Latest Types of volcanic eruptions Stories
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A new study is shedding light on the violent lives of monogenetic volcanoes, which erupt when magma and water meet. These volcanoes erupt beneath the surface of the Earth just once before dying, although some eruptions can last for years. Greg A. Valentine, PhD, a University at Buffalo geology professor, said not much is known about maar-diatremes volcanoes. "The hazards that are associated with these volcanoes tend to be...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online New scientific data from the Greek isle of Santorini has shown signs of unrest for the first time in more than 50 years, and could be evidence of an impending eruption similar to the one that last struck in 1950, but far less catastrophic than the one that wiped out Minoan settlements on the island of Crete some 3,600 years ago. The Santorini volcanic eruption circa-1650 BC formed a large crater, or caldera, which is now flooded...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Sixty-five million years ago, the most studied mass extinction in Earth's history happened and the dinosaurs were wiped off the planet. A new study from the University of Washington, published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, indicates that a separate extinction came shortly before that, triggered by volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet and killed life on the ocean floor. A six-mile wide asteroid slamming...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A long-dormant New Zealand volcano erupted on Monday, spewing an ash cloud that disrupted flights and closed highways. The Mount Tongariro volcano located in the middle of the North Island erupted for the first time after lying dormant for more than a century. The last activity the volcano had shown at the site was in 1897, officials said. Witnesses in the area reported seeing "flame-like explosions and a cloud of ash coming from a...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online In addition to being fairly unpredictable, volcanoes can eject a wide range of material, from mile-high plums of black ash to a deadly hail of fist-sized pumice. These ejections travel extremely fast and can reach internal temperatures between 750 to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The prevailing theory has been that the difference in particle size determined when bubbling magma deep below the volcano converts into a rising stream of gas and...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Although volcanic scientists are able to approximate the age of lava flows, determining the exact timing of each of a volcano’s eruptions has proved difficult in the past. A joint research team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, University of Girona, the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and other organizations has looked to establish a chronology of eruptions in the volcanic region of La...
A modern recurrence of an extraordinary type of volcanic eruption in Iceland could inject large quantities of hazardous gases into North Atlantic and European flight corridors, potentially for months at a time, a new study suggests. Using computer simulations, researchers are investigating the likely atmospheric effects if a “flood lava” eruption took place in Iceland today. Flood lava eruptions, which stand out for the sheer amounts of lava and sulfurous gases they release and the way...
A team of scientists that last year created waves by correctly forecasting the 2011 eruption of Axial Seamount years in advance now says that the undersea volcano located some 250 miles off the Oregon coast gave off clear signals just hours before its impending eruption. The researchers’ documentation of inflation of the undersea volcano from gradual magma intrusion over a period of years led to the long-term eruption forecast. But new analyses using data from underwater hydrophones also...
Lee Rannals for RedOrbit.com Volcanoes capable of super-eruptions that could be catastrophic for civilizations have short fuses, according to new research conducted at Vanderbilt University. Super-eruptions are more than 100 times the size of ordinary volcanic eruptions like Mount St. Helens. These types of eruptions spew out super-heated gas, ash and rock, and are capable of leveling entire continents. Researchers say that there is evidence of one super-eruption that took place in...
By studying crystals formed in volcanic rock, experts may be able to predict an impending eruption up to a year in advance, researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered. According to a Thursday press release from the university, Dr. Kate Saunders and her colleagues used forensic-style chemical analysis to link seismic observations of a 1980 eruption at Mount St. Helens to the growth of crystals within the large underground pool of liquid rock beneath the volcano known as the...
Latest Types of volcanic eruptions Reference Libraries
Scoria is a term used by geologists to describe an igneous rock containing many gas bubbles, or vesicules. Scoria forms when magma rich in dissolved gases is vented. As the magma encounters lower pressures, the gasses are able to escape and form bubbles. These bubbles are trapped when the magma cools and solidifies. Volcanic cones of scoria can be left behind after eruptions, usually forming mountains with a crater at the summit. An example is Mount Wellington, Auckland in New Zealand....
Volcanic ash is the term for very fine rock and mineral particles less than 2 mm in diameter that are ejected from a volcanic vent. Ash is created when solid rock shatters and magma separates into minute particles during explosive volcanic activity. The usually violent nature of an eruption involving steam (phreatic eruption) results in the magma and perhaps solid rock surrounding the vent, being torn into particles of silt to sand size. The plume that is often seen above an erupting volcano...
