Volcanoes

A volcano is a hole or crack in the ground through which gases, lava (liquid) and pyroclastic material
(solid) are erupted. The vent is connected to a magma chamber.

➔ Copy Complete Geo pg 91 or pg 93 “What comes out of a volcano?”

Features of a volcano:

• Magma chamber - large underground pool of magma

• Lava - magma, once it reaches the surface
• Pyroclastic flow- a mixture of hot steam, ash, rock and dust. They can roll down the sides of a
volcano at very high speeds and with temperatures of over 400°C.
• Crater - bowl-shaped basin in the top of the volcano which is created after an eruption blows the
top off the volcano. They are usually less than 1km in diameter.
• Caldera- is a huge crater caused when a volcanic cone collapses into a partly empty magma
chamber after a powerful eruption. Yellowstone National Park in the USA and the Ngorongoro
Crater in Tanzania are well known examples.
• Vent - central tube which magma travels through
• The main vent is the main outlet for the magma to escape.
• Secondary vents are smaller outlets through which magma escapes.
• Secondary cones - eruptions from other vents may build up secondary cones on the flanks
• Ash, steam and gas - material thrown out by the volcano
• Volcanic bombs - larger material thrown out by the force of eruption.
• Parasitic cones: are smaller cones which develop on the sides of a bigger volcano. They form
when the main vent becomes blocked and the magma finds another outlet. (see drawing under
stratovolcano notes).
• Lava domes- grow on the sides of stratovolcanoes. They form from very viscous lava that is pale
in colour and has a high silica content. This lava does not flow very far before solidifying, so the
cones produced have steep convex sides. Lava domes often collapse leading to explosive
eruptions and pyroclastic flows.
→Draw: Features of a Volcano

→Draw:
Volcanoes are formed along the destructive (oceanic to continental like the Andes and oceanic to
oceanic), constructive boundaries (eg the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) as well as magma hotspots. Magma
rises because it is less dense than the surrounding solid rocks. An eruption occurs when pressure in
the magma chamber forces magma up the main vent, towards the crater at the top of the volcano.
Some magma will also be forced out of the secondary vent at the side of the volcano.
• Magma often contains water dissolved within it as gas.
• The size, shape and effects of a volcanic eruption depend on the viscosity (refers to the
resistance to flow. Low viscosity means that it is easy to flow) of the lava that formed the
volcano.
• In runnier magmas the gas can escape. But in thick viscous magmas, the gas is released
explosively at the surface-producing violent eruptions that spray lava high into the air.
• Bubbles of liquid lava burst explosively in the air, then the material cools and solidifies and
falls to the ground. This is how the pyroclastic material (solid) is produced.
• The build-up of this material leads to the formation of a volcano

Volcanoes are described as being active when they constantly erupt or when they have erupted in
recorded time. They become dormant when no eruption has taken place for a long time, but still
shows signs that they might erupt, for example, they may have patches in the rocks from which
gases escape. Extinct volcanoes show no activity and are unlikely to erupt again.
Ideas of volcanic extinction, dormancy and activity are only relative. Nobody is ever certain about
what is happening underneath the crust. Some volcanoes were thought to be extinct, yet they have
erupted.

Types of volcanoes

1) Composite volcanoes / Stratovolcanoes

Are steep-sided (slope angles of 6-10° at the bottom of the volcano and up to 30° near the summit)

They are cone-shaped and the steep slopes are a result of the short, wide and very viscous lava flow
which do not travel very far from the vent.

They are made up of alternating layers of pyroclastic material (can make up over half the volume
of a composite volcano) and sticky lava which doesn't flow very far.

Due to the high viscosity of magma erupted from composite volcanoes, they are usually more
explosive than shield volcanoes. Their lava is paler in colour and has a higher silica content.

Hundreds and even thousands of years make this type of volcano particularly dangerous, because
people are reluctant to heed warnings about possible eruptions. Often, the eruptions have two
phases:
1) an explosive phase which unblocks the vent and produces pyroclastic material,
2) second phase which produces lava.

➔ DRAW Complete Geo pg 94 or pg 98 fig 3.19

Composite volcano examples
 2) Shield volcanoes
Shield volcanoes are formed in the oceans often at constructive plate margins. They occur on the
Hawaiian Islands (e.g the volcanoes Mauna Loa in Hawaii and Erta Ale in Ethiopia) as well as on
Iceland.
They rise from the deep ocean floor and have gentle upper slopes (at an angle of about 5°), and
steeper lower slopes (at an angle of 10°)
Usually have a roughly circular or oval shape in map view and cover a wide area. They are composed
of entirely of long thin lava flows built up over a central vent and have very little pyroclastic material
associated with them

They are mostly formed by runny lava that flows easily down the slope away from the summit vent.
This lava is dark in colour and has a low silica content (It is sometimes called basic lava in older
textbooks). The low viscosity of the magma allows the flow lava to flow quickly down a gentle
slope. But as it cools and gets less runny-its thickness builds up on the lower slopes, which explains
their steeper profile.

➔ Draw: Complete Geo pg 93 or pg 97 fig 3.16

Shield volcano examples

Mauna Lao

Erta Ale’s “lava lake”

 ➔ DRAW Summary of Composite and Shield Volcanoes:

Generally, shield volcanoes have spectacular but not dangerous eruptions, whereas composite
volcanoes are the most dangerous as they contain gases that increase the explosivity. The Volcanic
Explosivity Index (VEI) is the scale which is used to measure the intensity of a volcanic eruption.
 ➔ Copy Complete Geo pg 95 or pg 99 the dangers of volcanic eruptions

The distribution of volcanoes

There are approximately 1500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide. Volcanoes occur in narrow,
linear belts and are mostly found along destructive boundaries with large numbers found around the
Pacific Ring of Fire. 75% of Earth’s volcanoes are located along the Ring of Fire. 90% of Earth’s
earthquakes occur along its path, including the planet’s most violent and dramatic seismic events.

Volcanoes are also found at constructive plate margins such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. An
exception to the general distribution of volcanoes is those found in the middle of the Pacific Plate
(the Hawaiian Islands) which are formed due to hotspot activity (hotspot- a thermal column of
magma which rises underneath a tectonic plate).
As well as describing the distribution of volcanoes you will need to be able to describe and explain
their occurrence at plate boundaries:

Volcanoes at Destructive Boundaries:

1. Plates move together due to convection currents

2. Heavier oceanic plate is subdued

3. Friction between the plates and heat from the interior causes the subducting plate to meet

4. Melting of the plate creates molten magma

5. This magma is less dense than its surrounding and therefore rises and is erupted at the surface
through a weakness in the crust creating a volcano.

6. Volcanoes at Destructive boundaries tend to be quite explosive due to the build-up of pressure
and gases.

Volcanoes at Constructive Boundaries:

1. Plates move away from each other due to convection currents

2. This creates a weakness / 'gap' in the crust

3. Magma can rise to plug the gap forming lava flows and submarine volcanoes

4. As magma continues to build up above the surface of the ocean, volcanic islands (such as Surtsey)
may form.

5. Eruptions at constructive boundaries tend to be gentle with little pressure build

Reducing the risk of volcanic eruptions
➔ Copy Complete Geo pg 96 table 3.4 or pg100 table 3.4 (also take note of the similarities with
EM pg pg152)

Advantages of living near volcanoes

➔ Copy Complete Geo pg 97 table 3.5 or pg 101 table 3.5. (also take note of the similarities with
EM pg pg168-169)

Crowds Gathering in Iceland to Witness Volcano Eruption

QUESTION: Would you be as daring as these tourists??
#UltimateSelfie 😊
CASE STUDY EXAMPLES:

1) Case study - volcanic eruption in a developing country: Mt Nyiragongo

In January 2002, fast-flowing basalt lava, (1,000 kilometres wide) poured out of Mount Nyiragongo
and into the city of Goma. 100 people died, mostly from poisonous gas and becoming trapped in
lava.

Nyiragongo is a steep-sided, active volcano. It is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nyiragongo and the shield volcano of Nyamuragira, 40 km away, are part of the East African Rift
Valley. This is an area of many faults where the plates are being stretched as they move away from
each other.

Cause of the eruption

The eruption happened on 17 January 2002. The volcano has a lava lake in its
crater. Fissures opened up to the south side of the volcano and three streams of lava from the lake
drained through the fissures. The lava reached speeds of 60 km/h. There was very little warning as
the lava reached the city of Goma. The unrest in the country made it difficult to monitor the volcano
and put emergency responses in place.

Social impacts

• 12,500 homes were destroyed by ash and lava.

• 400,000 people were evacuated.
• Many people had to move to overcrowded refugee camps.
• 45 people died in the first 24 hours.
• Thelava flow made it difficult to travel around Goma as it filled the roads. Aid agencies
were unable to access some areas of Goma.
• The lava took a long time to cool and it burnt people as they tried to return to their homes.
• Cholera spread because of lack of sanitation in areas that people fled to.
• Around 50 people were killed when fuel exploded while they were trying to siphon it off at
a petrol station.
• 14 nearby villages were destroyed in the lava flow.
Economic consequences

• Lava covered 15 per cent of the city of Goma and destroyed 30 per cent of the city.
• People returned to Goma hoping to find aid. One month after the eruption, 350,000 people were
dependant on aid.
• People lost their businesses and jobs.
• Aviation fuel stores exploded as the lava flow damaged Goma airport.
• Due to poverty, most people could not afford to rebuild their homes.

Environmental risks

• Poisonous gases caused acid rain, which affected farmland and cattle. Many farmers lost income.
Had the lava reached Lake Kivu, or seismic activity disrupted the lake, then dangerous levels of
carbon dioxide and methane could have been released.
• Carbon dioxide levels are still a serious (and possibly deadly) issue in areas where winds do not
disperse the released gases.

2) Case study - eruption in a developed country: Eyjafjallajökull

Iceland has several volcanoes and is situated on two tectonic plates – the North American plate and
Eurasian plate.

The volcano, situated on the Eastern Volcanic zone in southern Iceland, began erupting lava on 20
March 2010. At first there was not much explosive activity. A second eruption then began beneath
the ice cap near the summit of the volcano on 14 April. This eruption caused the melting of large
amounts of ice, leading to flooding in southern Iceland.
The interaction of magma and water created a plume of very fine volcanic ash and gas over 10
kilometres (33,000 feet) high, which spread out and was carried by winds south-eastwards towards
the Faroe Islands, Norway, and northern Scotland.

One of the main effects of the eruption and the ash cloud that followed, was the closure European airspace
for seven days.
The economic cost of the eruption

• Airlines lost a combined £130 million per day in lost revenues, according to the International Air
Transport Association (IATA).
• Europe's biggest tourism businesses lost between £5 million and £6 million per day.
• As passengers looked for other ways to travel than flying, many different transport companies were
able to benefit.
• There was a huge increase in passenger numbers on Eurostar. It saw an increase of nearly a third,
with 50,000 extra passengers travelling on their trains.
• Exporters of perishable goods from the Caribbean and Africa were badly affected. Kenyan farmers
reportedly resorted to dumping stocks of fresh food and flowers, which would otherwise have
been sold to Europe. Kenya's economy lost £2.8 billion because of flights to Europe being
cancelled.
• Japanese car manufacturer Nissan halted production of several models for one day because it was
not able to import parts from Ireland.
• As a result of staff being stranded abroad, meetings being cancelled and delays to air mail, many
businesses worldwide lost money.

The Iceland volcanic eruption disrupts air traffic

Environmental impact

• Ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano deposited dissolved iron into the North Atlantic, triggering
a plankton bloom
• The mass-grounding of European flights prevented the emission of some 2.8m tonnes of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere (according to the Environmental Transport Association)
• The eruption on 14 April set off a major flood in Iceland, when erupted lava partly melted a glacier
prompting authorities to order 700 people to evacuate.

Social impact

• The people living in the rural areas 'downwind' of the volcano had to wear goggles and facemasks as
the ash was so thick.
• 500 local cattle farmers and their families had to be evacuated from the area around the volcano.
• Many of the roads surrounding the volcano were shut down.
• The ash contaminated local water supplies. Farmers near the volcano were warned not to let their
livestock drink from contaminated streams and water sources, as high concentrations of fluoride
from the ash mixed with river water can have deadly effects, particularly in sheep.
SUMMARISE: