Which are the biggest (tallest and largest volume) and smallest volcanoes on Earth? The island of Hawaii is probably the largest volcano on earth. From its base (on the floor of the Pacific Ocean) to the summit of Mauna Kea (about 13 000ft) is some 30 000ft i.e. higher than Everest. The island comprises several coalescing volcanoes including Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and Kilauea. Mauna Loa alone has an estimated volume of 40 000km**3. It is impossible to say which is the smallest volcano since there are thousands of small eruptions on the ocean floor and around already established volcanoes only a few yards across. Volcanoes are caused when molten rock from within the mantle breaks through the crust and flows out over the surface. But volcanoes don’t occur everywhere. There are none in Britain at the moment, although in the past (300-400 million years ago) there were plenty in Wales and Scotland. Volcanoes form in two places on the Earth. The Earth’s crust is made up of a series of plates. When these plates collide, one can be forced below the other. As this happens it is pushed into the hotter mantle and starts to melt. The melting rocks rise back up through the mantle and start working their way into the crust.
Some will get trapped and cool slowly. Others will reach the surface forming volcanoes. There are other places on Earth where the crust is being heated strongly from the mantle below. This can be thought of like a bunsen burner heating a pan. As the Earth’s crustal plates move over these “Hot Spots” a series of volcanoes will form. This combination of moving the crust over a single hot spot will create a string of volcanoes like those in Hawaii and Indonesia. The line of volcanoes shows the direction the plate has moved in. Once a volcanic cone has built up, it might block itself up if the molten rock solidifies inside it. But when the pressure of more rising molten rocks beneath is great enough, it blows the solidified rocks off the top and erupts again. Just before this happens there are sometimes a lot of earthquakes in the area. This can be a warning to people who live on the volcano that it is about to erupt. The problem is that volcanic eruptions are not predictable and many people die each year when eruptions happen suddenly. So why do people want to live near volcanoes? The answer is that volcanic rocks form very fertile soils that are good for growing crops.
The Essay on Mineral Earths Crust
A mineral is a natural inorganic solid wit a set atomic structure. Each mineral has a set chemical composition and specific physical properties. There are over 300 minerals today the earth scientist has discovered. There have been 3000 minerals that have been categorized into the following categories, which I will describe to you in the next paragraphs. There are 7 different categories that it is ...
In crowded countries like Indonesia where there is not much space to grow crops, farming on volcanic soils is vital to keep the population alive. If the molten rock comes out under water then it will cool very quickly. This is happening along the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where lavas are erupting out along huge cracks that run from Iceland in the north down to the Falkland Islands in the south. This is the longest volcanic mountain chain on Earth but not a lot of people know it is there because it is hidden beneath the sea. There are also other planets in the solar system with volcanoes on them. Mars has one of the biggest volcanoes – a mountain called Olympus Mons. Scientists believe that all the volcanoes on Mars are inactive now. Venus is almost completely covered in volcanoes. 80% of the planet is peppered with them. But scientists are yet to find a smoking one. One theory suggests that Venus burps out its heat from the mantle every 500 million years in a catastrophic volcanic event which covers the whole planet. The rest of the time it stays dormant. 1. In volcanic areas – water which is contained within rocks can be heated by the molten rocks which give rise volcanoes. The hot water can be ‘tapped’ and used for power – this power is called hydrothermal energy (hydro = water and thermal = heat or energy).
In Iceland, hydrothermal energy is used in greenhouses to grow tomatoes and bananas! It can also be used to generate steam which in turn can power turbines and produce electricity. 2. Soils produced from the ash and weathered rocks of volcanic eruptions are extremely fertile and flanks of large volcanoes are often used for agriculture. 3. On the island of Lanzarote, to the west of Africa, the locals use volcanic rocks for building stone; its readily available, cheap and there are very few other building materials. It is also light so easy to transport but not very strong so buildings can’t be very tall – which is great if you don’t want to ruin your skyline with skyscrapers! 4. Volcanic eruptions themselves have been important in geological history by introducing gases into the Earth’s atmosphere, in particular water vapour, sulphur, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. These gases have played an important role in the development of our atmosphere. 5. Tourism – many volcanic areas are exploited for tourism e.g. trips to Vesuvius and Mt Etna in Italy. The volcanoes and hydrothermal areas of New Zealand and Hawaii also attract many tourists. 6. Finally, volcanic activity produces fluids in rocks which are rich in minerals. When these fluids cool, the minerals crystallise out and are deposited. Many of these minerals are of considerable economic wealth. Do other planets other than Earth have volcanoes? There are many signs of volcanic eruptions on the other Earth-like planets – especially Venus and Mars, but it all seems to have happened in the distant past, and they show all the signs of being quiet and inactive now. Both Mars and Venus have volcanoes much larger than any on Earth, and they have erupted huge amounts of lava onto their surfaces in the past (Olympus Mons on Mars is over 27km high!).
The Term Paper on Volcanoes Lava Volcano Volcanic
Volcanoes JACK KN OFF WR 327 Technical Report Spring '99 Introduction In this report I plan to discuss the geological event of volcanic eruptions and the disasters they cause. To me, this is a fascinating topic and timely seeing how the 19 th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens is upon us. I hope to inform people of the mass destruction that is caused by the eruption of a volcano. The ...
Mars even has an enormous bulge on one side of the planet, where the molten lava rising up to the volcanoes from inside the planet has pushed the solid crust 6 kilometres above the surrounding land. The other worlds in the Solar System which do have active volcanoes are both moons of the outer gas giant planets. This is strange, because in general, the further from the Sun a planet is, the colder and less active it should be. Io, one of Jupiter’s satellites, about the same size as our own Moon, actually has more erupting volcanoes than the Earth. This is because it orbits very close to Jupiter, and is constantly being pulled around by the gravity of Jupiter and its other moons. This keeps the rocks beneath the surface hot enough to be molten lava, and it keeps bursting out through vents in the surface. The other volcanic moon is even stranger. Triton is slightly bigger than Io and our Moon, but. orbiting Neptune, lies even further away from the Sun’s heat. On Triton, all the rocks are frozen solid, yet even here geological activity can be found in the form of geysers. Every summer, on this distant moon, the faint light of the Sun is sufficient to raise the surface temperature.
The Essay on Igneous Rocks
The Igneous rocks are the oldest type of rocks among all. The word “Igneous” comes from a Greek word which means fire. In the deepest part of the Earth, the minerals are found in a liquid form, which is known as magma. When the magma pushes towards the surface of the Earth, it starts to get cool and converts into the solid Igneous rocks. The formation of Igneous Rocks: The Igneous ...
The moon erupts in one of the most arresting displays in our solar system: jets of pure nitrogen escape like the steam from a pressure cooker to rise several kilometres into space before taking a right angle in Triton’s high altitude winds. Where does the gas that comes out of volcanoes come from? The most common volcanic gases are carbon dioxide, water, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide – these giving the distinctive odour associated with volcanic activity. Small quantities of other volatile elements and compounds are also present such as hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride and mercury. These gases come from the magma – basically any molten rock beneath the surface – and exactly which gases are released depends on temperature, pressure and what other volatile elements are present. Some volcanic gases are less soluble in magma than others and will separate out at higher pressure. As magma ascends from deep inside the earth, the pressure acting on it decreases and allows the various gases to ‘bubble’ out. Studies at Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii suggest that carbon dioxide begins to separate from its parent magma at depths of about 40 kilometres, whereas most of the sulphur gases and water are not released until the magma has reached nearly to the surface.
Carbon dioxide is the least soluble and so is the first to separate. It is the expansion and joining up of these gas bubbles which tears the magma up into lumps or clots which form the pumice and ejected material in explosive eruptions. So how do these gases get into the magma? This depends on where the magma was formed in the earth. The magma in basalt volcanoes, such as those in Iceland or Hawaii, has its source in the mantle, the layer directly beneath the surface ‘crust’ of the earth, and so any gas here comes mainly from gas locked into the melted minerals. If volcanic rocks erupt on the earth’s crust, such as the Andean volcanoes, then magma can interact with carbonate rocks such as chalk as it travels up through the mantle or lower crust, picking up carbon dioxide on the way. In subduction zones, where the ocean floor goes down into the mantle some carbonate rocks do get taken down and melted, recycling their carbon dioxide content, but this is a minor source compared with the mantle. Carbon is quite common deep in the earth, found either as the element itself (graphite or diamond under very high pressures), or as carbon dioxide. None of the common minerals in magmatic rock contains carbon, so when magma cools and solidifies carbon is one of the ‘left-over’ elements.
The Essay on Representative Gases Properties Of Gases
1. State the five assumptions of the Kinetic-Molecular Theory of gases. a) Gases consist of large numbers of tiny particles. These particles, usually molecules or atoms, typically occupy a volume about 1000 times larger than occupied by the same number of particles in the liquid or solid state. Thus molecules of gases are much further apart than those of liquids or solids. Most of the volume ...
If there is enough oxygen around, then it will combine to form carbon dioxide. Where does the carbon dioxide that’s found in volcanic lavas come from? The carbon dioxide comes from the deep mantle where it is dissolved in the rocks that melt to form the magma (magma = any molten rock beneath the surface) which eventually reach the surface as lava. As the magma ascends the pressure acting on it decreases and eventually the various gases become saturated and exsolve (the opposite of dissolve) into gas bubbles. The first to exsolve is carbon dioxide (the least soluble), then later (nearer the surface) water vapour and sulphur dioxide come out. It is the expansion and joining up of the gas bubbles which tears the magma up into lumps or clots which form the pumice or scoria in explosive eruptions. Carbon is quite a common element deep in the earth, either as the element (graphite, or under very high pressures, diamond) or in carbon dioxide contained in magmas or rocks. None of the common minerals in magmatic (igneous) rocks contain carbon, so when the magma cools down and solidifies, carbon is one of the ‘left over’ elements. If there is enough oxygen around, it will combine with the carbon to form carbon dioxide.
The Essay on Interpreting The History Of Volcanoes And Volcanic Rocks
Drawing from the diagram, the volcanic history is as outlined below and other relevant details are also supplied. 1.0 Sequential summary of volcanic history the area a. Andersite porphyry: this is the oldest. Andersite indicates magma of intermediate composition. Its silica content is midway between felsic rocks (having high silica content) and mafic rocks (having low silica content). Its ...
Is there any evidence of earthquake or volcanic activity in the past in the polar regions? There are at least 6 volcanoes in Antarctica – Mount Bird, Coulman Island, Mount Discovery, Mount Erebus, Mount Harcourt and Mount Terror. There aren’t volcanoes as such in the Arctic because there is no land mass there. There may well be volcanoes under the ice at the bottom of the ocean, but we don’t tend to call things volcanoes until we can see them! The largest islands, in the western region, form volcanic island arcs that rise from the broad continental shelf along the eastern edge of the Eurasian Plate. They include Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. The oceanic islands, collectively called Oceania, are the tops of mountains built up from the ocean basin by extruding molten rock. The Pacific Ocean contains more than 30,000 islands of this type; their total land area, however, amounts to only one-quarter of one per cent of the surface area of the ocean. The mountains that remain submerged are called seamounts. In many areas, particularly the South Pacific, the land features above the sea surface are accretions of coral reef. Along the eastern edge of the Pacific, the continental shelf is narrow and steep, with few island areas.
The major groups are the Galapagos at the equator. Which rise from the Nazca Plate, the Aleutians in the north, which are part of the North American continental shelf. The islands of Hawaii, which rise some 5,550 m (more than 18,000 ft) from the sea floor of the central Pacific, reaching in Mauna Kea a height of 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level. Edinburgh Castle, historically the principal royal fortress of Scotland, perched on Castle Rock, a massive volcanic rock that towers dramatically over the city. Overlooking the North Sea, the rock has long occupied a key strategic position on the Firth of Forth and has consequently been fortified from earliest times. St Margaret’s Chapel, built in the 12th century during the reign of David I in memory of Margaret, queen of Malcolm III, is almost certainly the oldest structure on the rock. Because of continuous remodelling and alteration of the fortifications on the rock over the centuries, little remains of the medieval fortifications. The picturesque agglomeration of battlements, towers, prisons, and palaces dates from virtually every stage of Scottish history. The finest buildings date principally from the reign of James IV; the Great Hall, with a superb hammer-beam roof, is perhaps the most significant.
The Essay on Soufriere Hills Volcano Eruption Island
AN OTHER ERUPTION? The January 13, 1999 a new volcano, a strato volcano, erupted. This volcano is the Soufriere Hills on the island of Montserrat in the West Indies near Cuba and Barbados. Montserrat has three groups of mountains, the highest group is the Soufriere Hills his elevation is 915 meters in the southern part of the island. Christopher Columbus reached Montserrat in 1493 during is second ...
James IV was also responsible for improvements made to the 15th-century Royal Palace of James I, situated on Crown Square, within the Castle, and it was in a room here that James VI (James I of England) was born to Mary, Queen of Scots in 1566. Today, the castle, which is open to visitors, is the scene of an annual floodlit tattoo Vesuvius (Italian, Vesuvio, from Oscan word fesf, ?smoke?), volcano in southern Italy, near the shore of the Bay of Naples and the city of Naples. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland. A solitary mountain rising from the plain of Campania, it has a base about 48 km (30 mi) in circumference and is surmounted by two summits, of which the higher is the cone known as Vesuvius proper. On August 24, AD 79, a great eruption of Vesuvius began; the top of the mountain was blown off by an explosion, and the cities of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae were overwhelmed by a rain of ashes and mud. About 2,000 people were killed. No lava was ejected in this or any subsequent eruption until 1066. An eruption in 1631 destroyed five towns and caused the deaths of more than 3,000 people. In 1794 a violent outbreak destroyed the town of Torre del Greco. Following numerous smaller outbreaks, a violent eruption took place in April 1906, lasting ten days and causing great destruction and the loss of 2,000 lives. Since then smaller outbreaks have occurred in 1913, 1926, 1929, and 1944. The height of Vesuvius is 1,277 m (4,190 ft), while that of Monte Somma, the lesser summit, is 1,132 m (3,713 ft).
The volcano’s slopes are covered with vineyards and orchards. Higher up, oak and chestnut grow. A funicular railway has been constructed from the base of the cinder cone to the summit close to the edge of the crater, and an observatory is maintained near the crater Mauna Kea (?White Mountain?), inactive volcano, Hawaii, northern Hawaii Island. Mauna Kea is the highest peak in the state and its slopes are generally snow-covered in winter. The volcano rises about 5,486 m (18,000 ft) from the ocean floor to the surface and continues up to a height of about 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level, making its overall height from its base on the ocean floor to its summit about 9,754 m (32,000 ft), the greatest such continuous elevation in the world. The remote location, clear air, and high altitude make the mountain’s summit an ideal location for astronomical observing; the Mauna Kea Observatory there is the home of some of the world’s finest telescopes Mauna Loa, active volcano, on Hawaii Island, one of the world’s largest volcanoes. It rises from a desolate landscape of old lava flows to a high point of 4,169 m (13,677 ft) above sea level in the summit caldera (enlarged crater) of Mokuaweoweo.
Lava from Mauna Loa covers about 50 per cent of Hawaii Island, including parts of Kilauea, a crater on the mountain’s east flank. Since the early 19th century, Mauna Loa has exuded lava about once every four years The 1983 eruption of the Kilauea crater spilled molten, basaltic lava down the flanks of Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii Island, Hawaii. Hawaiian volcanoes are examples of broad shield volcanoes, which form from lava eruptions. Fuji is a celebrated dormant volcano of Japan in southern Honshu near Tokyo. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, rises as a cone to a height of 3,776 above sea level with the apex broken by a cone-shaped crater 610 m in diameter. The southern slopes extend to the shore of Suruga Bay, and the isolated peak can be seen from many of the outlying prefectures. The mountain is part of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, the most popular holiday area in Japan. According to legend, Fuji arose from the plain during a single night in 286 BC. Geologically the mountain is much older. The most recent recorded eruption of Fuji lasted from November 24, 1707, until January 22, 1708. Certain religious sects regard the mountain as a sacred place. Fuji is visited annually by thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the country, and numerous shrines and temples are on its slopes.