Mount Pinatubo
Personal Theories
E>B
1. The volcanic eruption will result in the release of hot lava and pyroclastic flow which
will flow down the mountainside into cities and surrounding areas and will destroy
everything in its path. The lava is so hot it will burn up any living material in its path, or
the heat from the flow will cause immediate combustion. (I’ve somewhat recently seen a
video on pyroclastic flows.)
E>A>H
2. The volcano will erupt and send much ash, dust and toxic gases into the atmosphere.
(video footages) These substances will remain in the atmosphere for long periods of time
and will spread globally. Due to the dust clouds, there will be less sunlight, and
atmospheric temperatures will decrease. Decreased temperatures will cause decreased
water temperatures. As a result of the lower temperatures, there will be more water
frozen in the polar ice caps and the sea level will decrease. (Cooler temperatures typically
means freezing temperatures somewhere- like at the North and the South Poles. These
freezing temperatures should mean more frozen ice… unless, come to think of it the polar
ice caps froze during the Ice Age??? Wow, good question!)
E>L>B
3. The volcano will emit hot flowing lava which will destroy anything in its path. When the
lava cools, there will be no soil for plants to grow in for years to come. Only a hard,
shiny, solid black surface will remain. (I’m thinking of obsidian, lava rock from my
Earth science days). In time, primary succession will occur as lichens and other pioneer
species begin to break up the lava. into soil pockets for seeds, carried by birds and wind,
to get a start. The seeds will root and grow into grasses and wildflowers and will provide
habitat and food for certain animals. In time the plants will be replaced by shrubs and
other low growing plants which will eventually be replaced by trees. The different
species of organisms will change as the habitat changes. (high school biology-ecology
section).
L>E>L
4. I remember hearing and being interested in something called plug domes. I’m kind of
guessing here, but I think a plug dome occurs when large pieces of the earth (rocks) falls
into the vent of a volcano and plugs up the vent opening. When the volcano erupts,
because it is forced out of a smaller vent due to the plug blocking its way out, the
eruption is much more fierce and a spews materials higher up into the atmosphere and
causes more damage on one side of the volcano. The higher up the material is flung, the
further out the effects of the volcano from the falling materials.
B>E
5. I know there are tornado chasers, and there are also volcano chasers. The volcano
chasers (if that is what they are called) go to the volcanoes and collect data of all kinds
about the volcanoes. (I’ve seen pictures of these people in white suits sticking their
instruments into the soil around volcano vents.) The information they gather is for the
purpose of predicting future eruptions. When they can do this, they can inform
populations who can then decide to leave an area, or even never move into an area based
on their predictions. The idea is to prevent or at least to decrease the loss of property and
casualty. (Purely deductive reasoning.)
E>H>B
6. When molten lava flows from the volcano and into water, it causes the temperature of the
water to increase. Besides the actual lava killing any organisms in the water, the temperatures
will also increase to the point that thermal pollution could kill the organisms for many miles
around. This increased temperature in the water could also cause the polar ice caps to melt
which could also cause the sea level to rise. (I’m not sure the temperatures in the water will
increase enough globally to make this kind of difference. I’ve never heard of such, however it
makes sense.) An increased sea level could cause the coasts as we know them to no longer exist.
E>A
7. When volcanoes send lots of burnt materials into the atmosphere, they also release many
gases. One of these gases, carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas that is partly responsible for
global warming (Carbon-Oxygen cycle). Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide
molecules in the atmosphere traps the heat reflected from the earth and keeps it near the earth’s
surface causing the atmospheric temperatures to increase. Increased temperatures in the
atmosphere will cause increased temperatures in water. As the water temperatures increase the
polar ice caps will melt causing the sea level to increase. This will result in much of the coastal
areas to eventually be covered in water (biology).
Questions:
1. What exactly causes a plug dome?
2. Why do some volcanoes erupt with more energy than other volcanoes?
3. What causes a volcano? I know there is hot lava in the earth, but why does it come out in
some areas but not in others?
4. Why do some people choose to live in areas where a volcano might erupt?
5. How hot do volcanoes get?
6. What is the power of an eruption equivalent to?
7. What is molten lava made of? Is it melted iron?
8. Do volcanoes erupt on schedule?
10. The ash that is thrust out of a volcano, what was it originally? Burned rock? Or burned
dirt? Or what?