Premium Essay

Differences in Hazards Posed by Volcanoes

In: Other Topics

Submitted By EBeith
Words 631
Pages 3
A hazard is a geological process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods, social and economic disruption or environmental damage. All of these can be compromised by a volcanic eruption as it can cause deaths, illnesses and destruction of infrastructure, farmland and the economy of the area. However there are many factors involved that can cause differences in the severity of destruction caused by a volcano such as, settlement, monitoring, plate boundaries and the economic wellbeing of a country.

One factor that would cause differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes is the location and therefore the aspects of the area around. For example, Eyjafjallajökull is located in Iceland meaning that the volcano is covered by a large glacier. This added to the local hazards due to when the volcano erupted the glacier melted causing major flooding within the area which had major effects on the many farmers that resided in the local area as 500 had to be evacuated from around the volcano, which along with the closure of main roads will have had a major effect on the local economy. However it wasn’t just this economy that was effected by this eruption as many flights across Europe had to be cancelled as the massive plume of tephra from the eruption would have wreaked havoc on the engineering of the planes. This shows that the hazard effected a number of different locations as well as the people who rely on farming near the volcano as these individuals will have lost both their homes and their livelihoods.

These considerations can also be applied to Montserrat which is a LEDC contrasting with Iceland which is an MEDC. The hazards for this eruption were only localised to this location but this eruption had a much more damaging impact. This was because this eruption actually created a death toll, this

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Analyse the Factors That Cause Differences in the Hazards Posed by Volcanoes Around the World.

...A hazard can be define as something which poses a level of threat the life, health, property or environment, a volcano can compromise all these things through the many hazards volcanoes presents. Such as lahars, flash flooding, landslides, pyroclastic flows, ash clouds and many others. There are factors which can influence the severity of the hazard and cause differences in them and can be classified into different categories, such as physical, economic, political and social. One physical factor which causes differences in a volcanic hazard is the steepness of the volcano. If the volcanoes sides are of a steep gradient then the lava from the volcano would flow must faster than if the sides were a steady gradient. Mount Nyiragongo for example had extremely steep sides, 50 degrees at some points. This, combined with the low viscosity of the basaltic lava, saw lava speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. The hazard of a lava flow in Nyiragongo was much greater than if the volcano had steady sloping sides. The type of lava also influences the hazard, if the lava is rhyolitic then it has a high viscosity due to its high silica content and its low temperature (only between 650-750 Celsius). Therefore it won’t flow very fast, minimising the impact of the hazard, whereas if it is basaltic like Mount Nyiragongo then it will flow extremely fast, intensifying the hazard. The location of a volcano is also a large variable in determining the nature of its eruptions. Volcanoes are generally...

Words: 1229 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Analyse the Factors That Cause Differences in the Hazards Posed by Volcanoes Around the World.

...Analyse the factors that cause differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world. Volcanoes and their hazards have posed many problems across the world since they were formed. Due to their often aggressive activity they have been damaging to variations of human life. However these hazards are different depending on many factors, such as the nature of the hazard, the area where these hazards occur and the level of preparedness that area has. In this essay these factors will be studied to see if the effect of these volcanic hazards varies around the world. When a volcanic event occurs there are many hazards that could come from it. The primary being tephra; which is solid material varying in size that is ejected into the atmosphere, pyroclastic flows; which are very hot high-velocity flows, volcanic gases including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and lava flows. The secondary being lahars; which are volcanic mud flows, flooding through melting of ice caps, tsunamis from giant caldera forming events, volcanic landslides and climate change due to the ejection of vast amounts of volcanic debris into the atmosphere that can reduce global temperatures. These hazards have caused incidents such as when lahars devastated the Colombian town of Armero after the eruption of Nevado Del Ruiz in November 1985. From this we can deduce the high level destruction that these hazards can cause. Two volcanic events where the hazards have affected the area around them are the...

Words: 865 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Analyse the Factors That Causes Differences in the Hazards Posed by Volcanoes Around the World (40 Marks)

...the factors that causes differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world (40 marks) A hazard can be define as something which poses a level of threat the life, health, property or environment, a volcano can compromise all these things through the many hazards volcanoes presents. Such as lahars, flash flooding, landslides, pyroclastic flows, ash clouds and many others. There are factors which can influence the severity of the hazard and cause differences in them and can be classified into different categories, such as physical, economic, political and social. One physical factor which causes differences in a volcanic hazard is the steepness of the volcano. If the volcanoes sides are of a steep gradient then the lava from the volcano would flow must faster than if the sides were a steady gradient. Mount Nyiragongo for example had extremely steep sides, 50 degrees at some points. This, combined with the low viscosity of the basaltic lava, saw lava speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. The hazard of a lava flow in Nyiragongo was much greater than if the volcano had steady sloping sides. The type of lava also influences the hazard, if the lava is ryolytic then it has a high viscosity due to its high silica content and its low temperature (only between 650-750 Celsius). Therefore it won’t flow very fast, minimising the impact of the hazard, whereas if it is basaltic like Mount Nyiragongo then it will flow extremely fast, intensifying the hazard. The type of lava also...

Words: 1098 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Analyse the Factors That Cause Differences in the Hazards Posed by Volcanoes Around the World.

...Hazards will be an unfortunate result of a volcano. They are defined by their ability to effect any property and life that can be lost due to the hazard and halts and slows the productive sustainability of a population. Ultimately the physical effects of a volcano will define the hazards. In different places that the volcanoes occur there are different plate margins (Destructive and constructive) that will create different types of hazards. These hazards will include; lava flows, mudflows, pyroclastic flows, ash clouds etc. The majority of the hazards that occur are posed by physical reasons. The underlying reason that the hazards occur is due to the plate margins. The first type of plate margin is Constructive. Constructive plate margins will create a volcano due to the plates moving apart form each other. Due to the immense pressure on the plates, it causes the mantle to melt, producing magma. This magma will rise due to its density and erupts as a volcano. An example of a volcano of this nature is in Iceland. Eyjafjallajökull is situated on the island of Iceland classified as an MEDC and has a population of 300,000. Iceland has been prone to volcanic eruptions for centuries, however in 2010 it erupted on a global scale. The main hazard that occurred from the eruption was Joküllhaup. This occurred due to the sublimation of glacial ice mixing with ash, to produce fine glassy ash particles. This was a major set back to the world’s airspace as the ash had entered the international...

Words: 637 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Analyse the Factors That Cause Differences in the Hazards Posed by Volcanoes Around the World (40)

...around 60 major volcanoes erupt globally. A hazard is a naturally occurring event that has the potential to cause loss of life or economical damage. The hazards that are caused by Volcanoes can vary in size and depends on the scale of the eruption; if it is a small eruption then it has minimal impacts, whereas a larger eruption can cause mass disruption. There are many factors both human and physical that affect how hazardous a volcanic eruption may be. One physical factor that affects how hazardous a volcano can be is the type of volcano. Composite volcanoes are formed by alternating layers of ash and rock and rock fragments unlike shield volcanoes, can be extremely dangerous. This is because of their sheer size, height and steep sides; they often form ice caps and glaciers at the peak, which melt due to the heat. When the water runs down the volcano, it mixes with other materials such as mud and rock, causing lahars. Lahars can rush down streams and valleys at high speeds and can travel distances of over 50 miles; they can carry or destroy most things in their way including houses and trees. When they get further downstream, they start to move slower and eventually end up covering everything in a thick layer of mud. This can be one of the most deadly hazards, as it destroys houses and can leave people homeless, when Pinatubo erupted it destroyed 42,00 homes and left 1.2 million people homeless. The eruption of Nevado Del Ruiz, in Columbia demonstrates the hazards associated with...

Words: 383 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Geog

...Analyse the factors that cause differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world (40mks) There are many volcanoes around the world, some of which are active and others are dormant. The factors which cause them to be active are varied and can cause a threat to the surrounding area, including the environment and economy as well as the social impacts on people. A volcanic hazard however can pose a bigger threat to these socio-economic factors as a result of the eruption. Firstly, the type of volcano will also depend on the type of eruption and where abouts it lies within the plate boundaries. A hot spot however does not lie on a plate boundary but causes a volcano due to the high pressures of heat flow. An example of this is in Hawaii, southwest of the United States. Kilauea is a shield volcano on the southern part of the island which erupts runny, non-viscous lava and tends to be large in size with a low profile. These eruptions are not very explosive but occur very regularly and due to it being located in Hawaii, it is a very developed country and therefore caused various hazards to the area. Another type of volcano is a stratovolcano, this is different to a shield volcano because it is tall with a steep profile and causes more explosive eruptions. For example the Pinatubo volcano is located in the Philippines between the Eurasian and Philippine Plate on a destructive plate boundary. The last biggest eruption of Pinatubo was in 1991 however it was in a less economically...

Words: 1383 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Geography

...The nature of a volcanic eruption differs depending on the type of volcano, lava and eruption; this will also affect the hazards posed by volcanic eruption. Many substances can be erupted when volcanoes erupt including co2 gases, ash, pyroclastic flows and lava. Different substances that are spewed from the volcano create different hazards. In the Chaiten eruption in Chile, a plume of ash rose into the air and spread across to Chile and neighbouring country, Argentina. The ash created both environmental and social hazards. The ash covered a local reservoir as result residents were told not to drink water. As well as this the ash plume triggered thunderstorms and a polar storm, furthermore, ash had blocked reservoirs increasing the effects of flooding. Another physical factor that causes differences in volcanic hazards is lava type. If lava is low in viscosity such as basaltic lava, the eruption will be less explosive whereas lava high in viscosity will causes explosive eruptions such as the 2008, Chaiten, Chile eruption, producing substances such as ash and co2. However if lava is low in viscosity it is very runny and flows quickly. This means I can travel long distances before cooling, becoming a greater hazard especially if people are living in a close proximity to the volcano. In the 2002 eruption of MT Nyiragongo in Congo lava was of a basaltic nature and reached speeds of 60km/h meaning it was quickly able to reach the city of Goma, which had a population of 200,000. As...

Words: 259 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

To What Extent Can Preparedness and Planning Mitigate the Effects of Volcanic Hazards? 40 Marks

...water for tens of kilometres around a volcano, but tiny liquid droplets of sulphuric acid erupted into the stratosphere can change the planet's climate temporarily. Eruptions often force people living near volcanoes to abandon their land and homes. Those living farther away are likely to avoid complete destruction, but their cities and towns, crops, industrial plants, transportation systems, and electrical grids can still be damaged by tephra, ash, lahars, and flooding. Studies of the geologic history of a volcano are generally necessary to make an assessment of the types of hazards posed by the volcano and the frequency at which these types of hazards have occurred in the past. The best way to determine the future behaviour of a volcano is by studying its past behaviour as revealed in the deposits produced by previous eruptions. This is very helpful when trying to predict an eruption for dormant volcanoes as they are most complex volcanoes to foresee an eruption for. Once this information has been collected, geologists can then make forecasts concerning what areas surrounding a volcano would be subject to the various kinds of activity should a future eruption occur. This information is then used, with knowledge about the present aspects of the volcano, to make volcanic hazards maps which can aid other scientists, government, and the public to plan for evacuations, rescue and recovery. This reduces the chance of injury and death, and may even allow time for important possessions...

Words: 1067 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Shake and Erupt

...Shake and Erupt: A critical reflection on teaching earthquakes and volcanoes to KS3 Rationale: Perhaps the most dynamic features of the Earth’s awesome power and nature are when Volcanoes and Earthquakes occur. Their workings are at the very core of our planet’s history and their unpredictable activity continues to shake mankind’s understanding of the planet. This topic or scheme of work for my mixed ability year nine class offers a plethora of attributes that both incorporates sound core Geographic knowledge and divers teaching formats that can present a degree of awe and wonder into the minds of young people. Planning and teaching such a topic at a time when the Geography National Curriculum is being reviewed by the new coalition Government, seems to provide somewhat of a blank canvass as to what pedagogical approaches might be the most appropriate to adopt. Whatever the NC will look like, we are led to believe that there will be a re-focus on the ‘core’ knowledge in subjects like Geography. This is not to say a return to didactic teaching where teachers are merely transmitters of information, or indeed to adopt a textbook pedagogy which is reminiscent of the late 1970s and 1980s. The Geography Curriculum Consultation Full Report makes it clear “That a line-by-line, detailed list of geography’s contents is not the best way to draw a positive response from teachers . . . though there is strong support for the national curriculum achieving greater clarity over the core...

Words: 9160 - Pages: 37

Free Essay

Dsas

...Palestine Red Cresent Society Vulnerability & Capacity Assessment A Participatory Action Research Study of the Vulnerabilities and Capacities of the Palestinian Society in Disaster Preparedness August 2000 INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRECSENT SOCIETIES United Nations Children's Fund West Bank & Gaza Vulnerability & Capacity Assessment A Participatory Action Research Study of the Vulnerabilities and Capacities of the Palestinian Society in Disaster Preparedness Palestine Red Crescent Society August 2000 Copyright © Palestine Red Crescent Society 2001 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval sysems without prior permission from The Palestine Red Crescent Society, Al-Bireh, Palestine. For further infromation: Palestine Red Crescent Society Headquarters/ Al-Bireh P.O.Box 3637 Tel: ++972-2-2406515/6/7 Fax: ++972-2-2406518 e-mail: info@PalestineRCS.org Website: www.PalestineRCS.org Thanks to technical support of UNICEF West Bank and Gaza to this study and to the financial contribution of UNICEF- Middle East and North Africa Regional office who made the design and printing of this publication possible. Special thanks to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for their technical and financial support to carrying this study. Cover...

Words: 34257 - Pages: 138

Free Essay

Liberalism

...analysis. This showed that Japan has a great work force, and good access to relating and supporting industries. There is also an established demand for potato chips, but seems to be a gap in the market that Tayto could exploit. The SWOT took a much closer look at Tayto and determined that even though it has a strong presence in Ireland and the UK it is still not a huge global player. It also pointed out some cost cutting opportunities, via FDI and further emphasised the large population as an opportunity for Tayto it also made clear that competition in the snack industry is everywhere, and the costs of setting up a business via FDI could be very high. Finally we drew the conclusion that given all the positive and negative aspects, Japan posed much too good a market to pass up. It was recommended that Tayto engage in an exportation strategy to minimize risk and cut initial costs. Table of Contents Academic Integrity 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 6 Company Overview 6 Country Overview 6 PEST Analysis 7 Political Analysis 7 Role of the Government 7 Legal System 8 Economic...

Words: 4137 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Tsunami

...Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Manuals and Guides 52 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission TSUNAMI RISK ASSESSMENT ANDMITIGATION FOR THE INDIAN OCEAN KNOWING YOUR TSUNAMI RISK – AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT June 2009 UNESCO 1 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Manuals and Guides 52 knowing your tsunami risk – and what to do about it Tsunami risk assessment and mitigation for the Indian Ocean; The designation employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO in particular concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or the delineation of its frontiers or boundaries. The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this manual and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Designer: Eric Loddé For bibliographic purposes, this document should be cited as follows: Tsunami risk assessment and mitigation for the Indian Ocean; knowing your tsunami risk – and what to do about it IOC Manual and Guides No. 52, Paris: UNESCO, 2007 (English). Printed by UNESCO (IOC/2009/MG/52) © UNESCO IOC 2009 Tsunami risk assessment and mitigation for the Indian Ocean; knowing your tsunami risk – and what to do about it 3 Table of contents Acknowledgement ...........................................

Words: 47633 - Pages: 191

Free Essay

Physical Geo

...Physical Geography Chapter 1: The Discipline of Geography Principles of Geography Geography is the study of the distributions and interrelationships of earth phenomena. Geography is different from other disciplines in that it doesn't have a particular "thing" it studies. Botanists study plants, while geologists are interested in rocks. Geography is defined by its approach or methodology. Geographers describe their discipline as a spatial science. By "space" we aren't talking about celestial space. Geographers are concerned with answering questions about how and why phenomena vary across the surface of the Earth. For instance, geographers investigate patterns of vegetation as they relate to distributions of climate, soils, and topography. Geographers recognize the dynamic nature of Earth's physical systems. The physical geography of Earth changes in response to variations in weather and climate, the shifting of continents, and and the sculpting of coastlines by wave action. By recognizing the Earth system is dynamic, geographers take time into consideration when looking at the spatial patterns of Earth phenomena. Therefore, geographers are playing important roles in understanding the effects of climate change on earth systems. The role of geographers in assessing patterns of environmental change is a theme that reoccurs throughout this book. Figure 1.1 Folded Appalachian Mountains Linear folds of the Appalachian Mountains can be easily seen in this satellite image. (Source: NASA/GSFC/JPL...

Words: 8683 - Pages: 35

Premium Essay

Emvi

...ton1.1 Major Themes of Environmental Science The study of environmental problems and their solutions has never been more important. Modern society in 2009 is hooked on oil. Production has declined, while demand has grown, and the population of the world has been increasing by more than 70 million each year. The emerging energy crisis is producing an economic crisis, as the prices of everything produced from oil (fertilizer, food, and fuel) rise beyond what some people can afford to pay. Energy and economic problems come at a time of unprecedented environmental concerns, from the local to global level. At the beginning of the modern era—in A.D. 1—the number of people in the world was probably about 100 million, one-third of the present population of the United States. In 1960 the world contained 3 billion people. Our population has more than doubled in the last 40 years, to 6.8 billion people today. In the United States, population increase is often apparent when we travel. Urban traffic snarls, long lines to enter national parks, and difficulty getting tickets to popular attractions are all symptoms of a growing population. If recent human population growth rates continue, our numbers could reach 9.4 billion by 2050. The problem is that the Earth has not grown any larger, and the abundance of its resources has not increased—in many cases, quite the opposite. How, then, can Earth sustain all these people? And what is the maximum number of people that could live on Earth, not just...

Words: 9003 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning for It Professionals

...436_XSS_FM.qxd 4/20/07 1:18 PM Page ii 443_Disaster_Rec_FM.qxd 5/25/07 3:07 PM Page i Visit us at w w w. s y n g r e s s . c o m Syngress is committed to publishing high-quality books for IT Professionals and delivering those books in media and formats that fit the demands of our customers. We are also committed to extending the utility of the book you purchase via additional materials available from our Web site. SOLUTIONS WEB SITE To register your book, visit www.syngress.com/solutions. Once registered, you can access our solutions@syngress.com Web pages. There you may find an assortment of valueadded features such as free e-books related to the topic of this book, URLs of related Web sites, FAQs from the book, corrections, and any updates from the author(s). ULTIMATE CDs Our Ultimate CD product line offers our readers budget-conscious compilations of some of our best-selling backlist titles in Adobe PDF form. These CDs are the perfect way to extend your reference library on key topics pertaining to your area of expertise, including Cisco Engineering, Microsoft Windows System Administration, CyberCrime Investigation, Open Source Security, and Firewall Configuration, to name a few. DOWNLOADABLE E-BOOKS For readers who can’t wait for hard copy, we offer most of our titles in downloadable Adobe PDF form. These e-books are often available weeks before hard copies, and are priced affordably. SYNGRESS OUTLET Our outlet store at syngress...

Words: 189146 - Pages: 757