Volcanoes - The Power Within

Volcanoes - The Power Within

Volcanoes - The Power Within

2010 will be a year to remember in terms of volcanic activity with more than a couple of major events around the world including the Icelandic eruption, that closed UK and European airspace and caused massive travel disruption for thousands of travellers.

Although most people understand what a volcano is, few understand the driving force behind these natural pressure valves or the potential consequences of a super volcanic eruption.

In total, there are around 1510 'active' volcanoes in the world. 80 or more of the worlds active volcanoes are actually located under the worlds oceans.

Over half of the worlds volcanoes reside on a belt around the Pacific Ocean called the Ring of Fire. The recent eruption of Mount Merapi occurred on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia which is located on the Pacific Ring Of Fire.

Volcanoes are usually formed where the slabs of the Earths crust called plates meet. When two plates collide, one section slides on top of the other, the one beneath is pushed down andMagma is channelled up between the two meeting plates.

The word 'volcano' was born from roman mythology and the god 'Vulcan', the god of fire.

Although most volcanoes are seen as mountain like structure with an opening at the top full of lava, there are actually several different types of volcano. These are:-

Cinder Cones - the simplest type of volcano

Composite volcanoes These are the Earth's grandest mountains sometimes called stratovolcanoes.

Shield volcanoes These are built almost entirely of fluid lava flows

Lava Domes - lava domes are formed by relatively small, bulbous masses of lava too viscous to flow any great distance

Although most current day volcanoes are largely localised events, scientists believe that in the past history of the Earth, super volcanoes were responsible for several mass extinctions. There is a common theory that it is only a matter of time before a super volcano event happens again.

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