Analyse the factors that causes differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world (40 marks)
A hazard can be define as something which poses a level of threat the life, health, property or environment, a volcano can compromise all these things through the many hazards volcanoes presents. Such as lahars, flash flooding, landslides, pyroclastic flows, ash clouds and many others. There are factors which can influence the severity of the hazard and cause differences in them and can be classified into different categories, such as physical, economic, political and social.
One physical factor which causes differences in a volcanic hazard is the steepness of the volcano. If the volcanoes sides are of a steep gradient then the
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Another physical factor is snow; if a volcano is snow capped, like Eyjafjallajokull, then the lahars and flash floods become a greater hazard. The flooding in Iceland in 2010 caused 700 people to be evacuated. Without the snow then lahars and floods may not be a problem at all.
The location of the volcano is also important. If it is situated on a constructive plate boundary then it is generally less explosive, and therefore poses different threats to volcanoes situated on a destructive plate boundary. The volcano may also be situated on a hotspot like in Hawaii, where the eruptions aren’t very explosive. Volcanos which aren’t explosive can pose other threats to lava flows though, such as dangerous gases being released. Like in Lake Nyos, Cameroon where 1700 people died.
Wind direction could also cause difference in the hazards, like during the Eyjafjallajokull eruption of 2010. If the wind was blowing in a different direction then the ash cloud wouldn’t have been distributed across the Atlantic and Europe, meaning that there would have been a lot less air travel disruption. Then the ash cloud wouldn’t have been a hazard as it wouldn’t pose a threat to anyone.
Ultimately physical factors determine which hazards are posed by the volcano and how intensive and threatening they are to human life. However they are not the sole factors that causes differences in hazards posed by volcanos.
Settlement is a huge human
Volcanic activity happens across the surface of the globe therefore bringing hazards to every affected area. A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects. A volcanic hazard is any threat to life and infrastructure due to volcanic activity and related situations such as a landslide near the volcano. Volcanoes can be very dangerous and therefore present many hazards towards both people and land. They have the ability to kill and destroy, ruining livelihoods and destroying large land masses. The extent of the hazard can differ depending on how prepared an area is for an eruption and how much planning has gone behind
Assess the extent to which primary rather than secondary impacts are the more serious effects arising from volcanic eruptions. (30 marks)
The volcanoes are located where there is a divergence or convergence in the tectonic plates and bring their lava from the deepest of the terrestrial mantle. The materials and explosions of these ginates represent a constant risk in the places inhabited by the human being, nevertheless the people ususually live in these areas no matter the risk. On the other hand the volcanos can change the geology of an impressive form, or to cool the temperature of the earth, or to darken the sky. The scientific community increases its efforts to try to understand better what happens in volcanoes, however it is impossible to predict these conditions.
There are many differences between the volcanoes for example the explosivity of the two volcanoes most recent eruptions are completely different Kilauea is almost constantly flowing and has virtually no explosions at all it also has low viscosity lava flows running from it constantly where as MT st Helens is completely different in MT st Helens most devastating eruption in 1980
There are other factors predicting and preparing wont help for. One is the type of volcanic hazard such as a sudden pyroclastic flow is much more violent then a slow lava flow. With pyroclastics you can only reduce the hazard by vacation but lava flows can be diverted and slowed down with dam wall trenches and spraying water As they did in ice land on the 1973 Heimaey eruption which started on 23 January.
A human factor that would cause differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes is settlement, which includes where people chose to live in relation to a volcano. For example, in Indonesia many people settle near Mount Merapi because of the rich and fertile soil favoured for farming. As Indonesia is a poor country many people rely on subsistence farming, therefore are willing to risk everything by settling beside a volcano. Furthermore, in the last eruption in 2010 360,000 people were displaced from their homes, meaning not only did they lose their home but also their livelihood; hundreds also lost their lives. Therefore, the hazards posed could have been minimalised if people chose to settle elsewhere.
Volcanoes are in fact important because without volcanoes the atmosphere wouldn’t have its oxygen rich properties. Many of years ago, Earth’s atmosphere was swarm with rock-forming minerals of the earth 's crust. During earlier volcanic eruptions many gasses enters into the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, water vapor and many other gases
Volcanic eruptions happen all across the surface of the globe, many argue that if controlled and monitored they would have little effect on the population. However others argue that some volcanic events are too powerful or unpredictable to control.
Some of these landforms are shield volcanoes, cinder cone volcanoes, composite volcanoes, and lava plateaus. Another landform that can also be created is a caldera, which results from the collapse of a volcanic mountain. When thin layers of lava harden on a wide, gently sloping mountain, a shield volcano is formed. Volcanoes that are high in lava may produce ash, cinders, and bombs. These materials form a cone-shaped hill around the vent. This is called a cinder cone. When volcanoes alternate between lava and ash, cinder, and bombs, a composite volcano is formed. According to the California Earth Science Textbook, “Composite volcanoes are tall, cone-shaped mountains in which layers of lava alternate with layers of ash.” The volcano gets a pattern of different colors because of
Ash plumes and steam rose into the bright blue sky as the underground earthquake shook the land and rattled windows all across the eighteen mile town. As the jet circled the island, in view of lovely beaches and emerald water, looming over this lush paradise was the screaming volcano. Volcanos erupt when the pressure inside of them becomes so great that the magma surges up and forces its way out. An exploding volcano can rip apart a mountain in just seconds, when the eruption is over, a landscape is changed forever. The united states is home to more volcanos than any other country except Indonesia, and Japan. The majority of these volcanoes are in Alaska. Until recently, there was no way to predict when a volcano would blow, although volcanoes give off many warning signs before they erupt. Including smaller earthquakes beneath the volcano, slight inflation, or swelling. The rising magma eventually causes the solid rock to break, sending earthquake signals. Most volcanoes give warning signs beginning weeks or months before they blow (Lindop).
Volcanoes large volcanoes that are built almost completely from lava are called “shield volcanoes” They are named for their sloping sides which
In these eruptions, instead of the mixture of gas and ash flowing upwards, it flows outwards and hugs the ground. These eruptions are extremely dangerous.
Volcanic eruptions are a constant issue. There are around 50 -70 eruptions every year with some volcanoes erupting more than once. Around 35 people die every year from volcanic eruptions along with an average cost of damage of 98,992,000. I believe that with a little math that these numbers can go down. Issues with volcano causing so much death is more of the debris that comes out of it if we could estimate the distant that this debris could travel then we would simply need to change the areas that we build cities and how far we would need to evacuate in a sudden emergency. This will include the ideas of projectile motion, angular projectile motion, Geometrical estimations. For this example, I will be using the volcano Mount Vesuvius. This volcano is known best for the destruction of Pompeii and villages that surrounded it. This eruption works the best due to the easily known eruption and the easily measurable distances from Pompeii to the center of Mount Vesuvius.
The main effect on weather right near a volcano is that there is often a lot of rain, lightning, and thunder during an active volcano that is eject lava, ash, and gases. This is because all the ash particles that are thrown up into the atmosphere are good at attracting/collecting water droplets. The particles moving through the air and separating positively and negatively charged particles.
Volcanoes and Earthquakes are two of the most intriguing natural disasters that can occur on earth. Unlike hurricanes and tornadoes, they can awaken at almost any point in time throughout the year. These two natural disasters are also different from others because they occur on the layers of the earth itself. Volcanoes, while large to us, are actually small, conical patches of earth that spurt and ooze hot molten lava from the core, and can destroy areas of land triple their size. Earthquakes, on the other hand, are severe jolts felt on land due to the movement of earths tectonic plates. Some may describe earthquakes as being similar to riding a bike down a flight of stairs. The impact of an earthquakes can take down even the largest buildings and strongest structures. All natural disasters can have damaging effects on land, some more than others, and all can be measured or predicted in different ways. Although earthquakes and volcanoes are similar to each other, the two are still very comparable. A few of these similarities and differences include the cause of their occurrence, and how their occurrence impacts the environment.