GEOLOGY REPORT

DAY 1: PAGE 15 -16 (PLATE TECTONICS)

B. PLATE TECTONICS

 Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a
result of Earth’s subterranean movements.
 The synthesis began in 1965 when Tuzo Wilson introduced the term plate for the broken
pieces of the Earth's lithosphere.
 In 1967, Jason Morgan proposed that the Earth's surface consists of 12 rigid plates that
move relative to each other. Two months later, Xavier Le Pichon published a synthesis
showing the location and type of plate boundaries and their direction of movement.
INSERT PICTURE: LOCATION OF MAP BOUNDARIES

Picture source: https://geology.com/plate-tectonics.shtml

 Earthquakes and volcanoes, evidence of unrest in the Earth, help locate the edges of plates.
Earthquakes are distributed in narrow, linear belts that circle the Earth.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ring-fire/

 Volcanoes are also distributed in long belts that circle the Earth. A dramatic example is the line
of volcanoes that circles most of the Pacific Ocean. This belt is known as the "Ring of Fire"
because it is the site of frequent volcanic eruptions.
 The distribution of earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges define 7 large plates and 20
smaller plates. The Nazca and Juan de Fuca Plates consist of only oceanic lithosphere. The Pacific
Plate is mostly oceanic lithosphere only a small slice of continental lithosphere in southern
California and Baja Mexico. Most of the other plates consist of both oceanic and continental
lithosphere.
 The Tharp-Heezen map illustrated the geological features that characterize the seafloor and
became a crucial factor in the acceptance of the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift.
Today, these theories serve as the foundation upon which we understand the geologic
processes that shape Earth.

Video source: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/plate-tectonics-video/

GEOLOGY REPORT
DAY 2: VOLCANOES AND VOLCANISM (PAGE 27 – 35)

D. TYPES OF VOLCANOES

CINDER CONES

 Cinder cones are the simplest type of volcano.

 They are built from particles and blobs of congealed lava ejected from a single vent. As the gas-
charged lava is blown violently into the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as
cinders around the vent to form a circular or oval cone.
 Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit and rarely rise more than a
thousand feet or so above their surroundings.
 Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit and rarely rise more than a
thousand feet or so above their surroundings.

 Paricutin Volcano 1943 eruption at night while on the left side was took on 1997.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par%C3%ADcutin

COMPOSITE VOLCANOES

 Some of the Earth's grandest mountains are composite volcanoes--sometimes called

stratovolcanoes.
 They are typically steep-sided, symmetrical cones of large dimension built of alternating layers
of lava flows, volcanic ash, cinders, blocks, and bombs and may rise as much as 8,000 feet above
their bases.
 Some of the most conspicuous and beautiful mountains in the world are composite volcanoes,
including Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador, Mount Shasta in California, Mount
Hood in Oregon, and Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier in Washington.
 Most composite volcanoes have a crater at the summit which contains a central vent or a
clustered group of vents.
 Lavas either flow through breaks in the crater wall or issue from fissures on the flanks of the
cone.
GEOLOGY REPORT

Shishaldin Volcano, Unimak Island by Coast View I May 25, 2021.

Photo source: https://coastview.org/2021/05/25/mount-shishaldin-alaska/

SHIELD VOLCANOES

 Shield volcanoes, the third type of volcano, are built almost entirely of fluid lava flows.
 They are built up slowly by the accretion of thousands of highly fluid lava flows called basalt lava
that spread widely over great distances, and then cool as thin, gently dipping sheets.
 Lavas also commonly erupt from vents along fractures (rift zones) that develop on the flanks of
the cone. Some of the largest volcanoes in the world are shield volcanoes.
 The Hawaiian Islands are composed of linear chains of these volcanoes including Kilauea and
Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii-- two of the world's most active volcanoes.
 As Mauna Loa, the largest of the shield volcanoes (and also the world's largest active volcano),
projects 13,677 feet above sea level, its top is over 28,000 feet above the deep ocean floor.

Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii, a giant among the active volcanoes of the world.

Photo source: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna-loa

GEOLOGY REPORT
LAVA DOMES

 Volcanic or lava domes are formed by relatively small, bulbous masses of lava too viscous to
flow any great distance; consequently, on extrusion, the lava piles over and around its vent.
 Some domes form craggy knobs or spines over the volcanic vent, whereas others form short,
steep-sided lava flows known as "coulees."

 Volcanic domes commonly occur within the craters or on the flanks of large composite
volcanoes.
 The nearly circular Novarupta Dome that formed during the 1912 eruption of Katmai Volcano,

Alaska, measures 800 feet across and 200 feet high. The internal structure of this dome--defined
by layering of lava fanning upward and outward from the center--indicates that it grew largely
by expansion from within.

The Novarupta Dome formed during the 1912 eruption of Katma Volcano, Alaska.

Photo source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novarupta

VOLCANIC SEAMOUNTS (submarine volcanoes)

 These are the most common forms in the deep oceans, although seamounts can also be created
by faults.
 Submarine volcanoes are underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma
can erupt. Many submarine volcanoes are located near areas of tectonic plate formation, known
as mid-ocean ridges. The volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges alone are estimated to account for 75%
of the magma output on Earth.
GEOLOGY REPORT
CONVECTION CURRENTS: (THEORY AND HYPOTHESIS)

 A mechanism to move continents was proposed by Arthur Holmes, Scottish geologist in 1928.
He believed heat trapped in the Earth caused convection currents, areas where fluids beneath
the Earth's crust rise, flow laterally, and then fall. The currents would rise beneath continents,
spread laterally, then plunge beneath the oceans. (Geologists now know that solid rock, not
fluids, convect in the mantle).
 Perhaps the most famous submarine volcano is Krakatau, a submerged caldera located between
Java and Sumatra. The 1883 eruption killed at least 36,400 people. Most of these people were
killed by tsunami.

THE 1883 KRAKATOA/KRAKATAU ERUPTION

PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/krakatoa

E. TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

STROMBOLIAN

 Huge clots of molten lava burst from the summit crater to form luminous arcs through the sky.
 Collecting on the flanks of the cone, lava clots combined to stream down the slopes in fiery
rivulets.
GEOLOGY REPORT

Irazú Volcano, Costa Rica, 1965.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraz%C3%BA_Volcano#/media/File:Irazu_Volcano.JPG

VULCANIAN

 Dense cloud of ash-laden gas explodes from the crater and rises high above the peak.
 Steaming ash forms a whitish cloud near the upper level of the cone.

Sabancaya volcano erupting, Peru in 2017 Photo source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano

VESUVIAN

 Great quantities of ash-laden gas are violently discharged to form cauliflower-shaped cloud high
above the volcano.

Mount Vesuvius Volcano, Italy, 1944

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/mount-vesuvius-erupted-seventy-years-ago.html
GEOLOGY REPORT

PELEAN/NUEE ARDENTE

 Large quantity of gas, dust, ash, and incandescent lava fragments are blown out of a central
crater, fall back, and form tongue-like, glowing avalanches that move downslope at velocities as
great as 100 miles per hour.
 Such eruptive activity can cause great destruction and loss of life if it occurs in populated areas,
as demonstrated by the devastation of St. Pierre during the 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée on
Martinique, Lesser Antilles.

Mayon Volcano, Philippines

Photo source: https://www.rappler.com/nation/luzon/phivolcs-mayon-volcano-alert-level-august-21-

2022/

Video source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/video/mayon-volcano-eruption-wreaks-havoc-

philippine-island-month-100080502

HAWAIIAN

 May occur along fissures or fractures that serve as linear vents, such as during the eruption of
Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii in 1950; or they may occur at a central vent such as during the
1959 eruption in Kilauea Iki Crater of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii.
GEOLOGY REPORT
During the 1959 eruption in Kilauea Iki Crater of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii.

Photo sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/science/kilauea-volcano-eruption-hawaii.html

 The distinguishing feature of phreatic explosions is that they only blast out fragments of
preexisting solid rock from the volcanic conduit; no new magma is erupted.
 Phreatic activity is generally weak, but can be quite violent in some cases, such as the 1965
eruption of Taal Volcano, Philippines, and the 1975-76 activity at La Soufrière, Guadeloupe
(Lesser Antilles).

The 1965 eruption of Taal Volcano, Philippines

Photo source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50729280

PLINIAN

 The most powerful eruptions and involve the explosive ejection of relatively viscous lava.
 Large plinian eruptions--such as during 18 May 1980 at Mount St. Helens or, more recently,
during 15 June 1991 at Pinatubo in the Philippines--can send ash and volcanic gas tens of miles
into the air.
 The resulting ash fallout can affect large areas hundreds of miles downwind.
 Fast-moving deadly pyroclastic flows ("nuéesardentes") are also commonly associated with
plinian eruptions.
GEOLOGY REPORT

Mount St. Helens about noon, May 18, 1980. Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines, June 12, 1991

Mt. St. Helens reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_St._Helens

Mt. Pinatubo reference: https://www.wired.com/2016/06/annotated-volcano-exploring-pinatubos-

devastating-eruption-25-years-later/

INFORMATIVE VIDEO CLIP FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=VNGUdObDoLk