Volcanoes and Climate Change Essay

Some volcanic eruptions are explosive and other are not. The explosiveness of an eruption depends on how runny or sticky the magma is. If magma is thin and runny, gases can escape easily from it. When this type of magma erupts, it flows out of the volcano. Lava flows rarely kill people because they move slowly enough for people to get out of their way. Lava flows can cause considerable destruction to buildings in their path. If magma is thick and sticky, gases cannot escape easily. This causes pressure build up until the gases escape violently and explode. In this type of eruption, the magma blasts into the air and breaks apart into pieces called tephra. Tephra can range in size from tiny particles of ash to house-size boulders.

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.

A volcano is an earth hazard that occurs on faults between tectonic plates on a destructive boundary and an eruption is a natural disaster. A primary impact happens immediately after the disaster and before any response like death or collapsing or destruction of buildings. A secondary impact occurs later after the disaster, such less farm produce or a reduction in tourism. The severity of these impacts will differ considerably in a MEDC and LEDC where volcanic eruptions have taken place. These may be seen in the Mount St. Helen volcano eruption as well as in the Iceland volcanic eruption. They may also

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.

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.

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

To begin, a volcano is a mountain with an opening in the top or side that sometimes sends out rocks, ash, lava, in a sudden eruption (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). A volcano erupts when pressure builds inside the mountain. Magma, lava while it is inside the volcanoe, pushes through the weakened crust. When this built up pressure is released, Earth’s plates move causing a volcanic eruption. Also, dangerous flows of steaming lava can reach up to 2,000

The active volcano that I chose to research is Popocatepetl volcano. Popocatepetl volcano is an active volcano located in Mexico. The volcano is oftentimes referred to as “El Popo” by many Mexicans. El Popo is a composite cone volcano. Being a composite cone volcano, El Popo is characterized by a steep cone shape, which was created by many composite layers of material pouring out over numerous eruptions. The lava that comes out of El Popo is extremely viscous. The highly viscous lava does not travel very far, and typically cools down rapidly. Scientists believe that El Popo is about 730,000 years old. It has erupted more than 15 times since 1519. In 1994 El Popo produced gas and ash, which caused nearby towns to evacuate. The toxic

A volcano is a mountain built when magma rises from Earth's interior to the surface of the Earth.Volcanoes erupt when the pressure of the melted rock inside becomes so high that it blows through the solid surface of volcano. This explosion leads to many economic difficulties just like it did when Mount St. Helen exploded. It is a devastating event and clouds of ash, dust, and gases flowed into the environment. These fumes can be difficult to breath in and the damage it can cause wildlife is also

The Hawaiian volcano is a shield volcano; they are the oldest continental regions of earth. They may even be the remains of ancient shield volcanoes. A shield volcano is tall and broad with flat, rounded shape. The Hawaiian volcanoes are built by countless outpourings of lava that advance great distances from a central summit vent or a group of vents. Extensive study of the Hawaiian Islands revealed that they are constructed of a myriad of thin basaltic lava flows averaging a few meters thick intermixed with relatively minor amounts of pyroclastic ejected material. During eruptions these outpourings help keep these volcanoes safe. When these volcanoes erupt lava fountains out form the volcano and is hot liquid lava is thrown into the air but usually not very high. The lava normally flows easily, and does not explode. These volcanoes also only explode if water some how gets into the vent. Mount St. Helens is composite volcano, which are also known as strato- volcanoes. They are tall, symmetrically shaped, with steep sides, sometimes rising 10,000 feet high. They are built of alternating layers of lava flows, volcanic ash, and cinders. The large and generally cone-shaped volcanoes form along plate boundaries called subduction zones where one of the earths plates melts as it falls back into the earth`s mantle. The eruptions are called explosive, and effusive, because vast amounts of gasses are thrown into the atmosphere, and the lava explodes and is vicious.

The pollution in the air from the volcanic eruption was noted to have affected the radiation transfer in the atmosphere. Lamb 1970, found that there was a decrease in direct solar radiation and an increase in diffusion in the year following an eruption, and if the dust veil was large there may also be a lowering of surface temperatures. (Lamb 1970)

When a volcanic eruption takes place, it releases carbon dioxide and aerosols such as ash particles and sulphur dioxide into a layer of the earth’s atmosphere known as the stratosphere. The aerosols include substances such as soot, salt crystals, viruses, soot and bacteria. While the release of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, substances such as ash particles and sulphur dioxide building up in the stratosphere absorb and reflect the sunlight, making the earth a colder place. According to the British Geological Survey and the UN Geological Survey, around 100 to 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide are released from land based and underwater volcanic eruptions. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 15, 1991 was

How volcanoes affect people and environments? A volcano is a mountain or hill having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor, and gas are in. Volcanoes can change the weather. They can cause rain, thunder and lightning. Volcanoes can also have long-term effects on the climate, making the world cooler.

The Earth has been experiencing a considerable amount of climate change for the last several decades. Natural factors that contribute to the climate system consist of: solar output, volcanic activity and earth’s orbit around the sun. The two factors relevant on timescales of contemporary climate exist in volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation. The earth’s energy balance primarily influences the amount of incoming energy from volcanic eruptions, which have a relatively short-term effect on climate. Changes in solar output have contributed greatly to climate trends over the past century. The effect of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been at least ten times that of changes in the Sun’s output and the ocean covers more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface, receiving twice the amount of earth’s radiation. Although the sun is the engine that drives all the weather, oceans and atmosphere control the sun 's energy along certain