Pinatubo Of 1991 Research Paper

Analyse the factors that causes differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world (40 marks)

A hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat tolife, health, property or environment. The level of hazard posed by different volcanoes can very greatly, from a weak eruption with minimal impact that causes little damage, to a voilent and life threatening explosion. Most of the sixty-plus volcanoes that erupt each year are low risk, however a combination of factors can cause a volcano to be a serious hazard. The factors causing these variations will be explained in this essay.

How did the described volcanoes in Iceland and the Philippines change the environment to lesser or greater extents?

Furthermore, acid magma is more likely to produce clouds of smoke and ash due to the explosive nature of the eruption it causes, than thinner, basic lava. Ash clouds, such as the one caused by the Icelandic volcano when it erupted in April 2010, which caused severe disruption to European air space, causing thousands of flights to be cancelled due to concerns over the hazards posed to air passengers travelling through the ash cloud.

The blast was preceded by two months of intense activity that included over 10,000 earthquakes, hundreds of small phreatic (steam blasts) , explosions and the north side bulge. A magnitude 5.1 earthquake below the volcano at 8:32 am started the eruption. MSH is still a potentially dangerous and active volcano even though it has been quiet since 1995. In the last 515 years there have been four major eruptions and dozens of lesser eruptions. Two of the eruptions were only two years apart. In 1480, the eruption was about five times larger than the one in May 1980. There have been even larger eruptions during MSH' 50,000 year lifetime. After the May 18, 1980 eruption, there have been five smaller explosive eruptions over a five month period. Since then, there have been 16 dome building eruptions through October 1986 when the new dome in the crater was formed. As the mountain was torn open, the pressure in inside was suddenly relieved. The rock shattered inside the mountain was exploded out the top at speeds over 200 miles per hour. The blast was so strong that it leveled whole forest of fir trees. Geologist call this a "stone wind" since the winds carried the rocks form the blast with them. The rocks gave the winds extra force that let them flatten the trees. 150 square miles of land was leveled. The edges of this area also lost their forested areas from the heat of the blast and the fires it caused. The original blast of the

Assess the extent to which primary rather than secondary impacts are the more serious effects arising from volcanic eruptions. (30 marks)

On the 12th of June (Philippine Independence Day), millions of cubic yards of gas-charged magma reached the surface and resulted in the first major eruption which was then followed by a series of eruptions. It produced a 19 km long ash column and pyroclastic flows that extended up to four km from the summit to the river valleys. Later, a 15 minute eruption hurled ash straight up to the sky, reaching the heights of 24 km. The super heated air and the friction between

Volcanic eruptions not only give burning lava to the environment but the eruptions also release sulfur into the air (Mattox). This may sound familiar as coal burning power plants

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.

Mount Pinatubo, erupted in 1991 after being dormant for 600 years. Its a 1,760 m volcano in the Northern Philippines. The volcanic eruption was caused by an earthquake with the magnitude of 7.8. The earthquake made the ground below Mount Pinatubo shake. Since Mount Pinatubo hasn’t erupted for over 600 years it did not erupt immediately. The enormous earthquake only cracked the crust of the earth. According to USGS (United States Geological Survey) there were lots of petite earthquakes before the eruption began. From June 12 to June 16, 1991, over 20 million tons of debris was realised into the stratosphere. The volcano had erupted 4 times. The impact of this volcanic eruption of Mt Pinatubo was massive. Plenty of homes were destroyed and a

The dust particles that are injected into the atmosphere block the incoming solar radiation, therefore cooling the troposphere. Sulphur dioxide is one of the main gases that is produced from volcanic eruptions predominately from basaltic lava flows, it is particularly light and therefore it can be injected into heights about the troposphere and into the lower stratosphere. Sulphur dioxide is then able to react with water vapour when in the presence of sunlight to form reflective sulphate droplets that can be suspended in the atmosphere for long periods of time. The amount of cooling depends on a number of things, the latitude and hemispherical location of the volcano, the size and power of the eruption, the sulphur content of the eruptions. For example, eruptions that occur near the equator have a greater impact on global climate due to the global wind circulation moving air predominantly

This impacts the environment greatly toward the good. By the soil becoming richer this makes it easier for the farmer’s crops grow which leads to more food becoming produced. According to the article “Volcanic Soils”, “the ash from the volcanic eruption also helps the soil to become healthier.” The process it takes for the ash and minerals to set into the ground takes a long time. “These deposits are rich in minerals, but the minerals are not immediately available to plants” (McDonaugh 1). This shows that the plants around the areas in which this happens don’t always get the nutrient they need so, this is especially good for them to have these minerals. According to the article “Volcanic Soils”, “For how long it would take for the richer soil to form depends on where the volcano was and the places geographic factors.” This shows that it won’t come at the same rate for all environmental conditions. “By improving moisture retention, they make soil easier to till for farming” (McDonaugh 2). This means that not only will it help the crops grow better but, it will also lighten the work load on the farmers when they till their fields to grow their crops. Also rich soil will help in cow fields because, the grass will be able to grow so, greatly for the cows. There are many ways that volcanic eruptions can help the environment towards the

Aerosols are particles in the atmosphere that affect reflectivity, which affect the amount of energy that enters Earth, ultimately affecting global temperature change. An example of this can be seen in volcanic eruptions. Volcanic particles that reach the upper atmosphere are able to reflect enough sunlight back to space, which can cool the surface of Earth by a few tenths of a degree for a few years (Hegerl, 2007).

Introduction: Since the beginning of time, volcanoes have been wreaking havoc on the world, as we know it. Yet in the more recent times, there has been a great amount of debate regarding the effect of volcanic eruptions on world climate change. In this report, the effects of these volcanoes will be explored, particularly in regards to cooling and the depletion of the ozone.

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.