Volcanoes and volcanic hazards Geology 101
Many different volcano types
Volcanic hazard summary This ain’t Dante’s Peak – not all hazards occur at all volcanoes
Volcanic hazards -- lava flow
Volcanic hazards -- pyroclastic flow
Volcanic hazard -- tephra (ash) fall Tephra is any ejected material from an eruption Size range is quite large Rock names are not related to ejection
Volcanic hazard -- lahar <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5x5tZAHEoRU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lahars -- mudslides on volcanoes Don’t need an eruption to start, thus less predictable Require loose material, slope and water (Cascades) Extend for 100 miles down river valleys off volcanoes
Volcanic hazard -- blast
Characterizing eruptions -- the VEI scale
Case study: Toba (74 ka)
Mitochondrial DNA study yielded an odd result
Toba eruption caused a human population “bottleneck”
Planning for the next one