanoes and Decade Volcanoes
The Decade Volcanoes are 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association
of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of
particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and
proximity to populated areas. They are named Decade Volcanoes because the
project was initiated as part of the United Nations-sponsored International Decade
for Natural Disaster Reduction (the 1990s). The 16 current Decade Volcanoes are
 Avachinsky-Koryaksky (groupe  Sakurajima, Kagoshima
 d together), Kamchatka, Russia Prefecture, Japan
 Nevado de  Santa Maria/Santiaguito,
Colima, Jalisco and Colima, Guatemala
Mexico  Santorini, Cyclades, Greece
 Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy  Taal Volcano, Luzon,
 Galeras, Nariño, Colombia Philippines
 Mauna Loa, Hawaii, US  Teide, Canary Islands, Spain
 Mount Merapi, Central Java,  Ulawun, New Britain, Papua
Indonesia New Guinea
 Mount Nyiragongo, Democratic  Mount Unzen, Nagasaki
Republic of the Congo Prefecture, Japan
 Mount Rainier, Washington, US  Vesuvius, Naples, Italy
The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project, an initiative of the Deep Carbon
Observatory, monitors nine volcanoes, two of which are Decade volcanoes. The
focus of the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project is to use Multi-Component
Gas Analyzer System instruments to measure CO2/SO2 ratios in real-time and in
high-resolution to allow detection of the pre-eruptive degassing of rising
magmas, improving prediction of volcanic activity.[21]

Effects of volcanoes
Further information: Types of volcanic eruptions

Schematic of volcano injection of aerosols and gases

Solar radiation graph 1958–2008, showing how the radiation is reduced after
major volcanic eruptions

Sulfur dioxide concentration over the Sierra Negra Volcano, Galapagos Islands,

during an eruption in October 2005
There are many different types of volcanic eruptions and associated
activity: phreatic eruptions (steam-generated eruptions), explosive eruption of
high-silica lava (e.g., rhyolite), effusive eruption of low-silica lava
(e.g., basalt), pyroclastic flows, lahars (debris flow) and carbon
dioxide emission. All of these activities can pose a hazard to humans.
Earthquakes, hot springs, fumaroles, mud pots and geysers often accompany
volcanic activity.
Volcanic gases
The concentrations of different volcanic gases can vary considerably from one
volcano to the next. Water vapor is typically the most abundant volcanic gas,
followed by carbon dioxide[22] and sulfur dioxide. Other principal volcanic
gases include hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride. A
large number of minor and trace gases are also found in volcanic emissions, for
example hydrogen, carbon monoxide, halocarbons, organic compounds, and
volatile metal chlorides.
Large, explosive volcanic eruptions inject water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide
(CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF)
and ash (pulverized rock and pumice) into the stratosphere to heights of 16–32
kilometres (10–20 mi) above the Earth's surface. The most significant impacts
from these injections come from the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric
acid (H2SO4), which condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form
fine sulfate aerosols. The SO2 emissions alone of two different eruptions are
sufficient to compare their potential climatic impact.[23] The aerosols increase
the Earth's albedo—its reflection of radiation from the Sun back into space—
and thus cool the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere; however, they also
absorb heat radiated up from the Earth, thereby warming the stratosphere.
Several eruptions during the past century have caused a decline in the average
temperature at the Earth's surface of up to half a degree (Fahrenheit scale) for
periods of one to three years; sulfur dioxide from the eruption
of Huaynaputina probably caused the Russian famine of 1601–1603.[24]
Significant consequences

Comparison of major United States supereruptions (VEI 7 and 8) with major

historical volcanic eruptions in the 19th and 20th century. From left to right:
Yellowstone 2.1 Ma, Yellowstone 1.3 Ma, Long Valley 6.26 Ma, Yellowstone
0.64 Ma . 19th century eruptions: Tambora 1815, Krakatoa 1883. 20th century
eruptions: Novarupta 1912, St. Helens 1980, Pinatubo 1991.
Prehistory
A volcanic winter is thought to have taken place around 70,000 years ago after
the supereruption of Lake Toba on Sumatra island in Indonesia.[25] According to
the Toba catastrophe theory to which some anthropologists and archeologists
subscribe, it had global consequences,[26] killing most humans then alive and
creating a population bottleneck that affected the genetic inheritance of all
humans today.[27]
It has been suggested that volcanic activity caused or contributed to the End-
Ordovician, Permian-Triassic, Late Devonian mass extinctions, and possibly
others. The massive eruptive event which formed the Siberian Traps, one of the
largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earth's geological
history, continued for a million years and is considered to be the likely cause of
the "Great Dying" about 250 million years ago,[28] which is estimated to have
killed 90% of species existing at the time.[29]
Historical
The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora created global climate anomalies that
became known as the "Year Without a Summer" because of the effect on North
American and European weather.[30] Agricultural crops failed and livestock died
in much of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in one of the worst famines of
the 19th century.[31]
The freezing winter of 1740–41, which led to widespread famine in northern
Europe, may also owe its origins to a volcanic eruption.[32]
Acid rain

Ash plume rising from Eyjafjallajökull on April 17, 2010

Sulfate aerosols promote complex chemical reactions on their surfaces that alter
chlorine and nitrogen chemical species in the stratosphere. This effect, together
with increased stratospheric chlorine levels from chlorofluorocarbon pollution,
generates chlorine monoxide (ClO), which destroys ozone (O3). As the aerosols
grow and coagulate, they settle down into the upper troposphere where they
serve as nuclei for cirrus clouds and further modify the
Earth's radiation balance. Most of the hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen
fluoride (HF) are dissolved in water droplets in the eruption cloud and quickly
fall to the ground as acid rain. The injected ash also falls rapidly from the
stratosphere; most of it is removed within several days to a few weeks. Finally,
explosive volcanic eruptions release the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and
thus provide a deep source of carbon for biogeochemical cycles.[33]
Gas emissions from volcanoes are a natural contributor to acid rain. Volcanic
activity releases about 130 to 230 teragrams (145 million to 255 million short
tons) of carbon dioxide each year.[34] Volcanic eruptions may inject aerosols
into the Earth's atmosphere. Large injections may cause visual effects such as
unusually colorful sunsets and affect global climate mainly by cooling it.
Volcanic eruptions also provide the benefit of adding nutrients to soil through
the weathering process of volcanic rocks. These fertile soils assist the growth of
plants and various crops. Volcanic eruptions can also create new islands, as the
magma cools and solidifies upon contact with the water.
Hazards
Main article: Volcanic hazards
Ash thrown into the air by eruptions can present a hazard to aircraft,
especially jet aircraft where the 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. Dangerous encounters in
1982 after the eruption of Galunggung in Indonesia, and 1989 after the eruption
of Mount Redoubt in Alaska raised awareness of this phenomenon.
Nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers were established by the International
Civil Aviation Organization to monitor ash clouds and advise pilots
accordingly. The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull caused major disruptions to
air travel in Europe.

Volcanoes on other celestial bodies

See also: List of extraterrestrial volcanoes, Geology of the Moon, Volcanology
of Mars, Volcanology of Io, and Volcanology of Venus
The Tvashtar volcano erupts a plume 330 km (205 mi) above the surface
of Jupiter's moon Io.
The Earth's Moon has no large volcanoes and no current volcanic activity,
although recent evidence suggests it may still possess a partially molten core.
[35]
 However, the Moon does have many volcanic features such as maria (the
darker patches seen on the moon), rilles and domes.
The planet Venus has a surface that is 90% basalt, indicating that volcanism
played a major role in shaping its surface. The planet may have had a major
global resurfacing event about 500 million years ago,[36] from what scientists
can tell from the density of impact craters on the surface. Lava flows are
widespread and forms of volcanism not present on Earth occur as well.
Changes in the planet's atmosphere and observations of lightning have been
attributed to ongoing volcanic eruptions, although there is no confirmation of
whether or not Venus is still volcanically active. However, radar sounding by
the Magellan probe revealed evidence for comparatively recent volcanic
activity at Venus's highest volcano Maat Mons, in the form of ash flows near
the summit and on the northern flank.
Olympus Mons (Latin, "Mount Olympus"), located on the planet Mars, is the
tallest known mountain in the Solar System.
There are several extinct volcanoes on Mars, four of which are vast shield
volcanoes far bigger than any on Earth. They include Arsia Mons, Ascraeus
Mons, Hecates Tholus, Olympus Mons, and Pavonis Mons. These volcanoes
have been extinct for many millions of years,[37] but the European Mars
Express spacecraft has found evidence that volcanic activity may have occurred
on Mars in the recent past as well.[37]
Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system
because of tidal interaction with Jupiter. It is covered with volcanoes that
erupt sulfur, sulfur dioxide and silicate rock, and as a result, Io is constantly
being resurfaced. Its lavas are the hottest known anywhere in the solar system,
with temperatures exceeding 1,800 K (1,500 °C). In February 2001, the largest
recorded volcanic eruptions in the solar system occurred on Io.[38] Europa, the
smallest of Jupiter's Galilean moons, also appears to have an active volcanic
system, except that its volcanic activity is entirely in the form of water, which
freezes into ice on the frigid surface. This process is known as cryovolcanism,
and is apparently most common on the moons of the outer planets of the solar
system.
In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft observed cryovolcanoes (ice volcanoes)
on Triton, a moon of Neptune, and in 2005 the Cassini–Huygens probe
photographed fountains of frozen particles erupting from Enceladus, a moon
of Saturn.[39][40] The ejecta may be composed of water, liquid
nitrogen, ammonia, dust, or methane compounds. Cassini–Huygens also found
evidence of a methane-spewing cryovolcano on the Saturnian moon Titan,
which is believed to be a significant source of the methane found in its
atmosphere.[41] It is theorized that cryovolcanism may also be present on
the Kuiper Belt Object Quaoar.
A 2010 study of the exoplanet COROT-7b, which was detected by transit in
2009, suggested that tidal heating from the host star very close to the planet and
neighboring planets could generate intense volcanic activity similar to that
found on Io.[42]

Traditional beliefs about volcanoes

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expansion. You can
help by adding to
it. (October 2016)
See also: Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl
Many ancient accounts ascribe volcanic eruptions to supernatural causes, such
as the actions of gods or demigods. To the ancient Greeks, volcanoes'
capricious power could only be explained as acts of the gods, while 16th/17th-
century German astronomer Johannes Kepler believed they were ducts for the
Earth's tears.[43] One early idea counter to this was proposed
by Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), who witnessed eruptions of Mount
Etna and Stromboli, then visited the crater of Vesuvius and published his view
of an Earth with a central fire connected to numerous others caused by the
burning of sulfur, bitumen and coal.
Various explanations were proposed for volcano behavior before the modern
understanding of the Earth's mantle structure as a semisolid material was
developed. For decades after awareness that compression
and radioactive materials may be heat sources, their contributions were
specifically discounted. Volcanic action was often attributed
to chemical reactions and a thin layer of molten rock near the surface.