2 a and b landforms, landscapes and hazards Created By Volcanic Eruptions Flashcards
Type of eruption at a convergent boundary
Explosive
Explosive eruptions material ejected
Gases (direct and indirect greenhouse gases)
Ash
Pumice
Pyroclastic flow
Rhyolitic lava
Explosive eruptions characteristics
Convergent boundary
Viscous rhyolitic lava
900°C
High silica content
Plinian eruption
Effusive eruption plate boundary
Divergent
Effusive eruption material ejected
Little gas
Basaltic (runny lava)
Effusive eruption characteristics
Basaltic lava
Low silica content
1160°C lava
Icelandic and Hawaiian
Erupts over a long period of time
E.g. Erta Ale (EARV)
Basaltic lava
48-52% silica (v low)
1160°C ( v hot)
Viscous lava
Andenistic lava
52-63% silica
Somewhat viscous
Rhyolitic lava
900°C (cool)
Viscous
68-77% silica
3 ways magma is generated
1) increasing temperature causing rock to melt
2) decreasing pressure (decompression melting) as rocks ascend to lower pressure levels
3) introduction of volatiles ( principally water) lowers the melting point of rocks
Hotspot definition
An area of intense volcanic activity where a mantle plume reaches the earth’s surface causing eruptions
Are hotspots located on plate boundaries?
No
What is the Hawaiian hotspot?
Pacific plate moves NW 10cm/year
Created basalt volcano peaks
As the plate moves volcanoes lose their source of magma and become extinct
Eroded and submerged
Height of Muana Loa on Hawaii
400m above sea level
Processes occurring at a hotspot
Localised source of heat energy that sustains a volcanism
The weight of the volcano bends the plate down
Isostatic change and later rebound
Thermal plume moves through dike
East African Hotspot
Crust stretched under tension for 30 million years
Rifting has allowed magma to reach the surface creating a line of active volcanoes
Mount Kilimanjaro was formed this way
Example of a hotspot volcano which is not shield
El Teide, Tenerife
Stratovolacano
How much material is ejected by a supervolcano
1000km3 in a single eruption event
Size of calderas
75km in diameter in Yellowstone
Huge
Frequency of supervolcanic eruption
Infrequent
Last supervolcanic eruption was 27000 years ago in New Zealand
Shot term impact of SV ash cloud
1000km3 material
Tephra falls into crops
Dust block stomata and cuticle, no photosynthesis, crop failure
Ashcloud prevents short wave solar radiation from entering the atmosphere, temperature drops
Famine and ecological deviation
How many mass extinctions have been caused by volcanos
2
Long term impacts of SV eruption
Direct GHG (CO2 H2O)
Indirect GHG (SO2 CO)
GHG effect
Global warming, sea level rise and extreme weather
Magnitude of volcanic eruption definition
Amount of material erupted