The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

Solution Manual for Changing Earth Exploring

Geology and Evolution 7th Edition by Monroe and
Wicander ISBN 128573341X 9781285733418
Full download link at:
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Chapter 5:
Volcanoes and Volcanism

Chapter Outline

5.1 Introduction
5.2 Volcanism and Volcanoes
5.3 What are the Types of Volcanoes?
GEO-INSIGHT 5.1: Do Volcanic Gases Cause Ozone Depletion?
5.4 Other Volcanic Landforms
5.5 Volcano Belts
5.6 North America’s Active Volcanoes
5.7 Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, and Plutons
5.8 Volcanic Hazards, Volcano Monitoring and Forecasting Volcanic Eruptions
Key Concepts Review

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this material, the student should understand the following.

 In addition to lava flows, erupting volcanoes eject pyroclastic materials, especially ash
and gases.
 Geologists identify the basic types of volcanoes by their eruptive style, composition, and
shape.
 Although all volcanoes are unique, most are identified as shield volcanoes, cinder cones,
or composite volcanoes.
 Volcanoes characterized as lava domes tend to erupt explosively and are therefore
dangerous.
 Active volcanoes in the United States are found in Hawaii, Alaska, and the Cascade
Range of the Pacific Northwest.
 Eruptions in Hawaii and Alaska are commonplace, but only two eruptions have occurred
in the continental United States during the 1900s and one in 2004. Canada has had no
eruptions during historic times.
The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

 Some eruptions yield vast sheets of lava or pyroclastic materials rather than forming
volcanoes.
 Geologists have devised the volcanic explosivity index as a measure of an eruption’s size.
 Most volcanoes are located in belts at or near divergent and convergent plate boundaries.
 Some volcanoes are carefully monitored to help geologists anticipate eruptions.

Chapter Summary
 Volcanism encompasses those processes by which magma rises to the surface as lava
flows and pyroclastic materials, and gases are released into the atmosphere.
 Gases make up only a few percent by weight of magma. Most is water vapor, but sulfur-
gases may have far-reaching climatic effects, and carbon dioxide is dangerous.
 Aa lava flows have surfaces of jagged, angular blocks, whereas the surfaces of pahoehoe
flows are smoothly wrinkled.
 Other features of lava flows are lava tubes and columnar joints. Lava erupted under water
typically forms bulbous masses known as pillow lava.
 Volcanoes are found in various shapes and sizes, but all form where lava and pyroclastic
materials erupt from a vent.
 The summits of volcanoes have either a crater or a much larger caldera. Calderas form
following voluminous eruptions, and the volcano peak collapses into a partially drained
magma chamber.
 Shield volcanoes have low, rounded profiles and are composed mostly of mafic flows
that cool and form basalt. Small, steep-sided cinder cones form around a vent where
pyroclastic materials erupt and accumulate. Composite volcanoes are made of lava flows
and pyroclastic materials of intermediate composition and volcanic mudflows.
 Viscous, bulbous masses of lava, generally of felsic composition, form lava domes which
are dangerous because they erupt explosively.
 Fluid mafic lava from fissure eruptions spreads over large areas to form a basalt plateau.
 Pyroclastic sheet deposits result from huge eruptions of ash and other pyroclastic
materials, particularly when calderas form.
 Geologists have devised a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) to give semiquantitative
measure of the size of an eruption. Volume of material erupted and the height of the
eruption plume are criteria used to determine the VEI; fatalities and property damage are
not considered.
 Approximately 80 percent of all volcanic eruptions take place in the circum-Pacific and
the Mediterranean belts, mostly at convergent plate boundaries. Most of the rest of the
eruptions occur along mid-oceanic ridges or their extensions onto land.
 The two active volcanoes on the island of Hawaii and the one just to the south lie above a
hot spot over which the Pacific Plate moves.
 To effectively monitor volcanoes, geologists evaluate several physical and chemical
aspects of volcanic regions. Of particular importance in monitoring volcanoes and
forecasting eruptions is detecting volcanic tremor and determining the eruptive history of
a volcano.
The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

Enrichment Topics
Topic 1. Undersea Eruption. Fantastic footage of an undersea eruption in the North Pacific
was captured by NOAA. The footage is from 1800 feet below sea level at the Brimstone Pit
erupting through the Philippines Plate. http://news.discovery.com/videos/earth-undersea-
eruption-now-in-stereo.html

Topic 2. Flood Basalts and Mass Extinctions. The Deccan Traps, a region of plateau basalts
that erupted about 65 million years ago, may be the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs
and other contemporaneous Late Cretaceous fauna rather than the favored asteroid impact
hypothesis. The argument is that the climatic effects of such large scale eruptions would be
sufficient to cause extinctions. Professor Andy Saunders has linked the Siberian Traps with
the end of Permian extinctions, plus many other extinctions with flood basalt events.
http://www.geosociety.org/news/pr/07-59.htm;
http://geoweb.princeton.edu/people/keller/deccan/deccan.html
http://www.le.ac.uk/gl/ads/SiberianTraps/FBandME.html

Topic 3. Volcanism and Antarctic Ice Loss. Climate change may cause the West Antarctic
ice sheet to melt, which will raise global sea level. The recent discovery of evidence of a
volcanic eruption taking place beneath the ice is a big concern since a volcanic eruption
beneath the ice will cause melting from the bottom, as well as melting from warmer
temperatures at the top. Add to that the possibility that melting beneath the ice sheet can
cause water to lubricate the location where the ice meets the underlying rock and cause the
ice sheet to slip into the sea faster. http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2013/11/magma-boils-
beneath-antarctic-ice

Common Misconceptions
Misconception 1: Below the surface, the inside of Earth is entirely molten. Volcanoes are
places where this material “squirts out.”
Fact: Below the surface, Earth is solid—although the asthenosphere does behave like a
plastic—to a depth of about 1,800 miles. For now, it may be enough to note the distribution
of active and recently active volcanoes. These are in belts, or occasional isolated spots, but
are by no means randomly distributed, as one might expect if there were molten material
everywhere beneath the surface. See also Lecture Suggestion 3, below.

Misconception 2: Volcanic eruptions are responsible for global warming.

Fact: Some people do not accept that human activities are causing the rise in greenhouse
gases that is causing global warming. This suggests the alternative that volcanoes emit more
greenhouse gases during eruptions and therefore are responsible for the bulk of the warming.
In truth, the amount emitted by volcanoes is relatively tiny. The annual contribution of CO2 to
the atmosphere by volcanoes is 200 million tons, less than one percent of the nearly 30 billion
tons emitted by human activities. This human enhanced greenhouse effect may cause an
average annual global warming of 3 to 5oC over the next 50 years.
The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

Lecture Suggestions
1. To demonstrate the concept of viscosity, it is helpful to show students the rates at which
different fluids flow down an inclined surface. You can do this by pouring a small
amount of each of several types of fluid onto a piece of plywood or similar flat surface.
Incline the plywood toward the class so that the fluids flow downward toward them.
Vegetable oil, honey, molasses, and oatmeal provide a good range of flow rates.

2. Differential viscosity can also be illustrated in this manner. Place three small samples of
honey or molasses in separate beakers. Put one sample in a bath of ice water and another
in a bath of hot water before class and let them sit until they warm or cool significantly.
By pouring the three samples simultaneously, you can show the students how
temperature has a significant effect on the viscosity of a given substance. They may
remember this better if you remind them of the old phrase, “as slow as molasses in
January.”

3. Is the inside of Earth entirely molten? Aside from an argument based on the distribution
of active volcanoes (see Common Misconceptions, above), try this simple demonstration.
Bring two identical looking eggs to class, one of them hard boiled, the other uncooked.
During the discussion of magma sources, spin the hard cooked egg on its long axis. Then,
you may invite (or select) two students to come forward, give each of them one of the
eggs, and ask each to spin his/her egg (not too close to the table edge). One student (with
the cooked egg) should be able to do this, without much trouble. The other student will
find it impossible. Some of the students by now may have guessed at the difference
between the eggs, or you can elicit the answer. You can then point out the analogy with
Earth, which spins very well (with a little wobble) on its axis.

4. Don't forget the comparison of dissolved gases in a magma coming out of solution as the
magma rises to the surface (and pressure is released) to what happens when a bottle of
club soda is opened. You can even bring a bottle to class, shake it up, and while pointing
it at the class, ask what will happen if you open the top. Even when you don't go through
with it, they will get the point. It’s more fun when you “erupt” the bottle, though.

5. Studying volcanoes sounds like a lot of fun but it can be very dangerous. David Johnston
died in the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. His last words were “Vancouver!
Vancouver! This is it…” Harry Glicken, who was supposed to be on St. Helens that
morning, was killed with two French volcanologists by a pyroclastic flow on Mount
Unzen in 1991. In 1993 six volcanologists were killed on Galeras in Columbia while
attending a conference on predicting volcanic eruptions. Students may be interested in
learning more about these fascinating people and why they are so compelled to study
volcanoes that they would put their lives in danger.

Consider This
1. Why are felsic magmas more viscous than mafic magmas?
The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

2. Where are the most hotspots found? Are they found everywhere on oceanic plates? Are
they found on continental plates? How does a mantle plume penetrate the thickness of the
continental lithosphere to create an eruption?

3. Do volcanic eruptions vary in frequency on a human timescale? Are there certain years or
decades in which eruptions are more common?

4. What different kinds of hazards can people living near volcanoes expect? Why do people
live on and near known or potentially active volcanoes? What are some benefits which
volcanoes may provide?

Important Terms
aa lava tube
basalt plateau Mediterranean belt
caldera nuée ardent
Cascade Range pahoehoe
cinder cone pillow lava
circum-Pacific belt pyroclastic sheet deposit
columnar joint shield volcano
composite volcano (stratovolcano) volcanic ash
crater volcanic explosivity index (VEI)
fissure eruption volcanic tremor
lahar volcanism
lava dome volcano

Internet Sites, Videos, Software, and Demonstration Aids

Internet Sites

1. Mt. St. Helens: Back From the Dead. NOVA Online, PBS (2010)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/mt-st-helens.html
Life returns to Mt. St. Helens. Could another eruption be in the volcano’s future?

2. Kilauea: Mountain of Fire. Nature Online, PBS (2010)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/kilauea-mountain-of-fire/introduction/4718/
The world’s most active volcano has been eruption continuously since 1983; it’s Kilauea,
on Hawaii’s Big Island.

3. Space Age Volcano Monitoring Network, JPL

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=858
Monitoring Mount Saint Helens from space using NASA technology.

4. Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution http://www.volcano.si.edu/

This website looks at Holocene volcanoes and eruptions. You can also use this as a
gateway to Google Earth’s volcano map.
The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

5. Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius. NOVA online, PBS (1998)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vesuvius/
The story of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius, and the risk the people of Naples face today.

6. Hawaii Born of Fire. NOVA Online, PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hawaii/

A look at the Hawaiian Islands, from molten rock to verdant landscape.

7. Violent Hawaii. Nature, PBS Video. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/violent-

hawaii/video-full-episode/1422/
The Hawaiian Islands create a chain that stretches 1,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean,
where volcanoes and living creatures thrive.

8. Volcanoes, United States Geological Survey http://www.usgs.gov/themes/volcano.html

The USGS looks at volcanoes has natural hazards, which can bring risks to life, property
and infrastructure.

9. Volcano World, Oregon State http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/

Hot topics in volcanology with an archive that covers many topics.

10. Cascades Volcano Observatory http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/home.html

Mt. St. Helens and other volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest including current activity.

11. Volcano Video Productions http://www.volcanovideo.com/

Video clips and DVDs for sale of volcanic features and eruptions focusing on Kilauea in
Hawaii. Includes eruption updates; Kilauea: Close-up of an Active Volcano; Lava Flows
and Lava Tubes: What they are and How they Form; Eruption at Sea and others.

Videos

1. Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, IMAX (2003, 40 mins.)

Volcanoes at spreading centers 12,000 feet below the ocean’s surface with dramatic
landscapes and strange creatures.

2. Volcano! Nature’s Inferno. National Geographic DVD (1990, 60 mins.)

Learn about volcanoes as you travel around the world and join volcanologists in their
efforts to forecast eruptions.

3. Volcano under the City. NOVA, PBS DVD (2006, 60 mins.)

An active volcano in central Africa is the study site for a team of scientists.

4. In the Path of a Killer Volcano. NOVA, PBS DVD (1993, 60 mins.)

The massive evacuation that was prompted by the imminent eruption of Mount Pinatubo
in the Philippines.

5. Mystery of the Megavolcano. NOVA, PBS (2006, 56 mins.)

Evidence of the greatest volcanic eruption of the last 100,000 years is found in a remote
lake in Southeast Asia.

6. Supervolcano: It’s Under Yellowstone and its Overdue, Discovery Communications (105
mins.)
The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

Yellowstone National Park with its amazing geysers and wildlife is above an enormous
mantle plume that could erupt at any time.

7. The Earth Revealed. Annenberg/CPB Collection.

 # 13: Volcanism. What volcanoes tell scientists about the Earth’s interior, the
processes that create them and the various types of volcanic features and
phenomena are explored.
 # 25: Living With Earth, Part I, Destructive Natural Phenomena.

8. Everything You Need to Know: Volcanoes. Insight Media (2007, 56 mins.).

An introduction to volcanoes and the parts of an eruption.

9. Forces that Shape the Earth. Insight Media (2000, 29 mins)

Forces that form and reform rocks and landforms on Earth.

10. Volcanism. Insight Media (1999, 15 mins.)

The formation of volcanoes and the importance of volcanic activity to the Earth.

11. Volcanoes. Insight Media (2004, 15 mins.)

Introduction to basaltic and andesitic volcanism.

12. Volcanoes of the United States. Insight Media (2004, 24 mins.)

Ancient and current volcanoes of the U.S. explored.

Slide sets
1. Geologic Hazards Slide Sets; Volcanoes, 8 sets available. National Geophysical Data
Center. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/hazardsimages.html

2. Geothermal Activity and Energy. Educational Images, Ltd.

3. Volcanism, digital images. GeoPhoto Publishing.

Answers to Figure-Related Critical Thinking Questions

Critical Thinking Question Figure 5.3
Are volcanic gases dangerous to humans?

Yes; H2S repels at first, then deadens the olfactory nerves, then kills. CO and CO2 can kill by
denying O2.

❯ ❯ Critical Thinking Question Figure 5.5

What controls whether a lava flow is aa or pahoehoe?

Both types, aa and pahoehoe, originate from the same sources and are of the same composition.
Time and temperature makes the difference: initial flows are hotter and produce more fluid
pahoehoe. In time the same flow that produced the pahoehoe may change to the aa characteristic.
Later flows from the same volcanic event may be cooler and flow as aa types. Gas content may
also have an effect, but the gases are released more rapidly with higher temperatures.
The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution, 7e Instructor’s Manual

❯ ❯ Critical Thinking Question Figure 5.6

What inferences can you make about where this pillow lava formed?

The Kenai Fjords park pillow lava appears to be similar to that found in the Mona Schist on US-
41 in the UP of Michigan. Flows like this into ocean basins are common at divergent plate
boundaries as the top of the ophiolite suite of ocean crust.

❯ ❯ Critical Thinking Question Figure 5.14

Why do you think lava domes are so dangerous?

Lava domes, just like the one that formed in Mt. St. Helens in July 1980, are indications of fluid
pressure building up beneath a thin rock crust. The condition is an indication that an explosion is
possible, maybe like that in May. (OK – it did blow, but not as bad.) Domes are messengers, and
although not all of them blow dangerously, the message should be acted on.

❯ ❯ Critical Thinking Question Figure 5.17

Why is magma at divergent plate boundaries mafic, whereas magma at convergent plate
boundaries is intermediate or felsic?

In general, these concepts are true, but when you examine volcanoes around the world, there are
exceptions to this “rule”.

At divergent boundaries source magma comes right from the mantle – mafic concentration! At
the convergent boundary where mafic magma may originate as the subducted plate makes contact
with the heat of the asthenosphere. But as that mafic diaper moves up through the overlying
lithosphere and crust, other processes such as magma mixing, assimilation, and underplating
favor the production of granitic and andesitic magma.

❯ ❯ Critical Thinking Question Figure 5.21

Why are numbers of fatalities and property damage not used in assigning a VEI value to an
eruption?

The extent of volcanic impacts can be mitigated by proper warning to populations in harm’s way.
Some volcanoes exist in areas without human population pressures. The human toll has nothing
to do with the explosivity.

Suggested Answer to Selected Short Answer Question

(Answers to question 6 and question 10 provided in the appendix to the text)

8. What criteria do geologists use to assign a volcanic explosivity index

(VEI) value to an eruption?

Suggested Answer:
The VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) is based on the volume of material
explosively ejected and the height of the eruption plume.