Understanding Volcanoes

 

We have just finished a lab called Krakatoa.  You should have some idea as to why that particular volcano erupted the way it did.  We will take a closer look at Krakatoa and get a better picture.

 

Krakatoa is (or was) located in Indonesia between the large islands of Sumatra and Java.  Click here to see a map of the area. 

 

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/idlarge.htm

 

Krakatoa cannot be seen here, but it would be somewhere near the letter g in Bandarlampung (lower left hand corner).

 

Scroll down below the map to where it says Brief Discussion.  Keep scrolling down until you see Land Statistics.

 

How many volcanoes are there in Indonesia?

How many are active?

 

 

Click on the number of volcanoes.  Describe how the pattern of volcanoes.

 

 

 

Go back to the last page where you just were.  Click on Ring of Fire.  You will see that Indonesia is in the Ring of Fire.  Click on tectonic plates below the map. 

 

Which two plates are hitting each other in Indonesia?

 

 

 

Indonesia sits at the boundary of a subduction zone.


Go to the following website:

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0902/es0902page01.cfm

 

Click on the picture and describe what you see. 

 

 

 

 

Why does a volcano form here? (What happens to some of the melting oceanic crust?)

 

Not all volcanoes form this way.  Mt. Kilamanjaro, in Africa, actually forms at a rift valley, or a place where two plates move apart (Divergent Plate Boundary).

 

Go to the following webpage to see a map of the East African Rift Valley.

 

http://stloe.most.go.th/html/lo_index/LOcanada4/403/html/2_2en.htm

 

Look at the picture.  Which sea is getting wider as these plates move apart?

 

 

 

Another way for a volcano to form is from a Hot Spot.  The Hawaiian Islands are a result of a Hot Spot.

 

Go to the website below to see a map of the Hawaiian Islands.

 

http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_america/hawaii/hawaii.html

 

Notice how all of the volcanoes are in a line.    Kauai is to the north, and the island of Hawaii is the southernmost island.

 

Even though all of the islands are volcanoes, only the island of Hawaii has erupting volcanoes.  The other islands have not erupted in thousands or millions of years.  Why does this happen?  Go to the following link to find out

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http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/interior/plume_volcanism.html

 

 

Describe what a hot spot is:

 

 

 

 

Look at the animated picture.  Describe why Hawaii is still active, but Kauai is not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now let’s see why exactly different volcanoes erupt differently. 

 

 

Go to http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/interactive/interactive.html

 

On the menu, choose Volcano types.  See the choices in the lower right hand corner. Which type was not mentioned in your book?

 

 

What does your book call this type of volcano?

 

 

The eruption has something to do with the magma type, especially if it is viscous or not.

 

What does viscous mean?  You may need a dictionary here!

 

 

 

Click on Build your own volcano.  What two factors affect the shape and explosiveness of volcanoes the most?

 

 

 

 

What conditions do you need to make a shield volcano?

 

 

 

 

What conditions do you need to make a stratovolcano?

 

 

 

 

 

Find these answers on your own.

What is an active volcano?

How big is Olympic Mons?

Find the name of the volcano that erupted in Italy in 79 AD.

What effects did the volcanic eruption have on the nearby town of Pompeii?

Find an active volcano that erupted in the United States.

What is a lahar and why is it dangerous?

What is a pyroclastic flow?

How might a volcanic eruption or lava flow be beneficial to the ecosystem?