Volcanoes

GE 4150- Natural Hazards

Kelly Durst- Mt. Rainier

Earths Structure

Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics
Divergent margins: Plate separation and decompression
melting -> low volatile abundance, low SiO2 (~50%), low
viscosity basaltic magmas (e.g. Krafla, Iceland)
Convergent margins : Mixtures of basalt from the mantle,
remelted continental crust and material from the subducted
slab. High volatile abundance, intermediate SiO2 (60-70%), high
viscosity andesites and dacites (e.g. Montserrat, West Indies)
Intraplate `Hot-spot` settings:
A. Oceanic: Mantle plumes melt thin oceanic crust
producing low viscosity basaltic magmas (e.g. Kilauea,
Hawaii)
B. Continental: Mantle plumes melt thicker, silicic
continental crust producing highly silicic (>70% SiO2)
rhyolites (e.g. Yellowstone, USA)

Kelly Durst- Colima, Mexico

Volcanic Settings

Where do volcanoes occur?

Ring of Fire

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?content_spotlight/earthquakes/studying_predicting

Volcanic Rocks

http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/NaturalHazardsAndDisasters/Volcanoes/1/ENZ-Resources/Standard/3/en

Igneous Rock Classification

A chemical classification of volcanics based on total alkalis vs. silica. After Le Bas et al. (1986) J. Petrol., 27, 745-750.
Oxford University Press.

Viscosity
Viscosity- fluidity of a liquid, its internal
resistance to flow.
Magma viscosity is affected by:
Temperature, higher temperature lowers
viscosity
Silica (SiO2) increase viscosity because
stronger bonds are formed
Increasing content of mineral crystals
increases viscosity
Kelly Durst- Mt. St. Helens

Volcanic Rocks

Natural Disasters Sixth Edition by Patrick L. Abbott

Magma
Generated by:
-Lowering pressure
-Raising Temperature
-Increasing water
content (volatiles)
As magma rises, pressure
decreases, and gases
come out of solution,
forming bubbles that
expand with decreasing
pressure
Natural Disasters Sixth Edition by Patrick L. Abbott

Eruption Styles
Explosive
Gas-particle dispersion flows out of the vent

Extrusive
Lava flows or domes

Explosive
volcanic
eruptions

Strombolian

Vulcanian
Plinian
Increasing SiO2, increasing volatiles (mainly water), increasing explosiveness

Extrusive
eruptions
Lava flows

Lava domes
Photo: Copyright Marco Fulle - Stromboli OnLine - http://stromboli.net

Types of Volcanoes
Shield Volcanoes
Flood Basalts
Scoria Cones
Stratovolcanoes
Lava Domes
Calderas
Kelly Durst- Mt. Hood

Shield Volcanoes
Low viscosity
Low Volatiles
Produce large volume from lava
flows
Basaltic
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/ShieldVolcano.html

Shallow slopes
Fissure eruptions

http://mahi.ucsd.edu/Gabi/erth10.dir/shield.iceland.jpeg

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/Fi
ssureEruption_examps.html

Flood Basalts
Largest volcanic events on Earth
Erupt extremely large amounts of magma in a
relatively short time of 1 million years.
Occur on all continents and on all ocean floors,
but none has occurred in historic time
Although lava flows are the main hazard, the
large amount of CO2 and SO2 released is able
to modify our climate

Kelly Durst

Scoria Cones
Conical Hills, Low Height
Basaltic-Andesitic
Produced during a single
eruptive event (usually
Strombolian eruptions), lasting a
few hours to several years
Once activity ceases usually
never active again

http://www.geology.wisc.edu/courses/g112/Images/paricutin.jpg

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/volcano-scoria-cone.jpg

Stratovolcanoes
Steep-sided, symmetrical peaks
Built of alternating layers of pyroclastic
deposits and capped by andesitic-rhyolitic
lava flows
Eruption styles vary from Vulcanian-Plinian
Highly viscous lavas, Usually explosive
eruptions
Comprise 60% of the Earths volcanoes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FujiSunriseKawa
guchiko2025WP.jpg

Kelly Durst- Mt. Rainier

Produce pyroclastic flows, lahars, ash

plumes and lava flows

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/Shasta/Images/Shasta84
_mount_shasta_with_shastina_1984_med.jpg

Lava Domes
Domes are built after large eruptions, expelling all
of the high volatile magma. Leaving behind high
viscosity magma with low volatiles, which in turn
forms a plug or dome
Can form in a few hours or grow over decades
Pose many hazards such as: pyroclastic flows,
lava flows and lahars.

Bill Rose- Santa Mara

Mont Pele

Kelly Durst- Mt. St. Helens

Calderas
Caldera-forming eruptions are the
largest of the violent, explosive
volcanoes
Large volcanic depressions formed by
roof collapse into partially erupted
magma chambers
Calderas range from 2-75 km in
diameter and are formed by inward
collapse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Santorini_Landsat.jpg

Collapse occurs following large Plinian

eruptions producing pyroclasts. Void
spaces are left causing the mountain to
collapse into the magma chamber
Three different Caldera settings:
1. Calderas in the summit of
shield cones (Mauna Loa)
2. Summit of stratovolcanoes
(Crater Lake Oregon)
3. Giant continental calderas
(Yellowstone)

Giant Continental Calderas

Yellowstone
Yellowstone sits above a hotspot composed of rhyolitic
magma
Three Ultra-plinian eruptions have occurred in the past 2
million (2500 km3), 1.3 million (280 km3) , and 0.6 million
years ago (240 km3)
Deposit very high volumes of rhyolitic magma mainly in
the forms of pyroclastic flows.
An eruption of 1000 km3 would cover an area of 30000
km2, with a mass of pyroclastic debris ranging from a
few to more than 100 m thickness
http://geology.com/news/labels/Volcanoes.html

http://www.yellowstonegis.utah.edu/maps/locations/CalderaRim.html

http://people.uwec.edu/ERICKSKM/hazards.html

Volcanoes on Other Planets

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970321.html

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2
006/vesper.html

Volcano Monitoring

Kelly Durst- Mt. St. Helens

Seismic Monitoring

Magma rises into reservoir

beneath volcano

Rising magma and volcanic

gases exert pressure

High pressure causes rocks to

break, triggering earthquakes

Volcanoes first warning sign is usually

a seismic signal
Low magnitude, Occur in swarms
Need a network of seismometers to
determine the location of the
earthquake
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/About/What/Monitor/Seis/SeisMonitor.html

Ground Deformation
EDM electronic distance measurement,
measures the distance between 2 benchmarks
on the volcano
Tiltmeters- is placed in the ground with a
container filled with fluid and a bubble which
measures changes in slope.
GPS-global positioning system, measures
horizontal and vertical movement, replacing the
EDM
Satellite Interferometry- Satellite sensor uses
RADAR to obtain elevations, when compared
with other images can determine deformation

Gas Monitoring
Gases dissolved in
magma are driving forces
for an eruption
By monitoring specific
gases, coupled with other
monitoring data, hazard
warnings can be issued
Many gases are
monitored to determine
changes in concentration
with a focus on CO2 and
SO2

Hydrology Monitoring
Lahar detection using sensors
Monitor streams around the volcano to
determine if changes in water chemistry
Measure sediment and river discharge
Mt. St. Helens - After 20 years, the
average annual suspended-sediment yield
in the Toutle River downstream from the
1980 landslide deposit was still 100 times
above typical background level.
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/About/What/Monitor/Hydrologic/HydroMon.html

Kelly Durst- Mt. Rainier Lahar Deposit

Remote Sensing
Allow scientist to monitor dangerous
volcanoes remotely
Allow world wide monitoring over small
temporal scales (minutes-hours).
Many sensors which monitor visible, near and
mid infrared, as well as thermal infrared
allowing us to determine temperature changes

Homework
For Monday
Read Sensing Remote Volcanoes (3 pages),
located at:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/monvoc/