Questions tagged [volcanic-hazard]
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29
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3
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1answer
55 views
Has Earth's geological activity calmed down in the past 250 million years?
In the past, the Earth's ecosystem has experienced catastrophic mass extinctions as a result of large-scale volcanic eruptions. One example is the event known as the "Great Dying", 252 ...
15
votes
3answers
531 views
Did the Geothermal Power Plant contribute to Pahoa's Lava Fissures?
There was lava in the area near the wells that the Puna Geothermal Venture facility created.
The plant has nine wells that run as deep as 8,000 feet, according to Wil Okabe, managing director for ...
5
votes
1answer
213 views
Eruptive fissures in Hawaii associated with Kilauea; what are they? What is really happening?
I hear news of "eruptive lava fissures" opening up in Hawaii, nine of them at last count. But I don't understand what these are really.
Are these existing, older lava tubes that are suddenly opening ...
2
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1answer
1k views
Volcanic activity in Taiwan, ever in recorded history, much chance in the near future?
News of Hawaii has got me thinking...
I've lived in Taiwan for many years and hiked many kinds geologically interesting mountain and seashore rock formations, seen steaming, sulfury fumaroles, even ...
3
votes
1answer
604 views
Would a Yellowstone eruption destroy global agriculture?
Someone recently claimed in my hearing that if the Yellowstone caldera were to erupt, the resulting ash cloud would end all agriculture for a year or two. (The speaker is not a scientist, and neither ...
10
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1answer
768 views
How are data from tiltmeters used to monitor volcanic activity?
I've just learned in this answer that tiltmeters (which I assume measure changes in tilt) are used near active volcanos. (Saw a mention in item 4. here also.)
What kind of geological (volcanological?)...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
How are flying drones and unmanned vehicled used for exploring volcanoes? [closed]
And what kind of vehicles and drones are used or are planned for now and for near future?
5
votes
1answer
177 views
Yellowstone Eruption Possibility?
What is the probability of the Yellowstone supervolcano erupting during any given year? I had heard that it erupts once every 100,000 years. Does that mean there is a .001% chance of it erupting ...
7
votes
1answer
121 views
Would a global cooling event disable solar energy usage?
Imagine that we've improved the level quality, affordability, and ease of use of photo-voltaic solar, and it's use is widely distributed in the USA. We've improved the grid for power distribution, we ...
7
votes
1answer
177 views
Is there a 'standard size' for volcanic eruptions in terms of gas output?
We saw recently the Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajökull produced significant gaseous output that impacted the flight paths of several planes.
When we look at volcanic gas components, we see they ...
10
votes
2answers
28k views
Can human activity affect volcanoes?
As part of a course on Natural Disasters, I have a group presentation in which we focus on a specific natural disaster. One of the questions we have to address is how human activity may have affected ...
9
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1answer
423 views
How big a risk is Mount Vesuvius for the local population?
How much of a risk does Mount Vesuvius pose for the population of the surrounding area?
1
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1answer
80 views
Earthquake severity during supereruption at Yellowstone caldera?
Theoretically, I ponder what type and strength a supereruption would generate, say for example at the Yellowstone caldera? The last supereruption was roughly 70,000 years ago when Toba erupted. It's ...
5
votes
2answers
136 views
how are the global effects of local environmental disasters?
Are there any local environmental catastrophes that affected another places in the world?
There is a huge list of environmental disasters on Wikipedia that I have found: https://en.wikipedia.org/...
8
votes
4answers
5k views
Can we reduce the scale of volcanic eruptions by drilling some canals or bombing some holes in the crater?
As we know, when large scale volcanic eruptions occurs, large amounts of ashes and lava rushed out at short time, is it possible to drill some canels or bomb some holes in the crater so that the gas ...
2
votes
1answer
208 views
Volcano magma chamber [duplicate]
If I use a really big drill and drill all the way down to a magma chamber what exactly would happen?
From what I understand we cant drill to a Magma Chamber because it is really hot, but I have a ...
6
votes
2answers
379 views
Are Pompeii and Herculaneum unique?
Has anyone ever found or gone looking for similar locations, i.e. volcanic eruption sites in which unfortunate victims – human and non-human – have been entombed in the volcanic ash, with the ...
10
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3answers
2k views
Can volcanos change the climate?
I have heard politicians claiming that volcanoes are the sole cause of global warming and using so called "NASA data" to show that the Earth is actually cooling instead of warming.
While the nature ...
8
votes
1answer
5k views
What caused a measurable patch of Mt. St. Helens' ash to be deposited across Oklahoma?
Looking at the ashfall distribution map from the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens (below), there is a measured 'patch' of ash depth significant enough to be measured occurring in Oklahoma.
What caused ...
8
votes
1answer
344 views
What causes the entrainment of atmospheric gases towards a volcanic ash/tephra plume?
I understand that volcanic ash plumes can only rise to great heights (e.g. 50km) with the help of some other processes, as the velocity of the material ejected isn't great enough to send it high into ...
9
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0answers
86 views
Predicting volcanic eruptions by experimentally proven volatile outgassing observations
In the abstract for the article Forecasting Etna eruptions by real-time observation of volcanic gas composition (Aiuppa et al. 2007), the authors assert that real time monitoring of volcanic volatiles,...
19
votes
2answers
344 views
Is there any consensus of what caused the Lusi Mud Volcano eruptions in Indonesia?
In May, 2006, the Lusi Mud Volcano in eastern Java, Indonesia came to life, smothering much of the surrounding land in mud.
According to the article Indonesia's Infamous Mud Volcano Could Outlive ...
9
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2answers
3k views
Pyroclastic flow protection
Related to the question Why don't scientists use fire entry suits to study volcanoes?, where the issue of volcanologist protection against lava splatter and bombs is discussed. Another major and ...
20
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3answers
6k views
Why don't scientists use fire entry suits to study volcanoes?
It seems like the only personal protective equipment
(PPE) that volcanologists use are aluminized suits that don't provide any protection from direct contact with lava, making an unexpected splash ...
8
votes
1answer
3k views
Will a volcano erupt in Australia soon?
A Science Daily article Volcanic eruptions long overdue in SE Australia (University of Melbourne, 2011), suggests that a volcanic eruption is potentially "long overdue" in south-east Australia (south-...
11
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1answer
518 views
What geological processes affect the speed of Kilauea lava flows?
The recent lava flows from the current eruption from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii have generated a considerable amount of interest and concern for property.
In the article slow-motion disaster as ...
11
votes
2answers
312 views
What would be the precursors to a repeated Lake Toba super eruption?
Lake Toba, Indonesia is a supervolcano which was the site of
a massive supervolcanic eruption estimated at VEI 8 that occurred 69,000 to 77,000 years ago, representing a climate-changing event. It ...
13
votes
1answer
594 views
Why would volcano eruption cause cardiac arrest?
Following recent eruption of Mt Ontake and the sad news of over 30 people found in 'cardiac arrest', why would the eruption cause it?
My initial thought would be that the cause of death would ...
9
votes
1answer
95 views
Why does volcanic dust pose such a hazard to air travel?
What properties does volcanic ash have that make it a hazard to aircraft jet engines which are not posed by other sources of atmospheric dust, such as Saharan dust? Is it merely a question of ...
