Why some volcanic eruptions are more explosive than others
Why some volcanic eruptions are more explosive than others
Learn about magma and how its components affect its rate of flow and the overall explosiveness of volcanic eruptions. Viscous, slower-moving magmas tend to have higher silica (SiO2) concentrations than less viscous, faster-flowing magmas.
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Transcript
Molten, or hot liquefied, rock located deep below the Earth’s surface is called magma. Magma typically is molten silicate material, although carbonate and sulfide magmas also occur. Magma moves up to the surface from deep within the Earth, and is ejected as lava.
The magma carries crystals and fragments of unmelted rock. In addition, volatile compounds in the magma may separate from it as bubbles of gas. Some liquids in the magma may solidify and crystallize as they cool.
Magmas extend from the Earth’s mantle, reaching upward through fractures in the rock. The speed of a magma flow depends on its viscosity – that is, its resistance to flow – which in turn depends upon how much water and silica are in the magma itself. Magmas with higher silica concentration are more viscous, and thus move slower than magmas with less silica.
Where tectonic plates come together, volcanoes often have thicker, viscous magma with high gas content. This combination is explosive because the gases cannot easily boil out. The gases remain trapped in the magma until the pressure in the magma no longer can hold them. At that point, which is usually when the magma approaches Earth’s surface, they blow the magma into fragments.
Viscosity combines with other factors to determine how explosive magma will be. For example, small crystals in the magma help gases escape. More crystals in the magma enable more gas bubbles to form, and so they make an eruption more explosive.
The rate at which pressure is reduced also affects the explosiveness. If magma moves slowly toward the surface, gases in the magma have more time to escape. Since the gasses dissipate more gradually, the resulting eruption is less explosive.
During the very explosive eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, magma surged rapidly upward. The gases dissolved in the magma did not have time to escape until the magma broke the surface. The speed at which gases are released from magma is also affected by the amount of small crystals in it, where gas bubbles begin to form. Before the eruption, scientists estimated more than 40 percent of the magma was small crystals.
Mount Pinatubo’s explosive eruption was spectacular, but non-explosive eruptions also occur. A famous example of this type occurs in Hawaii, at Kilauea. The magma bubbling out of Kilauea is less viscous. At Kilauea, magma is less confined by the rock around it, so its pressure is relatively low. Also, the percentage of small crystals in the magma is low: less than 5 percent of the magma content.
The result is that, often, Kilauea’s eruptions have been characterized by slow-moving streams of lava with few explosive outbursts. People living near the volcano remain alert for lava spilling onto their land, but they can often evacuate well before the lava reaches them.
The magma carries crystals and fragments of unmelted rock. In addition, volatile compounds in the magma may separate from it as bubbles of gas. Some liquids in the magma may solidify and crystallize as they cool.
Magmas extend from the Earth’s mantle, reaching upward through fractures in the rock. The speed of a magma flow depends on its viscosity – that is, its resistance to flow – which in turn depends upon how much water and silica are in the magma itself. Magmas with higher silica concentration are more viscous, and thus move slower than magmas with less silica.
Where tectonic plates come together, volcanoes often have thicker, viscous magma with high gas content. This combination is explosive because the gases cannot easily boil out. The gases remain trapped in the magma until the pressure in the magma no longer can hold them. At that point, which is usually when the magma approaches Earth’s surface, they blow the magma into fragments.
Viscosity combines with other factors to determine how explosive magma will be. For example, small crystals in the magma help gases escape. More crystals in the magma enable more gas bubbles to form, and so they make an eruption more explosive.
The rate at which pressure is reduced also affects the explosiveness. If magma moves slowly toward the surface, gases in the magma have more time to escape. Since the gasses dissipate more gradually, the resulting eruption is less explosive.
During the very explosive eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, magma surged rapidly upward. The gases dissolved in the magma did not have time to escape until the magma broke the surface. The speed at which gases are released from magma is also affected by the amount of small crystals in it, where gas bubbles begin to form. Before the eruption, scientists estimated more than 40 percent of the magma was small crystals.
Mount Pinatubo’s explosive eruption was spectacular, but non-explosive eruptions also occur. A famous example of this type occurs in Hawaii, at Kilauea. The magma bubbling out of Kilauea is less viscous. At Kilauea, magma is less confined by the rock around it, so its pressure is relatively low. Also, the percentage of small crystals in the magma is low: less than 5 percent of the magma content.
The result is that, often, Kilauea’s eruptions have been characterized by slow-moving streams of lava with few explosive outbursts. People living near the volcano remain alert for lava spilling onto their land, but they can often evacuate well before the lava reaches them.