Volcanic Eruptions
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The catastrophic event I chose to write about for my essay are volcanoes. They are truly amazing and look fantastic when they erupt. However, they can be seriously dangerous, cause many deaths, and also affect the environment greatly when they erupt. Taking Mt. St. Helens for example, the eruption in 1980 killed many a large amount of people and animals, destroyed forests, and also flooded the area with ash.
The way an eruption occurs is truly fascinating. It begins when the rock inside the earth starts to melt into magma because of the high temperatures below. The magma, now having less density than the rocks around it, starts to rise up and through the volcano. This “rise of the magma” creates an eruption.
Now, eruptions sound really devastating with the details given, but some eruptions are very weak. There are some volcanoes that have weak eruptions but are continuously erupting. Also, there are volcanoes that are the exact opposite; they have very strong eruptions but occur every thousands of years. However, they all have one thing in common: ash. Ash affects large areas around the volcano by reducing sunlight and making it hard to breathe for some people. The eruption can send ash and rocks high up into the stratosphere and as far as 1000 km from the starting site.
Before an eruption, people usually have a warning. The times before an eruption, a volcano begins to show patterns of unrest. These “unrestly times” can range from hours to weeks in advance. However, the unrest is different for each volcano, so the warnings will be different for each one.
The way an eruption occurs is truly fascinating. It begins when the rock inside the earth starts to melt into magma because of the high temperatures below. The magma, now having less density than the rocks around it, starts to rise up and through the volcano. This “rise of the magma” creates an eruption.
Now, eruptions sound really devastating with the details given, but some eruptions are very weak. There are some volcanoes that have weak eruptions but are continuously erupting. Also, there are volcanoes that are the exact opposite; they have very strong eruptions but occur every thousands of years. However, they all have one thing in common: ash. Ash affects large areas around the volcano by reducing sunlight and making it hard to breathe for some people. The eruption can send ash and rocks high up into the stratosphere and as far as 1000 km from the starting site.
Before an eruption, people usually have a warning. The times before an eruption, a volcano begins to show patterns of unrest. These “unrestly times” can range from hours to weeks in advance. However, the unrest is different for each volcano, so the warnings will be different for each one.
Mt. St. Helens: 1980 Eruption
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A very noticeable eruption happened in the state of Washington in 1980. The awakening of Mt. St. Helens surprised many, killing 57 people in its rise. It all began on the morning of March 20th, 1980, when a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck under the mountain, the first sign of the awakening of the mountain. A week later, a tiny explosion blew a 250 ft hole inside of the mountain, causing people to evacuate in case of a landslide. However, they got something much more than that.
Two months after the explosion in the mountain, earthquakes began to get very forceful under the mountain. The mountain ended up erupting and spewed ash and rocks all around the volcano. The earthquakes attacked the volcano and the north flank of it broke off and slid down, killing many people in the debris avalanche. The ash flooded Washington’s air for about 2 weeks and affected sunlight exposure.
The effects of the eruption changed the environment around the mountain. The debris avalanche tore apart forests, creating a very clear and barren area. Vehicles and houses were forcefully knocked down by the rocks and animals were decimated by the pyroclastic flows of the eruption.
Scientists have been unable to predict the next eruption of Mt. St. Helens because they do not have enough data to predict the time well enough. They have record of an eruption of the mountain in 1800, and then the eruption of 1980, but no other records. It is too early to tell exactly when it will happen, but if it does, we can hope it’s not as bad.
Two months after the explosion in the mountain, earthquakes began to get very forceful under the mountain. The mountain ended up erupting and spewed ash and rocks all around the volcano. The earthquakes attacked the volcano and the north flank of it broke off and slid down, killing many people in the debris avalanche. The ash flooded Washington’s air for about 2 weeks and affected sunlight exposure.
The effects of the eruption changed the environment around the mountain. The debris avalanche tore apart forests, creating a very clear and barren area. Vehicles and houses were forcefully knocked down by the rocks and animals were decimated by the pyroclastic flows of the eruption.
Scientists have been unable to predict the next eruption of Mt. St. Helens because they do not have enough data to predict the time well enough. They have record of an eruption of the mountain in 1800, and then the eruption of 1980, but no other records. It is too early to tell exactly when it will happen, but if it does, we can hope it’s not as bad.