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1 MOSWord

V
olcanoes
A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet’s surface or crust, which allows hot
magna, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface.

Erupting volcanoes can pose many hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the
eruptions. Large eruptions can affect temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid
obscure the sun and cool the Earth’s lower atmosphere or troposphere; however, they
also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth

Popular classification of volcanoes

Classifying volcanoes most often refers to their life cycle (active, dormant or extinct). Volcanoes can also be classified
by type, that is, the structure and composition of the volcano (strato, conical and shield). Volcanoes can also be
classified as to the kind of eruption they produce (explosive or quiet).

Volcanic features
The structure and behavior of volcanoes depends on a number of factors. Some volcanoes have rugged peaks
formed by lava domes rather than a summit crater, whereas other present landscape features such as massive
plateaus.

Fissure vent Lava dome

Flat, linear cracks through which Build by slow eruptions of highly
lava emerges viscous lavas
Can produce violent, explosive
Shield volcano eruptions
Low and broad
Low-viscosity lava that can flow a Strato-volcano
great distance Tall conical mountains composed
Don’t generally explode of lava flows and other ejecta
catastrophically Greatest hazard to civilization

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Components of a volcanic eruption

Airborne Earthbound

• Ash • Lava
• Gases and steam • Scoria
• Pyroclast • Tephra
• Scoria
Figure 1- Volcanic ejecta by type

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 500 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE

AT THE MOMENT OF ACTIVE VOLCANOES.
Deadliesti volcanic eruptions
Volcanic eruptions can be highly explosive, volatile, or neither. Certain volcanoes have undergone catastrophic eruptions, killing countless numbers of
people.
Table 1- Volcanoes from MOSWord.com

Rank Event Location Date Death toll Type

1 Mount Tambora Sumbawa, Indonesia April 10, 1815 92,000 Strato-volcano
2 Krakatoa Krakatoa, Indonesia August 26-27, 1883 36,000 Caldera
3 Mount Vesuvius Naples, Italy August 25, 79 AD 33,000 Somma
4 Mount Pelee Martinique, Lesser Antilles May 8, 1902 29,000 Strato-volcano
5 Nevado del RuizCaldas Tomila, Columbia November 13, 1985 23,000 Strato-volcano
6 Mount Unzen Kyushu, Japan 1792 15,000 Strato-volcano
7 Mount Kelut East Java, Indonesia 1586 10,000 Strato-volcano
8 Laki Iceland June 8, 1783 9,350 Fissure Events
9 Santa Maria Quetzaltenango, Guatemala 1902 6,000 Strato-volcano
10 Mount Kelut East Java, Indonesia May 19, 1919 5,115 Strato-volcano

Super-volcano: the great devastator

A super-volcano is a large volcano that usually has a large caldera and can potentially produce devastation on an
enormous, sometimes continental, scale. Such eruptions would be able to cause severe cooling of global
temperatures for many years afterwards because of the hugh volumes of sulfur and ash erupted. 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 Ngorogoro Crater in Tanzania, Krakatoa near Java and Sumatra, Indonesia.

Living with volcanoes

There are about 1500 active volcanoes in the world and around 50 of these erupt each year.

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