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2 Volcanoes -- Eruptions
The type of eruption that a volcano has (explosive or non-explosive) is dependent on the composition
of the magma (what the magma is made up of).
Viscosity a materials resistance to flow (is it thick and slow or is it thin and runny).
Temp.:
Think of warm
* Cooler magma has a higher viscosity (thick and slow moving).
honey & cold honey.
* Warmer magma has a lower viscosity (thin and runny).
Composition:
Think of silica like the * Magma with high silica content will have a higher viscosity (thick and slow moving).
flour that is put into * Magma with low silica content will have a lower viscosity (thin and runny).
gravy to thicken it.
3 Types of Magma
Basaltic low silica content, low viscosity (thin & runny), gases escape easily (not trapped),
non-explosive eruptions (most likely shield cone volcanoes have this type).
Rhyolitic high silica content, high viscosity (thick & slow moving), gases cannot escape easily
(they get trapped), very explosive eruptions (most likely cinder cone volcanoes have this type).
Explosive Eruptions
Tephra the material that is blown out of a volcano and into the air during a violent eruption.
This is also known as pyroclastic material. There a 5 general categories of tephra that
are primarily seperated according to size: Volcanic Dust, Volcanic Ash, Lapilli,
Volcanic Blocks, and Volcanic Bombs.
The time that some of these blocks spend on their flight out of the
volcano can be easily calculated to be around 30-40 seconds, while
they can travel at speeds of typically 200-300 meters / sec.
Volcanic Bombs is a mass of molten rock (tephra) larger than 65 mm (2.5 inches)
in diameter, formed when a volcano ejects viscous (thick) fragments of lava during an
eruption. They cool into solid fragments before they reach the ground (spinning and
rotating as the fly thru the air). They will have a hard outer rock shell with liquid lava
inside. Lava bombs can be thrown many kilometers (which is equal to a few miles) from an
erupting vent, and often acquire aerodynamic shapes (round or spindle shaped) during
their flight. Bombs can be extremely large.
Volcanic bombs are known to occasionally explode from internal gas pressure (the
gases that are still trapped in the lava are trying to escape) as they cool, but explosions are
rare; in most cases most of the damage they cause is from impact when they hit the
ground and crack open spilling out the still liquid lava inside.
Pyroclastic Flows
Pyroclastic flows are high-density mixtures of hot, dry rock fragments and
hot gases that move away from the vent that erupted them at high speeds
(hundreds of miles per hour)..
Pyroclastic Flow