Most of all we all know about Volcanos they shoot lava high into the air but did you know what a Plinian volcano is?
The point is that volcanos are not all the same. Surprise, surprise, yes they are the eruption of gases and lava from the centre of the earth, but ……..
They have different eruptive habits!
Weird, isn’t it? Almost like animals
We all know how big they are and how much they effect our lives, like the Icelandic one that threw so much into the sky that it actually stopped planes flying over the north Atlantic.
However, the clever guys, the boffins, who research into them, classify them differently. They are more interested in the evolution of the volcanic landform, which it appears decides on the type of eruption that we see.
The Plinian type of volcano is an intensely violent eruption of the kind that destroyed Pompeii on the 29th August 79 AD. It got its name from Plithy the Elder who was killed trying to save the people in Pompeii that was recorded by his nephew, Plithy the Younger, who watched it from across the bay.
To explain it I have taken how he described it from Educational Musicals Musical Pompeii – The Rain of Terror which caan be found at www.educationalmusicals.co.uk.
Like how from a volcano hot gases can race.
A pyroclastic flow is its technical name,
With hot ash and gases shooting out from the flame.
The tree-like cloud we now know as a Plinian event,
And to this, yours most truly’s name was lent.
So that is a Plinian Volcano!
Isn’t history fun?
10 questions to discuss:
- What distinguishes a Plinian volcano from other types of volcanoes?
- What factors contribute to the intense violence of a Plinian eruption?
- How does the “tree-like cloud” described in the text relate to the eruption process?
- Beyond Pompeii, are there other historical examples of Plinian eruptions and their impact?
- What dangers do Plinian eruptions pose to nearby communities and the wider environment?
- How do volcanologists monitor and predict Plinian eruptions, and what challenges do they face?
- What mitigation strategies can be implemented to reduce the risks associated with Plinian eruptions?
- How does the study of Plinian volcanoes help us understand the Earth’s geological processes and potential future eruptions?
- Compare and contrast Plinian eruptions with other types of volcanic events, such as Strombolian or Hawaiian eruptions.
- What role do Plinian eruptions play in shaping the Earth’s landscapes and ecosystems?
For more information, please go to:
http://sci.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Plinian.html