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HOW DO VOLCANOES
ERUPT?
Dan Joshua M. Maturan
Janelle Marie U. Montaño
Presenters
 In the mantle region, conditions change drastically from
the crust. Pressures increase considerably and temperatures can
reach up to 1000 °C, which makes the rock viscous enough that it
behaves like a liquid. In short, it experiences elastically on time
scales of thousands of years or greater. This viscous, molten rock
collects into vast chambers beneath the Earth’s crust.
 Since this magma is less dense
than the surrounding rock, it ” floats”
up to the surface, seeking out cracks
and weaknesses in the mantle. When it
finally reaches the surface, it explodes
from the summit of a volcano.

When it’s beneath the surface, the molten rock is called

magma.
When it reaches the surface, it erupts as lava, ash and volcanic
rocks.
 With each eruption,
rocks, lava and ash build up
around the volcanic vent. The
nature of the eruption depends
on the viscosity of the magma.
If magma is thin and runny, gases can escape easily from it.
When this type of magma erupts, it flows out of the volcano.
If magma is thick and sticky,
gases cannot escape easily.
Pressure builds up until the gases
escape violently and explode.
 Subduction zones are often the result, where the heavier
plate slips under the lighter plate – forming a deep trench. This
subduction changes the dense mantle into buoyant magma,
which rises through the crust to the Earth’s surface. Over
millions of years, this rising magma creates a series of active
volcanoes known as a volcanic arc.
In short, volcanoes are driven
by pressure and heat in the
mantle, as well as tectonic
activity that leads to volcanic
eruptions and geological
renewal.
1. Magma inside the volcano has high temperature.
2. As the magma is continuously heated, it goes up.
3. As it rises, gas bubbles are developed.
4. The gas bubbles are trapped and expanded causing the molten
material to swell also, resulting in a gradual increase in pressure
within the volcano.
5. When the pressure exceeds the strength of the overlying rock,
fracturing occurs.
6. The resulting breaks lead to a further drop in confining pressure,
which in turn causes even more gas bubbles to form.
7. Lava may appear to be the primary material ejected from a volcano,
but this is not always the case. Aside from lava, broken rocks, lava
bombs, fine ash and dust are also ejected.
Did you know that…

The gas and other

particles spewed high into the
atmosphere during the 1991
eruption of Mount Pinatubo
reduced global temperatures
by about 0.9 degrees
Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees
Celsius) during the following
year.
QUIZ
During eruption, what happens if the magma Is
thin and runny?
When it’s already above the Earth’s
surface, the molten rock is called?
What are the 3 main reasons of volcanic
eruption?
When it’s beneath the Earth’s
surface, the molten rock is
called?
True or False

The nature of the eruption depends on the

viscosity of the magma.
What is the thickest layer of the earth
where the magma chamber is located?
Why does the magma tend to go up to the
surface?
True or False

If magma is thick and sticky, gases cannot

escape easily so it erupts violently
What causes magma to form?
What occurs when the pressure exceeds
the strength of the overlying rock?