Push Admin

Dazzling and deadly: Five facts about volcanoes

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>MANILA - The eruption of a volcano near the Philippine capital has delivered a dazzling but highly dangerous spectacle since it began spewing superheated steam on Sunday.</p><p>Taal volcano&#x27;s bursts of lightning and monster clouds of ash have drawn crowds of gaping observers, but also prompted thousands to flee from its fury.</p><p>Here are five facts about the mix of beauty and terror that volcanoes produce:</p><div><strong>LIGHTNING</strong></div><p>Large eruptions sometimes put on a stunning display of lightning strikes that illuminate the massive cloud of ash surrounding them.</p><p>This has happened repeatedly above the Taal volcano and been captured in videos shared widely across social media.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/tvpatrol/01/10/20200113-facts-volcanoes-1.jpg"/></figure></div><p>It is a relatively unusual and difficult to study phenomenon, so there is some scientific dispute about how and why it happens.</p><p>One theory posits that particles bashed together in the chaos of the eruption create static electricity which eventually results in lightning.</p><p>However, Indriati Retno Palupi, a volcanologist and geologist, told AFP lightning can be created when ashes containing chemical elements react with gasses in the surrounding air.</p><div><strong>TSUNAMIS</strong></div><p>A violent eruption could trigger a deadly rush of waves by displacing water with rising magma or an avalanche of debris, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).</p><p>In fact, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the US state of Washington produced a 780-foot (235-metre) tsunami, according to the International Tsunami Information Center.</p><p>The wall of water was unleashed by the partial collapse of the volcano&#x27;s flank and a fast-moving avalanche of debris.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/tvpatrol/01/10/20200113-facts-volcanoes-2.jpg"/></figure></div><div><strong>MILLION VOLCANOES?</strong></div><p>Around 1,500 potentially active volcanoes are present around the world, many of which are found on the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot;, where tectonic plates collide deep below the earth&#x27;s surface.</p><p>However, around 75 percent of volcanic activity on Earth occurs underwater. Undersea eruptions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say, are &quot;a constant process that shapes the features of the ocean&quot;.</p><p>Oregon State University geologists estimate there could be as many as a million Called &quot;submarine volcanoes&quot;.</p><div><strong>GLOBAL COOLING</strong></div><p>The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Manila, was the Philippines&#x27; most powerful in recent years and killed more than 800 people.</p><p>However, the eruption had worldwide impact.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/tvpatrol/01/10/20200113-facts-volcanoes-3.jpg"/></figure></div><p>Nearly 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide were shot skyward by Pinatubo, which then drifted globally.</p><p>&quot;This gas cloud... caused global temperatures to drop temporarily (1991 through 1993) by about 1°F (0.5°C),&quot; according to a US Geological Survey account of the eruption.</p><p>On top of the cooler temperatures, the gases and ash sent high in the sky by Pinatubo also caused &quot;brilliant sunsets and sunrises&quot;, USGS said.</p><div><strong>INDONESIA&#x27;S KILLER VOLCANOES</strong></div><p>Indonesia is the world&#x27;s most volcanic area.</p><p>The Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and islets -- and nearly 130 active volcanoes -- is situated on the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot;.</p><p>In 1815, Mount Tambora on the island of Sumbawa exploded in one of the most violent eruptions in recorded history. An estimated 12,000 people died, while a resulting famine killed another 80,000.</p><p>The island of Krakatoa was practically wiped off the map in 1883 by a volcanic explosion so powerful that it was heard some 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) away.</p><p>Around 36,000 people were killed in the eruption and the resulting tsunami. A new volcano emerged in 1928 on the same site.</p>

<p>Here are five facts about the mix of beauty and terror that volcanoes produce.</p>