Name
Professor
Course
Date
Causes of Volcanic Eruptions
Introduction
The cause of volcanic eruptions range in terms of nature and the amount of force involves when triggering the magma to forcefully erupt beyond the surface of the earth. Over the years, scientists have conducted adequate research that has formed the major causes and their nature. By studying the causes of volcanic eruptions, geologists are able to predict the exact time and nature of the eruption. The technological advancement in the area of geology combined by ingenious plate tectonic study, the world today feels safer as the volcanic eruptions can be predicted and avoided. For example, Indonesia that has been the recent and most regular victim of volcanic eruptions has attracted the eyes of the geologists who have pinpointed the occurrence of these eruptions thus saving millions of lives. The core reason for studying the causes of volcanic eruptions is to be ahead of disasters and thus come up with the right precautionary measures like evacuations.
The most common type of eruption is caused by the movement of tectonic plates. When one is pushed under the other the magma, sediment and seawater is forced into the chamber which eventually overflows and the volcano erupts spewing lava into the sky (Rokhmana et al., 7). This kind of eruption produces sticky, thick lava at temperatures from 800 to 1,000C. The cause and nature of occurrence of volcanic eruptions is thus vital to be studied to ensure that the world understands what and how the disasters strike and how they can be avoided. Plate tectonics and movement of the earth’s plates is one of the major causes of volcanic eruptions. The world is composed of major plates that are in constant movement to or from each other (Sigl et al., 549). The push and pull within these plates create friction that heats the rocks making them met and thus magma or molten rock is formed. The continuous accumulation of this magma builds pressure where it finds way out through the faults within the plates thus creating eruptions of magma known as volcanic eruptions (Inan et al., 719). Over the years, the study of plate tectonics has been a major focus when trying to understand the formation of volcanos and even the pattern of earthquakes around the world. One of the key aspects of the volcano formation and eruption of is the forces involved that originate from the internal earth movements.
The analysis of the rock formation and plates movement has shown that over the years, the earth rock movement and the increased temperatures are responsible for the magma formation (Rokhmana et al., 9). The buildup of this pressure causes the magma to find a way out through the points of weaknesses that erupts with huge force known as volcanic eruptions. Studies have shown that the volcanic eruptions caused by tectonic plate movement have increased by 23%in the past ten years. This signifies that the earth’s crust and the plates are more active than before and this is also contributing to the increased patterns of earthquakes around the world (Sigl et al., 547).
The other major cause of volcanic eruptions is the pouring in of magma into a chamber that is already full thus adding to the pressure. Studies shave shown that volcanic eruptions can be caused by the glacier meting where the pressure form the upper ice layers adds to the layers below thus cresting more weight (Inan et al., 713). This weight thus pushes more magma and rocks into the already filled chambers thus pushing the layers to the extreme until it erupts as a volcano. In line with this, the study of the earth geology in the area of volcanic eruptions has revealed staggering evidence where the flow and formation of magma can be caused by many factors. The wright of the upper rock layers that are responsible for the internal pressure can cause heat to generate and thus the rocks melt. The effects of this melting are more liquid rocks known as magma falling to the layers below until they get to their limits in terms of pressure accumulation (Sigl et al., 543). The magma thus finds paths through the vents upwards thus causing very strong eruption spewing magma into the sky. These kinds of volcanos account for 45% of the total eruptions around the world.
Surprisingly, the largest percentage of these type of volcanic eruptions occur in the seas ad oceans thus are rarely recorded or noted (Inan et al., 711). However, the current marine technology as well expeditions have helped uncover this natural wonder that is gradually putting the geologists closer to understanding the whole mystery of volcanos. The forces behind the volcanic eruptions vary in intensity and nature and thus the study and understanding how these forces interact is vital to realizing how and where the eruptions may occur (Rokhmana et al., 13). Over the years, volcanic eruptions have changed the occurrence patterns with the global tectonic plates and climate change being the major factors to this change.
Conclusion
The world below is always active and the movement of tectonic plates helps prove the active nature of the earth. The increased cases of volcanic eruptions and intensity of these disasters is a testimony to their changing nature. To better understand the nature and occurrence of volcanic eruptions, it is vital study how and where the tectonic plates are moving. Moreover, the movement of plates along the fault lines and the increased pressure from these movement is known to be a rot cause of the volcanic eruptions that have increased over the past ten years.
Works Cited
Inan, Dedi I., Ghassan Beydoun, and Biswajeet Pradhan. “Developing a decision support system for Disaster Management: Case study of an Indonesia volcano eruption.” International journal of disaster risk reduction 31 (2018): 711-721.
Rokhmana, Catur Aries, and Ruli Andaru. “Utilizing UAV-based mapping in post disaster volcano eruption.” 2016 6th International Annual Engineering Seminar (InAES). IEEE, 2016.
Sigl, Michael, et al. “Timing and climate forcing of volcanic eruptions for the past 2,500 years.” Nature 523.7562 (2015): 543-549.