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Module 5: Volcanoes

Module 5.1 Anatomy of a Volcano

 Anatomy of a volcano
o Volcano: A mound of material that is extruded to the Earth’s surface from a vent
that is connected to a magma chamber via a feeder conduit (see below).
o Note: magma is defined as molten rock within the Earth.  Magma
becomes lava when it reaches the Earth's surface.
o The magma chamber is within the crust and contains hot molten rock that has
melted due to the high temperatures at depth within the crust (recall the
geothermal gradient from Module 1).  The magma chamber acts as a reservoir for
magma that may ultimately reach the surface of the crust, via the feeder conduit;
at the surface a a volcano grows from material that accumulates there.  The
material may include hot, molten rock or broken up fragments of cooled and
hardened volcanic material (all referred to as "volcanic debris in the above
figure).  The vent of the volcano is the location where the feeder conduit reaches
the surface; a volcano may have more than one vent if the feeder conduit has
multiple passages.
o The heat within the crust that leads to melting of rock, forming magma.  The heat
is derived from the mantle where high temperatures are due to a combination of
some heat from planetary formation, heat produced by the decay of radioactive
elements within the Earth and heat produced by friction as the dense metal core
accumulated following planetary formation.  The temperature at the base of the
crust varies and magmas will form where the crustal temperature reaches between
700 and 1300 degrees Celsius (melting temperature varies depending on the
composition of the crust and the amount of water that is present; water reduces the
melting temperature of rocks).
o The classification of volcanoes is based on their overall morphology, which
depends on the nature of the volcanic material that they are made up of.  That
nature of the material making up a volcano is determined by the characteristics of
the magma which, in turn determines the behaviour of the volcano.

Module 5.2 Composition and Properties of Magma and Lava

 Composition and properties of magma and lava
o The composition of magma determines the type of rock that forms when it cools
and as well as whether or not a volcano will erupt quietly or as a violent eruption.
o Main controls on behaviour of a magma are:
 The chemical composition, particularly how much silica dioxide (SiO2) is
present.
 The gas content, particularly water vapour (H20) and carbon dioxide
(CO2).

o SiO2 content controls the viscosity of a magma.

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o Viscosity: a measure of how easily a fluid flows. E.g., water has a low viscosity
and flows readily, molasses has a much higher viscosity so it flows very slowly.
o Viscosity, in turn, controls the amount of gas that can be trapped in the magma:
o The greater the viscosity the more readily gas will become trapped within the
magma.
o There are three basic types of magma:
 Basaltic Magma
 Andesitic Magma (composition is intermediate between basaltic and
granitic)
 Granitic Magma (also called Rhyolitic magmas)
o The names of the magmas are based on the rock type that forms when it cools and
crystallizes.

o Overall, the behaviour of the magma determines the type of volcano that
develops. 
o Low SiO2 magmas (e.g., basaltic magma), with little gas have a low viscosity.
These magmas flows readily through their vents and across the land surface as
lava; volcanoes are not explosive but are dominated by lava flows. 
o High SiO2 magmas (e.g., granitic magma) with abundant gas have a high
viscosity.  These magmas tend to plug their vents until the force of escaping
magma blows the vent clear; such magmas cause very explosive volcanic
eruptions.  Viscous magmas more readily trap gasses which are compressible and
contribute to the power of explosive eruptions.
o Andesitic volcanoes fall in between basaltic and granitic in terms of the
explosiveness of their eruptions.

Module 5.3 Types of Volcanic Deposits

 Types of volcanic deposits
o The nature of volcanic deposits (rock and loose debris) depend on the nature of
the magma and the resulting behaviour of the volcano. Explosive magmas create
rock debris whereas non-explosive volcanoes are dominated by lavas that flow
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over the surface. The different types of lava flow reflect the difference in the
viscosity of the the lava.
 Lava
o Lava: Hot (up to 1200 degrees C), fluid, molten rock that flows along the land
surface. Most commonly produced by low viscosity (basaltic) magma.
o Low viscosity lava flows relatively slowly but readily down gentle slopes,
including forming "lava falls" where it flows over an abrupt step as shown in the
photograph below.
o The Hawaiian Islands are made up of basaltic volcanoes that are built from lava
flows that built up from the sea floor to the ocean surface. Two types of lava flow
are common and have Hawaiian names.
o Pahoehoe: Lava with a ropelike surface texture due to partial cooling as the lava
flowed. Relatively hot, low viscosity lava.
o The surface texture of pahoehoe forms because the surface of the hot lava flow is
in contact with the air and it cools to form a thin, flexible crust that floats on top
of the hot, low viscosity lava. As the lava flows the surface becomes folded into
complex patterns that characterize this type of lava deposit. The above photo
shows a lava surface that has been formed into tight folds that produce a texture
that looks like rope. The photo below shows a different style of deformation
which forms relatively large lobate patterns on the surface of the lava flow.
o Aa: Lava that has a very rough-looking "blocky" texture. Such lavas have a
higher viscosity than lavas that produce pahoehoe; the higher viscosity compared
to pahoehoe flows may be due to difference in composition, temperature or a
combination of both. As the lava flows slowly down slope it pushes chunks of
solid and semi-solid blocks at its front.
o Lava tube: A tube formed by cooling and solidifying of the lava walls while fluid
lava continued to flow inside. Once all of the lava has flowed out of the tube only
the walls remain. When lava tubes are active (i.e., full of hot lava) they can look
deceptively safe to walk on. However, the walls may be too thin to bear weight
and if your foot breaks through it may be fully immersed in 1200°C lava!
o Pillow Lava: A closed lava tube (with a bulbous end) that forms when a lava
flows into water (e.g., a lake or ocean) and cools very rapidly. Pillow lava is
found forming wherever lava flows into standing water, from the shores of islands
made up of basaltic volcanoes to the oceanic ridge.
 Pyroclastic Material
o Pyroclastic material is debris made up of particles of various size that are
formed by a volcanic explosion. It is produced when magma has a relatively high
viscosity (e.g., Andesitic and Granitic magmas) which is too viscous to flow at the
surface. Magma "plugs" the vent of the volcano and pressure builds to the point
where it is powerful enough to "blow" the stopped magma out of the vent to
produce an explosive eruption. In particularly explosive volcanoes not just the
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magma in the vent but all or some of the volcano itself can be destroyed in the
explosion.
o Tephra
o The general term for all pyroclastic material that is ejected from a volcano,
regardless of the size of the particles . Different terms apply according to the size
of the tephra. (syn. Ejecta)
o Ash: tephra that is finer than 2 mm in diameter.
o Note: the following terms apply to the deposits of volcanic ash:
 Tuff: A deposit made up of consolidated volcanic ash.
 Welded tuff: A deposit of volcanic ash that was laid down while still very
hot and particles become fused together.
 Lapilli: tephra that ranges in size from 2 mm to 64 mm in diameter.
o Blocks and Bombs: All tephra that is larger than 64 mm in diameter.
o Blocks: hard fragments greater than 64 mm in diameter. Blocks are generally
angular in shape (having sharp corners rather than rounded corners) because they
are fragments of rock that have been produced by a volcanic explosion.
o Bombs: fragments greater than 64 mm in diameter that were soft and partially
melted at the time they were ejected from a volcano. They cool and harden as
they pass through the air. Because they are initially soft they often have rounded,
aerodynamic shapes (see photos below).
 Tephra Transport Mechanisms
o Pyroclastic material is transported away from the volcano by a number of
mechanisms. Near the vent during an explosion large blocks and bombs are
ejected and follow ballistic paths as they fall back to the ground surface.
Relatively small blocks and bombs may be ejected to locations 10's of kilometres
away from the volcano. The explosion also ejects ash and lapilli and ash, in
particular, can be blown high up into the upper atmosphere were winds can carry
it around the globe.
o In addition to the direct explosion the following are important mechanisms of
transporting pyroclastic material following an eruption.
o Ash fall : Ash that is ejected into the atmosphere settles or falls to the surface all
around the volcano during and following an eruption. The coarsest ash falls
closes to the volcano and as you move away from the volcano the ash that's
falling to the ground becomes progressively finer. As noted above, the finest ash
can be carried by upper atmospheric winds around there globe and some can
remain in suspension in the air for months and even years.
o The following photograph shows the ash fall during the eruption of Mount
Pinatubo in 1991.
o Pyroclastic flows: generally a hot, gaseous cloud of tephra (particularly ash) that
flows down slope as a part of a volcanic eruption. If you've seen the recent movie
"Pompeii" (starring the late Jon Snow before he "knew noothin'") then you have
seen a dramatically graphic example of a devastating pyroclastic flow.
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o Flow speeds can reach 700 km/hr and the temperature of the hot gases can reach
1000 degrees C.
o Another name for "pyroclastic flow" isnuée ardente (meaning "glowing cloud") a
term coined for the Mt. Pelee eruption of 1902.
o Lahar : The word is of Indonesian origin and refers to a water saturated slurry of
ash and other volcanic debris that flows downslope. These are "mud flows" or
"debris flows" where the material in transport is of volcanic origin. They can
develop anywhere there is abundant water (e.g., heavy rainfall, snow and ice) to
mix with volcanic debris on steep slopes.
o For example, high altitude volcanoes may be associated with thick snow cover or
glaciers that melt during an eruption and mix with the volcanic material that
subsequently flows down the slopes of the volcano.

Module 5.4 Classification of Volcanoes

 Classification of volcanoes
o Volcanoes are classified according to their morphology which is determined by
the the processes that act during an eruption and the types of deposits that are
produced. Of course, the composition of the magma ultimately determines
processes and deposits and, ultimately the type of volcano.
 The three types of volcano are:
1. Shield volcanoes: dominated by basaltic lava flows.
2. Cinder cones: dominated by pyroclastic deposits that build up an isolated conical
mound of tephra as the surficial expression of the volcano.
3. Stratovolcanoes: Majestic volcanos made up of a mixture of lava flows and
pyroclastics. Syn. Composite volcanoes
 Shield Volcanoes
o Dominated by low viscosity, high temperature, basaltic lava flows that move
readily down gentle slopes and forms a low, dome-shaped profile, like an inverted
shield. The following photo displays the classic form of a shield volcano.
o Typical slopes on shield volcanoes are approximately 15 degrees. Lava flows
downslope, away from a central vent or a series of vents.
o Many shield volcanoes have a central "caldera" which forms remains an eruption.
Calderas develop after the magma is eliminated from the vent as lava and the
surface collapses to form the circular indentation on the volcano's surface.
o The figure below is from the USGS and shows several calderas; each is located at
the site of a former eruption.
 The Hawaiian Islands and Iceland are built from shield volcanoes that are made up of
basaltic lavas. Mauna Loa is the largest volcano that makes up the island of Hawaii (see
map and photo, below).
o Mauna Loa was considered by many to be the largest volcano on Earth (until
2020, see below). 
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o The volcano rises 4,170 m above sea level and it covers an area of 5,271 km2.  
The total volume of rock that makes up Mauna Loa  80,000 km3 with the majority
of its volume below sea level.  The volcano grew from the sea floor, at a depth of
5 km in this part of the Pacific Basin, so combined with the portion of it that
extends above sea level it appears to have grown to a height of about 9 km from
the time that it began to form.  However, the great weight of the volcano has
caused the underlying crust to sink about 8 km deeper into the upper mantle so
that the actual height of above the position of the original elevation of the sea
floor from which it grew is 17 km (see the schematic illustration, below, which
is not drawn to scale)
o The volcano began to form 700,000 to 1,000,000 years ago when lava began to
flow pass upward through the underlying oceanic crust. Eruptions reached the
surface 400,000 years ago.
o Unfortunately (for Mauna Loa) in the spring of 2020 results of research were
published that identified another volcano in the Hawaiian Island chain as being
the world's largest volcano (based on its total volume).  That volcano is no longer
active and is named "Pūhāhonu" (the name means "turtle surfacing for air").  The
volcano is visible above sea level as only two small islands known as the Gardner
Pinnacles.  However, the submarine portion of the volcano is below sea level and
has a total volume that is equal to approximately 150,000 cubic kilometers, almost
double that of Mauna Loa.   However, Mauna Loa remains the tallest volcano on
Earth (so far).
 The volcano called Kilauea (see map above) is currently the most active of the Hawaiian
volcanoes. The photos below are of that volcano and shows eruptions that often forms
fountains of low viscosity lava flowing from vents near the volcano summit.
 The lava flows easily down the gentle slopes for considerable distances and some lava
flows reach the oceans to form pillow lavas.
 Cinder Cones
o Cinder cones are predominantly formed from viscous, gaseous magmas, including
relatively cool basaltic magmas and andesitic magmas. Relatively cool basaltic
magma is viscous due to the lower temperature and can trap considerable amounts
of gas within it. Cinder cones of this kind of magma sometimes form in
association with shield volcanos. However, many cinder volcanoes are isolated
cones that are not associated with other volcanoes. The photo below shows a
Canadian example of the classic cinder cone morphology.
o Cinder cones are internally constructed of layers of pyroclastic deposits (blocks,
bombs, lapilli) that are produced by relatively small explosive eruptions. The
slopes are steeper than shield volcanoes, at angle of repose for the material that
makes them up (see photo, below).
o Angle of repose: the natural maximum angle that a pile of loose, unconsolidated
material will form. For cinder cones this angle ranges from 30° to 40° from the
horizontal.
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o Typical slope angles are in the range from 30 to 40 degrees. These are typically
relatively small volcanoes in comparison to the other two types and range from
several metres to over 300 m in height.
o Paricutin Volcano (see the photo below) began to erupt in a corn field in Mexico
in 1943 and continued until 1952.
o A farmer had noticed a fissure (vent) had opened in a field one morning and from
it was pouring black ash. In the first year the volcano grew to 336 m (almost 1
metre per day). The rate at which it grew decreased steadily after the first year
but by 1952 the volcano was 424 m in height.
 Stratovolcanoes
o Stratovolcanoes are volcanoes that alternate between periods of lava flows (during
their constructive phase) and periods of explosive eruptions (during their
destructive phase).
o Commonly called “composite volcanoes” because they are made up of both lava
and pyroclastic deposits.
o Stratovolcanoes have steep slopes, at angle of repose or greater, and reach heights
much greater than cinder cones.
o The following photo of the currently erupting (summer, 2015) Indonesian
Sinabung Volcano displays the classic form of a stratovolcano.
o Stratovoclanoes may lay dormant for thousands of years which adds to the
menace that they pose. Their magmas are, on average, andesitic in composition
and have high gas content. Some are made up of alternating basaltic and granitic
magmas in many cases; basaltic lavas and pyroclastic material dominate during
the constructive phase and andesitic to granitic magmas result in the destructive
(explosive) phase.
o During the constructive phase these volcanoes can grow to thousands of metres in
height but the constructive phase often ends with the onset of the destructive
phase.
o During the destructive phase magma plugs the vent(s) and gasses in the magma
add great pressure which is released contributing to result in a very powerful
explosive eruption.
o Mount Saint Helens, which erupted in May of 1980, was a very impressive
explosive eruption that blew one out one side of the mountain and the ensuing
pryoclastic flow devastated the landscape over a very large area. The two
photographs that follow show the same view of the mountain before and after the
eruption.
o After an eruption of a stratovolcano a large caldera remains. Crater Lake (shown
in the photo below) is a famous tourist area in Oregon, the lake occupies the
caldera that formed following an explosive eruption 7,700 years ago. That
eruption was 42 times more powerful than Mt. St. Helens.

Module 5.5 Styles of Volcanic Eruption

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 Styles of Volcanic Eruption

o Eruption style is determined by the explosiveness and the height of the column of
tephra that is ejected from the volcano (this is the dark cloud that rises from the
vent of a volcano, it is often referred to as the "eruption column" or "volcanic
plume"). Note that the names of most of the "styles" of eruption are taken from
volcanoes that most commonly (but not always) produce eruptions that are
consistent with that style (e.g., see "Hawaiian eruptions", below). Phreatic
eruptions (the last style described here) are not named after a particular volcano
but by the fact that they take place when water mixes with magma to produce
very explosive eruptions (the word "phreatic" refers to water within the ground).
 Hawaiian Eruptions
o Hawaiian eruptions are dominated by lava flows with a tephra column that is
typically less than 2 km high. Most explosions are of a small scale and any
pyroclastic material is typically hot and soft as it is ejected. Eruptions can last for
longer periods of time. For example, Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano has been erupting
continuously since it began its current eruption on January 3, 2013, making it the
longest continuously erupting volcano on Earth. Over the first few years of the
eruption lava fountains sometimes developed that spewed molten lava up to 500
metres into the air above the vent. Beginning in early May of 2018 there was an
increase in eruption activity of Kilauea when it became particularly energetic and
exceeded the "typical" magnitudes displayed by the volcano. On May 17, 2018,
an explosion sent up a plume to an elevation fo 10 km. Thus, while "Hawaiian
style" eruptions involves only relatively small explosive events, volcanoes on the
islands can, infrequently, produce explosive events that are atypical of this
particular "style" of eruption (e.g., see "Phreatic Eruptions", below).
 Strombolian eruptions
o Strombolian eruptions are characterized by intermittent explosions or fountaining
of basaltic lava from a single vent . The explosions are caused by the periodic
buildup and subsequent release of volcanic gasses and they normally occur every
few minutes. The eruptions produce tephra that ranges from ash to bombs and
the tephra column does not exceed 10 km in height.
 Vulcanian Eruptions
o Vulcanian eruptions are moderately explosive (more-so than Strombolian
eruptions) that are periodic, taking place decades apart. The tephra is hard (not
melted) and typically form from gaseous andesitic magmas.
 Pelean Eruptions
o Similar scale as Vulcanian eruptions but include hot gas clouds (nuées ardentes)
 Plinian Eruptions
o These are very explosive volcanic eruptions with very long periods between
eruptions and involve a very viscous, andesitic to granitic magma.
o The main distinguishing characteristic of a Plinian eruption is the ash column that
extends upwards to the stratosphere to over 11 km in height.
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o Fine ash from Plinian eruptions can remain in the stratosphere for years and can
result in a reduction in average global temperature by reducing incoming solar
radiation.
 Ultra Plinian Eruptions
o Very explosive eruptions that eject approximately 100 km3 or more of tephra and
produce ash columns exceeding 25 km in height. There have been no ultra
plinean eruptions since the invention of photography (hence the lack of pictures),

 Phreatic Eruptions
o Phreatic eruptions (sometimes called "phreatomagmatic eruptions") are eruptions
of tephra and large volumes of steam produced when water makes contact with
the magma and flashes to steam causing a very violent eruption. The following
photograph shows a phreatic eruption of Mt. St. Helens that took place prior to the
spectacular Plinean eruption of 1980. Phreatic eruptions can occur in association
with volcanoes that most commonly display any of the other eruption styles
described above. The anomalously energetic eruption of May 17, 2018, that
created a 10km high plume was probably produced due to mixing of groundwater
with the erupting magma.
 Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)
o Developed jointly by geologists at the United States Geological Survey and the
University of Hawaii the Volanic Explosivity Index provides a basis for a
quantitative description of the explosively of volcanic eruptions. It is based
largely on the total amount of ejecta that is produced during an eruption and the
height of the column of tephra (referred to as a "plume" in the table below). The
classification table also provides descriptive language for eruptions and the style
of eruption (classification in the table) as described above. Note that the
frequency of eruptions diminished with increasing VEI (a lucky thing for the
inhabitants of this planet).
o The next table shows the VEI for several historic volcanic eruptions and indicates
the number of fatalities for each eruption. Note that there isn't a direct
relationship between increasing VEI and the number of fatalities. For example,
the Nevado del Ruiz eruption was a VEI 3 eruption and produced 25,000
casualties whereas two of the three VEI 4 eruptions in the list had fewer
casualties. The Nevado del Ruiz eruption was particularly deadly because it
produced a major lahar that had far reaching outcomes.

Module 5.6 The Distribution of Volcanoes

 The Distribution of Volcanoes
o Most, but not all, volcanoes are found along plate boundaries. The map below
shows the distribution of volcanoes (excluding underwater volcanoes that make
up the the ocean ridge).
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 The vast majority of volcanoes are located:

o Parallel to oceanic trenches.
o Along the oceanic ridge.
o Over hot spots originating from the mantle.
 Volcanoes along trenches
o Volcanoes are widely distributed at convergent margins where the subducting
crust releases water into overlying rocks, decreasing its melting temperature and
resulting in the generation of magma that rises upwards to penetrate the over-
riding plate; the volcanoes form along a line that is parallel to the associated
oceanic trench on the over-riding tectonic plate.
o Examples of volcanoes in this setting are found all around the Pacific Basin
(Japan, Caribbean Islands, west coast of North and South America) with a few
examples appearing elsewhere (e.g., the Caribbean) where subduction is currently
taking place.
o Fully 2/3 of all volcanoes are along the Ring of Fire that surrounds the Pacific
Ocean and these are all produced due to subduction along a convergent plate
boundary. The map, below, shows the "Ring of Fire" (where volcanoes are
located) that surrounds the Pacific Basin.
o The composition of the magma that is generated in association with subduction is
andesitic and it is very gaseous, particularly enriched with water vapour.
Stratovolcanoes are constructed from feeder conduits that extend to the surface of
the crust as shown in the figure below which illustrates the situation of
convergence of two plates of oceanic crust. In addition to volcanoes, granitic
(rhyolitic) plutons are also formed within the crust above the region of subduction
where granitic magma is trapped within the volcanic pile overlying the region of
subduction. These volcanoes often grow to the ocean surface to form volcanic
islands what have potential to undergo very explosive eruptions.
 Mt. Fuji, Japan, is an example of a stratovolcano found in the setting illustrated in the
above diagram. Mt. Fuji (see photograph below) has erupted 16 times since 781 AD with
the most recent eruption taking place in 1707/8 when 3.3 km 3 of ash, blocks and bombs
were ejected. There were no fatalities recorded at that time of that eruption.
 Where oceanic crust converges on and is subducted beneath continental crust volcanoes
also form by the same processes described above. However, instead of forming volcanic
islands the magma that rises off the subducting plate intrudes into folded rocks of the
mountain belt that formed due to the convergent forces acting between the two plates.
The west coasts of North America and South America have many volcanoes that are
formed due to subduction.
 Ojos del Salado, Chile (see photo below)– The world’s highest volcano, perched at
6,887 metres above sea level.  It is a potentially active stratovolcano that has not erupted
in historic time. 
 Along the west coast of the United States, where the Juan de Fuca plate subducts beneath
the North American plate is the Cascade Range of volcanoes that includes Mt. St. Helens
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Volcano. At the northern end of the Range is Mt. Baker which is just south of the
Canadian border. Mt. Baker is the volcano that poses the greatest threat to lands in
Canada. The topography is such that lava and pyroclastic flows that take place during a
major eruption would likely extend to locations in Canada.
 Oceanic Ridge Volcanoes
o Most volcanic activity is under water and basaltic pillow lavas dominate the
submerged volcanoes. Intrusion of material from the magma chamber creates
new oceanic crust as the sea floor spreads.
o Shield volcanoes occur where the sea floor volcanoes have built up to the ocean
surface (e.g., Iceland which is growing by volcanic expansion of the oceanic
ridge).
o Hekla is the largest with a total volume of about 12 cubic kilometres  Hekla is a
stratovolcano as can be seen from its form in the photograph below and it has
erupted four times in the 20th century, the last time in 2000..
o Most of Iceland's volcanos are basaltic and form broad shield volcanoes.
However, unlike the Hawaiian Island shield volcanoes, on most oceanic ridge
volcanoes lava flows from linear fissures rather than circular vents. A fountain
eruption of basaltic lava can be seen spraying upward from a long fissure in the
following photograph.
o Cinder cones, like that in the following photo, also form on the older portions of
the island, away from the most active area that runs along the middle of the
oceanic ridge.
o Very small cinder cones, called spatter cones (see the next photo) form where
small fountains of very fluid basaltic lava extrude material to the surface for
relatively short periods of time.
o Because of Iceland's cold climate several volcanoes exist below glaciers. The
photo below shows an eruption beneath a glacier and you can see extensive
crevasses caused by failure of ice at the base of the glacier; note that the glacier is
covered by ash that has accumulated from plumes of steam and ash that can be
seen issuing from a large gap in the ice.
o When volcanic eruptions take place beneath glaciers they can produce tremendous
amounts of meltwater that can flow beneath the ice to the glacier's edge and then
emerge as tremendous flash floods that the Icelanders call jökulhlaups. The
following video shows a jökulhlaup that resulted from a volcanic eruption on
Iceland in 2010.
 Volcanoes and Hot Spots
o Volcanoes that are found well away from a divergent or convergent plate margin,
form due to unusually high heat flow from the mantle to the base of the crust.
The heat is sufficient to melt the crust to form magma that rises to the surface to
form a volcano.
o A hot spot is a location on the base of the crust which is immediately above a
point in the mantle where there is upward convection of hot material from deeper
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within the mantle; this upward convection is referred to as a mantle plume. The
high temperature at the base of the crust results in melting of pre-existing crust,
forming a magma that has a composition reflecting the composition of that crust.
A hot spot beneath oceanic crust forms basaltic magmas whereas a hot spot
beneath continental crust forms granitic magmas. Volcanoes form when the
magma makes its way upward through the crust to the surface.
o Canadian geologist J. Tuzo Wilson (a former Principle of Erindale College, of the
University of Toronto, and former Director General of the Ontario Science
Centre) was the first person to propose that hots spots existed. He introduced hot
spots in his "proof" that crustal plates move in a paper that he published in the
1960s. His proof is the basis for the interpretation of the Hawaiian Islands that
follows in this section of the Module. Wilson was one of the "fathers" of modern
plate tectonic theory; he was also a wonderful educator and an outstanding
Canadian.
o Hot spots can occur beneath oceanic or continental crust and while most are well
away from plate boundaries some occur along the oceanic ridge as shown in the
map, below.
o The Hawaiian Islands are examples of hot spot volcanoes and the island of
Hawaii currently rests on the hot spot that also caused the formation of several
associated volcanic islands.
o The Hawaiian Island chain consist of eastern active volcanic island of Hawaii and
the inactive volcanic islands to the northwest as shown on the following two
illustrations. Note how the islands occur along a straight line and that the
proportion of dry land on each island becomes smaller towards the northwest.
However, the second diagram shows that there is considerable underwater volume
to the islands even in the northwest. Note that the Gardner Pinnacles, labelled
"Gardner" on the map below, are the peaks of the world's largest volcano (in
terms of its total volume) that is named Pūhāhonu volcano, one of the extinct or
inactive volcanoes in the Hawaiian Island chain.
o The next diagram shows that if you follow the Hawaiian Island chain even further
to the northwest the islands are replace by fully submerged seamounts which are
extinct basaltic volcanoes that make up the Emperor Seamount Chain that follows
the same line as the Hawaiian Islands and then bends to trend northward,
extending all the way to the northern edge of the Pacific plate along the Aleutian
Trench. Geologists have determined the ages of the islands and seamounts and
they become older with increasing distance from the current volcanically active
island of Hawaii.
o The volcanically active island of Hawaii and the new volcano Loihi are located
above a hot spot and their volcanoes are fed from the magma that the hot spot
generates. It is the movement of the Pacific plate towards the northwest over this
hot spot that produced the chain of volcanic islands and seamounts that we see
today. Refer to the next diagram (below) for the details.
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o Other islands in the chain were located over the same hot spot at the time that
their volcanoes were active but they were subsequently "pushed" off the hot spot
so that their volcanoes no longer received magma. Without a source of magma
the volcanoes became permanently dormant as they continued to move towards
the northeast as younger volcanoes formed over the hot spot.
o As the old volcanic islands moved further and further from the hot spot they
became cooler and more dense and their additional weight caused them to sink
deeper into the mantle so that the islands gradually became smaller in size.
Concurrent with this subsidence the islands underwent erosion and eventually
they became submerged beneath the ocean surface to form seamounts. This is the
destiny of the island of Hawaii a few million years in the future as plate tectonics
continues to push the crust in a northeasterly direction.
o The distribution of the volcanic islands and seamounts gives us a basis for
inferring something of the long term behaviour of hot spots. The diagram below
shows the trend of the Hawaiian Island Chain and the Emperor Seamounts (note
that the ages in millions of years are shown for 3 of the seamounts). Note that the
trend is not straight but has a prominent bend that takes place south of Koko
Seamount. We know that these volcanic islands and seamounts formed as
oceanic crust was pushed over the hot spot that is currently located beneath the
island of Hawaii. We also know from reconstructions of past plate positions that
the direction of movement of the Pacific plate has not changed much over the past
hundred million years or so. While most geologists have thought that hot spots
are stationary, the trend observed for islands and seamounts can only be produced
with a constant direction of plate movement if, for the last 100 million years, the
hotspot followed the path shown on the right hand side of the following diagram.
o Hot spot volcanoes that form on oceanic crust are very different than those that
form when a hotspot exists beneath continental crust. The map showing the
global distribution of hot spots includes a point on the North American continent
which marks the location of Yellowstone National Park. Also known as
"Yellowstone Caldera" it is classified as a "Supervolcano" because of the
incredible explosive power of its eruptions. These eruptions are very different
than those associated with the Hawaiian hot spot because the magma has a
granitic composition that is particularly viscous and erupts with catastrophic
force. We'll look at Supervolcanoes again in the final section of this module.

Module 5.7 Prediction of Volcanic Eruptions

 Prediction of Volcanic Eruptions
o Like earthquake prediction, the prediction of volcanic eruptions falls into two
broad categories, long term prediction and short term prediction. Also like
earthquakes, long term prediction is based on the history of eruptions and assumes
that future eruptions will be predictable and short term prediction relies on the
recognition of precursor events that often precede volcanic eruptions.
 Long Term Prediction
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o The first step towards being able to predict where and when volcanoes might
erupt is to identify the volcanoes. Recall that particularly dangerous
stratovolcanoes may lay dormant for hundreds or thousands of years and then
become active and erupt explosively. Identifying potentially active volcanoes is a
geological problem that requires recognition and interpretation of volcanic
deposits. It is also necessary to identify the style(s) of eruption and the secondary
hazards that might occur in conjunction with an eruption (landslides, floods, etc.).
o Once the details are known it is possible to establish the level of risk posed by a
given volcano based on historic and geologic record. In some cases geologists
have been able to identify zones of risk associated with a single volcano. This is
the case for Mt. Shasta in the Cascade Range of the western United states. These
zones are based on an understanding of the topography and of what has taken
place during past eruptions. For example, lava flows will flow down slope and
will normally be produced at or close to a central caldera. This means that the
level of risk of damage by lava flows diminishes with distance from the caldera.
 The map below shows three zones with diminishing risk with increasing distance from
the summit of the volcano:
o Zone 1 (displayed in red): areas likely to be affected most frequently. Most future
flows from summit eruptions probably would stay within this zone.
o Zone 2 (displayed in orange): areas likely to be affected by lava flows erupted
from vents on the flank of the volcano or that move into zone 2 from zone 1.
o Zone 3 (displayed in pink): areas likely to be affected infrequently and then only
by long lava flows that originate at vents in zones 1 and 2.

o The ability to identify the long term risk of an eruption and the kinds of damaging
outcomes that might occur allows sound planning of land use that can avoid
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inappropriate use of high risk locations. It also informs insurance companies of

the specific risks of liability where volcanic hazards exist.
 Short term prediction
o All of these predictive tools are based on the recognition of a pattern of events
prior to previous eruptions. They offer warning of an eruption that provides some
lead time to take evasive measures in order to minimize loss of life and, to a lesser
extent, property.
 Gas emission
o In the case of some volcanoes the rates of emission and type of gases emitted
changes as an eruption becomes imminent. Important gases include sulfur
dioxide (SO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) which increase in concentration in the
air, soil, surface water and ground water around the volcano due to the movement
of magma upward in the feeder conduit. An array of gas monitoring devices can
be deployed that will transmit data from remote locations around potentially
hazardous volcanoes.
 Surface tilting
o In some volcanoes when magma is forced upward through the feeder conduit the
pressures that build can cause deformation of the ground surface on or around the
volcano. Tilting of the surface may reflect such building pressure prior to a
volcanic eruption.
o A surface bulge appeared on Mt. St. Helens as pressure within the volcano
increased prior to the eruption (see the following three photographs showing the
growth of the bulge form April 8 to May 2, 1980). This is an extreme case of
surface tilting that was a telling sign that conditions were moving towards an
explosive eruption that took place on May 18, 1980).
 Earthquakes
o When magma moves within the feeder conduit, particularly viscous andesitic or
rhyolitic magma, it does not do so smoothly. It periodically becomes stuck and
strain energy builds and then releases as the viscous magma breaks loose and
surges upwards. Each time stuck magma breaks it releases accumulated strain
energy as a relatively small magnitude earthquake. The maximum magnitude of
the earthquakes is generally less than 5 and their frequency tends to increase as
the eruption approaches.
o The graph below shows the frequency of small magnitude earthquakes for over
the period from the beginning of 1991 to the end of 1992. Note that in the figure
the black bars indicate the weekly frequency of earthquakes (shown on the
vertical scale on the left) and the red lines indicate the date of volcanic eruptions.
The first eruption took place on June 27, 1992, and was preceded by a pattern of
increasing number of weekly earthquakes that began in November of 1991. The
first eruption took place immediately after spike in the number of earthquakes
(exceeding 100) for the week leading up to the first eruption.
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o A combination of the approaches described above is likely the key to short-term

prediction of volcanic eruptions. Sensors on the ground and remote sensing from
satellites can provide data that can, in many cases, provide valuable forewarning
that will allow people at risk to take measures to avoid some of the worst
outcomes of a volcanic eruption.

Module 5.8 Impact of Volcanic Eruptions

 The Impact of Volcanic Eruptions
o The following illustration is produced by the United States Geological Survey to
inform people of the variety of hazards that may be associated with volcanic
eruptions. The hazards range from those that affect the immediate vicinity of a
given volcano (e.g., risks of blocks and bombs and lava flows) to hazards that
have impacts ranging from the regional (e.g., acid rain) to global (e.g., climate
change) scale.
 Lava flows
o Hot flows of basaltic lava tend to destroy everything in their path. Not surprising
because the temperature of the flowing lava ranges from about 500°C to 1400°C!
On the Island of Hawaii and on Iceland lava flows commonly destroy property up
to 10's of kilometres away from the vent.
o Fatalities due to lava flows are rare because normally they move relatively slowly.
On steep slopes a lava flow would typically travel 16 km per hour but on gentle
slopes the flow slows to about 1.5 km per hour so except on the steepest slopes
most people can outrun a typical lava flow.
o The following photo is of a house on the island of Hawaii that was in the path of a
basaltic lava flow.
 Ash fall
o Ash falls can cause extensive property damage and fatalities over a wide area,
depending on the nature of the eruption. During the Mount St. Helens eruption
local cars were only drivable with modified air filters that would keep the large
quantities of fine ash out of their engines. In areas that are close to eruptions ash
accumulates on rooftops and can lead to the collapse of buildings.
o Well over 100 commercial jets have been damaged by volcanic ash and it's not
uncommon for flights to be cancelled due to the risk posed by atmospheric ash,
and the affects can bed far reaching.
o Ash in the atmosphere can be very damaging to aircraft, particularly jet engines.
The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull Volcano resulted in the cancellation of
over 100,000 European flights over an 8 day period in April, 2010. The map
below shows the area affected by the ash from the volcano (located at the red dot)
over the period from April 14 to 25, 2010.
o Heavy ashfalls can pose direct risk to many living organisms. For example an
ashfall 10 million years ago killed the rhinos in the figure below that are
preserved at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park, Nebraska. Paleobiologists
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determined that death was not by burial but by lung failure due to inhaling the
ash.
 Pyroclastic flows
o Pyroclastic flows destroy life and property in their paths. Sixty people, thousands
of animals and fish, and hundreds of acres of lumber were destroyed by ash flows
from Mt. St. Helens.
o A nuée ardente killed 20,000 people when Mt. Vesuvius exploded and shed a
pyroclastic flow across the village of Pompeii in 79 AD. People and animals
died instantly from the rushing cloud of hot gas and ash. The following two
photographs are classic pictures taken during the exhumation of Pompeii.
 Lahars
o Lahars are fast moving mudflows that can inundate urban areas that are nearby
the eruption and may also dam rivers and which can lead to extensive flooding.
o Lahars can be the most devastating outcome of many volcanoes. A relatively
small eruption of Nevada del Ruiz, Columbia, in 1985, generated a lahar when the
volcano melted a 2.5 km2 area of snow and ice. Water and debris rushed down
the slopes, picking up more debris along the way.
o A 5 metre wall of water and debris slammed into the town of Amero, 72 km from
the volcano. Estimates of the total number of fatalities ranges from 23,000 to
29,000 people and over 5,000 structures in the city were destroyed.
 Landslides
o Landslides can be generated when a volcano collapses during an eruption. During
the Mt. St. Helens eruption 2.3 km3 of debris slid down the mountain at speeds up
to 240 km/hr. The slide traveled over 24 km and left a 45 m deep deposit.
o 350,000 years ago Mt. Shasta experienced a similar eruption and landslide that
was 20 times greater than that of Mt. St. Helens. The photograph below shows
the hummocky topography of the deposits of this landslide as seen today.
 Volcanic Gases
o In addition to making magma more explosive, volcanic eruptions also include
gases that can be deadly to all life. The following table shows the proportion of
various gases emitted by volcanoes associated with hot spots on oceanic crust,
divergent plate boundaries and convergent plate boundaries. Carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide have caused the greatest number of
fatalities.
o Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions can have direct effects on life in the vicinity of a
volcano. An eruption in 1783 of Laki Crater (Iceland) produced a sulphurous
haze that lasted for 9 months and killed 75% of all livestock and 24% of the
Icelandic population.
o Concern over the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is heightened today
because it is a major greenhouse gas and the increase in global temperature that
has been taking place over the last couple of hundred years can be correlated
closely to the increase in the concentration of atmospheric CO2. Volcanoes are a
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major "natural" source of atmospheric CO2, contributing between 130 to 230

million tonnes of the gas to the atmosphere every year. In contrast, human
activity adds CO2 at the rate of approximately 22 billion tonnes per year (150
times the rate of volcanic production). Human CO2 production is equal to that if
17,000 volcanoes like Kilauea were erupting every year.
o In addition to being a significant greenhouse gas CO2 is also toxic to humans and
many other organisms.
o Mammoth Mountain, California is a relatively young volcano that is emitting
large volumes of CO2. Concentrations of the gas in the soil in some areas near
the mountain are high enough to kill trees and small animals. The photo below
shows an extensive area where trees have been killed due to CO2 toxicity.
o If the air that we breath has more than 10% CO2 it becomes deadly because it
displaces the oxygen that we need for respiration. Lake Nyos, Cameroon, is a
very deep lake within a volcanic crater beneath which is a magma chamber. CO2
is seeping from the crater into the lake but the water is so deep that hydrostatic
pressure forces the gas to remain at the lake bottom rather than gradually, and
harmlessly, escaping to the atmosphere. As gas is added at the lake bottom the
pressure of the CO2 builds until it exceeds a certain limit, beyond which the gas
rapidly bubbles up to the water surface. The CO2 is heavier than the other
atmospheric gases so it hugs the surface of the lake and and then flows as an
invisible gas cloud down the adjacent slopes.
o To prevent a future gas eruption a rafted fountain (see below) was installed which
pumps water from the lake bottom to the surface in order to prevent gas
accumulation at depth.
 Tsunamis
o Like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions can produce dangerous tsunamis when the
eruptions take place beneath the ocean surface. The explosive power of an
underwater eruption can displace surface waters, generating a wave propagated
outward as a tsunami.
o The eruption of Indonesia's Krakatoa volcano (1883) involved several explosions
culminating in a final massive explosion that was immediately followed by the
collapse of the volcano's caldera. The combined effect of these two events was
the generation of a significant tsunami that took the lives of approximately 36,000
(the most deadly outcome of the eruption). The following photograph shows
Krakatoa as it appears today, undergoing a constructive phase that will ultimately
end with another explosive eruption.
 Global Climate Change
o The greatest impact of the largest magnitude eruptions, VEI 7 and greater, is
likely the dramatic cooling of global climate that results from the large volumes
of ash and gas that reaches the upper atmosphere where it can remain for years.
The important affect of this atmospheric pollution is that it reduces incoming solar
radiation so that the temperature of the Earth decreases.
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o In particular sulphur dioxide from an eruption mixes with water to form tiny
droplets of sulfuric acid in the upper atmosphere. These droplets are particularly
effective at reflecting incoming solar radiation back towards space rather than
allowing it to reach the Earth's surface where it is absorbed to produce heat.
o The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo released 22 million metric tons of sulphur
dioxide into the atompsophere and reduced the Earth’s average temperature by 0.5
degrees Celsius in the year following the eruption.
o Much more effective at cooling the climate was the 1815 eruption of Tambora
Volcano (Indonesia) which extruded up to 150 km3 of magma (solid equivalent),
much of it into the atmosphere. Tambora is one of only two historic eruptions of
VEI 7 and it resulted in global cooling to the extent that 1816 is often called "the
year without a summer".
o The year 1816 had an average global temperature that is estimated to have been
reduced by almost 1°C and regional average temperatures were reduced by up to
3°C due to the atmospheric effects of the massive amount of ash and gas that was
introduced to the atmosphere. In June of 1816 there was widespread snowfall
throughout the eastern United States. The normal growing season experienced
repeated frosts as cold air extended much more southerly than normal. The cold
conditions led to food shortages and starvation over much of the Northern
Hemisphere, conditions that are believed to have resulted in the deaths of 80,000
people.
o The global population was about 1 billion people in 1816 and our current
population is a little over 7 billion. The 1816 fatality rate would have resulted in
a death toll approaching 600,000 people due to starvation.

Module 5.9 Deadly History Volcanic Eruptions

 Deadly Historic Volcanic Eruptions
o While there are many "major" volcanic eruptions that have led to widespread
destruction the three eruptions that are described here stand out for being the
deadliest of eruptions over historic times.
 Mt. Pelée (1902) VEI = 4
o Mount Pelée is a stratovolcano that is located along the Caribbean trench in the
Atlantic Ocean on the island of Martinique (see the following map). The eruption
in May of 1902 was the deadliest eruption of the 20th century because much of its
destructive power was directed at the town of St. Pierre. At the time St. Pierre
had a population of about 28,000 people, much more than usual because many
people had relocated to the town thinking it a safe place to be in the event of an
eruption that had been building for several months.
o The eruption was preceded by a number of relatively small explosions, clouds of
sulphurous gas and a couple of days before the main eruption a lake of hot water
was released from the volcano's crater. The water generated a lahar that flowed to
the ocean, through an existing river valley, where it generated a 3 m high tsunami.
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The following photograph shows a small ash column produced by an early

eruption of the volcano.
o The eruption of Pelée was similar to that of Mt. St. Helens and many other
stratovolcanoes in that it involved the construction of a lava dome which
subsequently collapsed, releasing a massive lateral explosion and accompanying
pyroclastic flow as it erupted. The following diagram shows the sequence of
events that are associated with such an eruption.
o The failure of the dome on the slopes of the volcano uncaps the volcanic vent,
releasing pressure that had been building to that point. The explosive eruption that
results includes a vertical component, producing a large eruption column, along
with a horizontal component that hugs the ground as it flows down the sloping
surface away from the volcano.
o The pyroclastic flow that was generated by the collapse of the dome on Mount
Pelée was the flow that led to the term "nuée ardente" (which means "burning or
fiery cloud"); the flow roared 6 km downslope, passing through the town of St.
Pierre before reaching the ocean. The following photo shows the nuée ardente as
it reached the town.
o Almost the entire population of St. Pierre were killed by the nuée ardent. Most
died instantly as they inhaled the hot gases of the glowing cloud. There were only
three known survivors in St. Pierre: a little girl who escaped by boat to a nearby
cave (she was later rescued after she had drifted 2 miles offshore), a merchant on
the edge of town who was badly burned but survived, and a man who was being
held in a dungeon right in town where he was protected due to its poor ventilation
and the thick walls of the jail. The next photo is a view of St. Pierre after the air
had cleared.
o Pelée's performance wasn't over with the destruction of St. Pierre. A few months
after the eruption Pelée constructed the largest lava dome of historic times. The
dome grew from the flow of the crater that remained after the eruption, and it
grew upward from the crater floor to a total height of over 300 metres. By March
of 1903 the towering dome (now called a "volcanic spine") became unstable and it
collapsed into a mass of rubble without initiating another eruption. The following
photo shows the huge dome that became known as the "'tower of Pelée".
 Tambora (1815) VEI = 7
o The 1815 eruption of Tambora, Indonesia, was the largest eruption of historic
time, erupting about 150 km3 of tephra over several explosions. The eruption
column or ash plume extended to an elevation of of 44 km. We've already seen
that Tambora delivered enough ash and frozen droplets of sulphur dioxide to the
upper atmosphere to drive regional average temperers as low as 3°C below the
average over the year following the eruption. This, in turn, led to starvation and
disease that is estimated to have taken 80,000 lives.
o In the vicinity of the eruption the greatest impacts were from pyroclastic flows
and it is reported that about 10,000 people were killed by bomb impacts, tephra
falls and pyroclastic flows. Accounts of Tambora's eruption are sparse compared
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to those Pelée and Krakatoa so we do not know many details of this important
geological event.
o The following photo from google earth show's Tambora's caldera today; its
diameter is about 6 km across.
 Krakatoa (1883) (also spelled Krakatau) VEI = 6
o On the Island of Rakata, Krakatoa was one of 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia
(the country with the most active volcanoes in the world). The volcano had been
inactive for almost 200 years prior to a series of small eruptions that began early
in 1883.
o The volcanoes of Indonesia are due to the northeastward subduction of the Indo-
Australian plate beneath the Eurasian plate. All of these volcanoes are
stratovolcanoes with a high probability of violent eruption.
o Krakatoa began its eruptive stage on May 20, 1883 immediately following a
strong earthquake (no sensors were there to measure it). The first explosions were
heard 160 km away and sent steam and ash upwards to a height of 11 km. The
following months saw a number of minor eruptions and by August 11 three vents
were active on the volcano.
o On August 26 several loud eruptions took place over the course of the day
sending dust and ash to over 25 km elevation into the atmosphere.
o On August 27, four very large eruptions began at 5:30 am. The last of the four
was the largest and could be heard from Sri Lanka to Australia, up to 4,600 km
from the volcano. A 23 km2 area of the island was gone following the fourth
eruption. The maps, below, show the island of Krakatoa before and after the
eruption with the stippled area representing the area of land that was destroyed by
the eruption.
o The caldera collapsed with the explosion, from an original height of 450m above
sea level to 250m below sea level. The blast itself is thought to have ejected
about 20 km3 of tephra.
o The eruption produced a pyroclastic flow that was experienced at sea as far as 80
km away. Ships experienced hurricane force winds loaded with tephra and
smelling strongly of sulphur.
o Burn-related fatalities were recorded up to 40 km away from the blast and an
estimated 4,500 people died from the direct effects of the blast.
o The collapse of the caldera, combined with the explosion, generated a massive
tsunami with a maximum height at landfall of 45 m.
o The impact of the tsunami was greatest on the nearby islands where blocks of
coral up to 600 tons were washed ashore. The following figure shows a steamship
that was carried by the tsunami almost 2 km onto the land and dropped 10 m
above sea level.
o Along low lying coasts of Java the waves washed 8 km onshore, dragging people
along with them as they washed back to sea. The tsunami was recorded as a small
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rise in sea level as far away as the California coast (20 hours after the fourth
blast). An estimated 36,417 people were killed by the tsunami alone.
o Ash from the volcano fell to Earth as far away as 2,500 km downwind over the
days following the eruption. Ash and gases in the upper atmosphere led to a
lowering of global temperature in the following year.
o Anak Krakatoa (child of Krakatoa) has grown through ongoing volcanism where
Krakatoa had existed. It’s undergoing a constructive phase of mild strombolian
and vulcanian eruptions. The video, below, was taken in 2010.
 But, there’s a little more to this story…..
 Could Krakatoa have been the cause of humanity’s descent into the Dark Ages?
 Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World, by David Keys,
investigates the role of extreme climate change in a series of events in human history
over the 6th and 7th centuries AD, including:
o The fall of ancient supercities.
o The sharp decline of ancient civilizations: Persia, Indonesia, the Nasca culture of
South America, and southern Arabian civilizations.
o The breakup of the Roman Empire and the formation of many nation states.
o Restructuring that led to a new united China.
 This was also the first time that the Bubonic Plague spread through much of the known
world with the epidemic had hit Alexandria, on the coast of Egypt, in 541 AD after
spreading from east Africa. The disease is believed to have killed 900,000 people over a
100 year period.
 These events all appear to be linked to a major climatic change that took place in 535
AD.
 A written description of the time describes a major atmospheric event:
o “The Sun became dark, and its darkness lasted for about 18 months.
 Each day, it shawn for about four hours and still this light was only a
 feeble shadow.”…. John of Ephesis
 Keys suggested that a major impact of an asteroid or comet or a major volcanic eruption
might have accounted for the global climate change that led to the onset of the dark ages.
 No major impact structures are known to have formed over the required time so
investigations focused on a volcanic eruption.
 Ken Wohletz of the Los Alamos National Laboratory took on a collaboration to try to
find a volcanic source of such a major eruption.
 He summarizes some of his ideas at:
http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/ees/geodynamics/Wohletz/Krakatau.htm
 Historical evidence of calamity having taken place in both the northern and southern
hemispheres suggested a near-equator eruption and his search focused on Indonesia,
because many potentially stratovolcanoes are found in that region.
 Wohletz’s work identified thick pyroclastic deposits in Indonesia, near Krakatoa, that
were determined to have been deposited around 500 AD.
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 Further investigation showed a possible 50 km diameter volcanic caldera in which Anak

Krakatoa now resides within the Sunda Straits, a shallow body of water that now
separates the islands of Sumatra and Java (see map below).
 Wohletz describes in some detail a hypothetical eruption of Krakatoa that would have
produced such a caldera in the 6th century AD. Prior to such an eruption Sumatra and
Java would have formed a continuous island with Proto Krakatoa occupying the location
of the current Sunda Straits (see top figure, below) and after the eruption the Straits
would be open and the islands separated (lower figure, below).
 Such an event would:
o Modify weather patterns extensively.
o Cause crop-failure world-wide.
o Result in poor nutrition that would increase risk to disease.
o Decrease populations and lead to political stress that would result in extensive
social change.
o Possibly leading to the Dark Ages.
o The events described remain tentative but plausible. Further evidence needs to be
gathered.

Module 5.10 Supervolcanoes

 Supervolcanoes
o A Supervolcano is any volcano that ejects 1000 km3 or more material during an
eruption (i.e., VEI 8 or more). According to M.R. Rampino supervolcano
eruptions take place, on average, every 50,000 years.
o Three of the best known supervolcano eruptions of the last 2 million years are
compared, below, in terms of the volume of ejecta produced in each eruption. For
comparison the eruption of Mt. St. Helens produces about 1 km3 of ejecta.
 Yellowstone Caldera
o Known for its hot springs and geysers, Yellowstone National Park, is likely the
most popular supervolcano in the world. The park sits on an active caldera that
rises and sinks in response to the movement of magma within the Earth. Over
recent years the surface has risen by as much as a metre and sunk back by 1/3 of a
metre. The movement of magma beneath Yellowstone caldera produces
thousands of small earthquakes every year.
o The following map shows the location of the Yellowstone Caldera (delineated by
the red dashed line). The modern caldera is 80 km long and 50 km wide. Two
magma chambers are known to exist beneath the caldera. The uppermost magma
chamber is relatively shallow, only 5 to 13 km below the land surface and
contains about 10,000 km3 of molten rock. The deeper magma chamber was
discovered in very recently (published in April 2015) and extends between 20 and
50 kilometres depth, extending from just above the top of the upper mantle. The
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volume of magma within this deep chamber is estimated to be 4.5 time that of the
shallow chamber!
o The caldera and its magma chambers are due to a hot spot that has remained
more-or-less stationary within the mantle while the North American plate has
moved over it by several hundred kilometres in a southeasterly direction. This
movement of the crust over the hot spot for the last 12.5 million years has
produced a "hot spot track", or chain of old calderas, that extends along a line
trending southwest to northeast passing across Utah and into Nevada (see the map
below). The calderas become younger towards the current caldera and on the map
the circles indicate the position of old calderas and the number in the circle is the
time before the present (in millions of years) is when each caldera was active.
The current caldera is numbered 2.0-0.6 because it has erupted three times over
the period from 640,000 years ago to 2 million years ago.
o The first eruption at the current location took place 2 million years ago and is
known as the Huckleberry Ridge Eruption. This was the largest eruption, ejecting
2,500 km3 of pyroclastic debris.
o The second eruption took place 1.3 million years ago, named the Mesa Falls
Eruption, that was much smaller, producing about 280 km3 of tephra (much larger
than any historic eruption).
o The most recent eruption was the Lava Creek Eruption that occurred 640,000
years ago and involved the ejection of 1,000 km3 of pyroclastic debris.
o Note that these eruptions seem to be taking place every 680,000 years or so,
meaning that we could expect another big event at Yellowstone at any time.
o Past eruptions tell us what to expect from a future eruption of the Yellowstone
Supervolcano. The map below shows the extent of ash deposits that are preserved
from the Lava Creek and Huckleberry Ridge eruptions in comparison to ash
deposits produced by Mt. St. Helens. Each of these two Yellowstone
supereruptions have covered almost half of the continental United States with
volcanic ash.
o Recent modelling by geologists at the United States Geological Survey have
produced the map, below, showing the thickness of ash deposits that would be
laid down due to a Yellowstone supervolcano eruption of one month's duration.
o Heightened monitoring of the Yellowstone Caldera in recent years has led to
media concern of an impending eruption.
o Government officials and geologists indicate that there have been no clear
indicators of high risk at this time. Yellowstone Supervolcano has not changed in
behaviour over the 140 years for which observations are available.
o The loading of the upper atmosphere with reflective dust and ice particles would
significantly reduce global temperatures for many years and lead to famine and
disease, particularly in those parts of the world where living conditions are
marginal at best.
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o If such an eruption were to take place, North America and the rest of the world
could experience another “Dark Ages”.
 Toba
o Located at the northwestern end of the island of Sumatra, Lake Toba is one of the
largest calderas in the world (see map below).
o Today Toba is a caldera or depression that is occupied by Lake Toba which is 100
km long and 30 km wide. Toba last erupted about 74,000 years ago and is the
most powerful volcanic eruption to have taken place on Earth for the last 2
million years.
o Three eruptive events have been recognized and each produced a caldera:
 840,000 years ago (Porsea Caldera)
 500,000 years ago (Haranggaol Caldera)
 74,000 years ago (Sibadung Caldera)
o Samosir Island, rising 750 m above the lake, is a dome built from lava following
the last eruption
o The most violent eruption ejected 2,800 km3 of tephra and the pyroclastic flows
covered an area of at least 20,000 km2. In the vicinity surrounding the caldera of
the volcano ash deposits reach 600 metres in thickness and ash fall from the
eruption covers an area of at least 4 million square km; half the area of the
continental United States.
o The climatic effect of the eruption was a reduction of average global temperature
by 3 to 5°C and regional cooling of up to 15°C. With the such reduction in
global temperatures tropical plant life would have been all but eliminated and
temperate forests would loose 50% of all trees. Food supplies for the small
human population at that time would have diminished sharply.
o When geologists first realized that Toba had made a huge impact on global
climate it was estimated that the growing population of homo sapiens (i.e., us)
was reduced from 100,000 individuals to as few as 3,000 individuals (97% of all
humans). This reduction had been estimated for approximately the time of Toba’s
eruption on the basis of genetic studies and is termed the “human population
bottleneck”. The estimates on population reduction are now in some doubt but
the impact on the atmosphere and climate are not.
o If the eruption of Tambora (160 km3 ejecta) led to a loss of 80,000 people due to
famine and associated disease then an eruption of 15 times that amount of ejecta
would have had a very significant impact on the primitive population of humans
at that time.
o The Earth currently has a population of over 7 billion people, with 1.3 billion of
those living under conditions of "extreme poverty", the outcome of a Toba-scale
eruption would have a horrific impact on the human population and our political,
economic and social framework, that could last for several years to decades and
might take many decades to reverse.
o
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