Everything about volcanoes!

Volcanoes usually are near the Ring of Fire.
Volcanoes are on the
North-West of America,
Along the coastline of
Mexico and South America
Bordering the Pacific Ocean.
There is a long chain going off of the Aleutian Islands in
Alaska.

The number of volcanoes has been going down since the beginning of the Earth.
is a chart of volcano activity rates 1875-1993
This
This is a chart of how many
Volcanoes erupted 1994-2011

The lava that spews out of the crater comes from the mantle. The cone is made of hardened lava that is from the mantle. The magma chamber is from magma in the mantle rising through cracks in the rock until they stop then the magma will become a magma chamber.

When pressure builds up in the magma chamber that pushes magma through the volcano's vents.
If the volcano doesn't have water near it it will just run out, no explosion at all. If the lava comes in contact with water it will create an explosion. If the lava gets caught in the pipe then the pressure will build up and there will be an explosion.

The most drastic eruption and effects of a volcano is called a supervolcano. These are formed when magma gets to the Earth's surface and stays there until the pressure becomes to great, then the lava explodes out of the crust along with lots of ash, dust, pumice, and gases.
This dust will stay in the atmosphere for 6-12 years depending on how much, blocking out the sun.

The measurement volcanologists use to measure volcanoes is the Volcanic
Explosivity Index or VEI.
VEI
Descriptio n
Plume
Height
Volume
Classificat ion
How often
Example
0 nonexplosive
< 100 m 1000s m3 Hawaiian daily Kilauea
1
2
3
4 gentle
100-1000 m explosive 1-5 km severe cataclysmi c
3-15 km
10-25 km
10,000s m3
1,000,000 s m3
10,000,00
0s m3
100,000,0
00s m3
Haw/ Stro mbolian
Strom/ Vul canian
Vulcanian yearly
Vulc/ Plini an daily weekly
10's of years
Stromboli
Galeras,
1992
Ruiz, 1985
5
6
7
8 paroxysm al
>25 km colossal >25 km supercolossal megacolossal
>25 km
>25 km
1 km3
10s km3
100s km3
1,000s km3
Plinian
Plin/Ultra-
Plinian
Ultra-
Plinian
Ultra-
Plinian
100's of years
100's of years
1000's of years
10,000's of years
Galunggu ng, 1982
St.
Helens,
1980
Krakatau,
1883
Tambora,
1815
Yellowsto ne, 2 Ma

• Magma: molten rock that is lava when it is at the surface.
• Magma chamber: a chamber of magma under the ground.
• Pipe: a pipe that connects a magma chamber to a vent.
• Pumice: Volcanic rock, it has air bubbles and can float on water.
• Pyroclastic flow: it consists of ash, pumice, rock fragments, and gases created by explosive eruptions.
• Volcano: a crack where lava, ash, and gases spew out.
• Ash: small fragments of rock or lava that fly into the air during a volcanic eruption.
• Basalt: a rock formed from dried lava.
• Caldera: What is left after the volcanoes summit collapses

Volcanoes will send ash and other particles into the air that water vapor will condensate and will cause more rain. Volcano’s sulfur infuse with water vapor and create sulfuric acid particles that create a haze in the Earth’s atmosphere that lowers the Earth’s temperature for a few years. This will also possibly create acid rain that kills animals in water, kills plants, and lowers human health. Volcano’s lava will form stone on the surface of the Earth.

• Dust and ash rub together to create static electricity and that creates lightning in the ash when a volcano erupts.
• Diamonds are found in the pipes that connect the magma chamber to the volcanic vents.

Rowland, Scott. ‘’Volcano.’’
World Book. Vol.20.
Chicago: World Book, 2007
"Volcano." U*X*L Encyclopedia of Weather and Natural Disasters. Vol. 4: Optical
Effects to Wildfire. Detroit: UXL, 2008. 587-615. Gale Science In Context. Web.
"Magma chamber." World of Earth Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth
Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Gale Science In Context. Web.
Image/information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ring_of_Fire
Image: http://oem.bmj.com/content/63/2/149.extract
Information: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/servlet/ShowDatasets?dataset=102557&search_look
=50&display_look=50
Image: http://www.handpen.com/Bio/sun_freaks.html
Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyoo_Mogi#Mogi_model
Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratovolcano
Information: http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/how-big-are-eruptions
Information: http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/volcanoes/erupt.php
Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supervolcano