SCI 9 Q3

Parts of a Volcano

Internal Structures

 Magma Chamber - an underground open zone where magma accumulates.

 Conduit - the path where magma flow upward.
 Throat - upper part of conduit.

External Structures

 Base - external bottom part of the volcano supporting the entire body.
 Flank - the sloping side.
 Vent - an opening where the magma can flow.
 Crater - lies in the mouth of the volcano or circular depression.
 Caldera - a huge circular depression with a diameter of thousand meters and
depth of hundred meters.
 Flank Vent - smaller openings where magma may pass through which are
created on the side of the volcano.

Classification of Volcanoes

What sets apart one type volcano from another?

Active volcano - volcanoes with evidence of eruption for the past 10,000 years.
Dormant volcano - it has the potential to be active again but with no record of
eruption.
Inactive volcano - it has no record of eruption and possibility to be active again.

Three General Types of Volcanoes According to Shape

a. Composite volcano is called stratovolcano because when you divide the
volcano into equal halves exposing the inner structure, you will notice that it
consists of alternating layers of solidified ashes and lava. This is the most
destructive type of volcanoes.
b. Shield volcano is broader and bigger than composite volcanoes. It does not
possess steep flank. This type of volcano is not destructive like the composite
ones.
c. Cinder cone volcano has narrow base, steep slope angle built from the
pyroclastic materials from a single vent.
Volcanic Eruption

Solid Pyroclastic Materials and Lava from Volcanic Eruption

The earth's core is so hot that it can melt solid rocks in the mantle forming a
magma. This material is fluid that it can travel and rise to the earth's crust. The
magma pervasively fills cracked regions and forms a magma chamber inside the
volcano which becomes the temporary storage of it.

If the volcano is active, the magma chamber is filled with so much magma
as years pass by. This rising magma to the earth's crust may crack, melt and move
the solid rocks of volcano resulting in scarcely perceptible to strong earthquakes.

Finally, when the volcano can no longer hold the pressure exerted by the
magma, the volcano will erupt releasing its lava and other materials such as
volcanic ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs, volcanic blocks and toxic gases.

Gases from Volcanic Eruption

Magma contains dissolved gas molecules such as water vapor, carbon dioxide,
sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. If the magma is not viscous, the gas molecules
can easily leave the volcano and enter the atmosphere. However if the magma is
too viscous, these gases cannot escape but form bubbles inside and may add to the
increasing pressure.

Types of Volcanic Eruption

Types of Volcanic Eruption

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is the heat energy of the earth below and is a sustainable and a
renewable energy resource. The geothermal power plant harnesses this energy by
putting up a production well where the fluid (usually underground water) is heated
and the steam propels the turbine connected to a generator. This generator in turn
can produce electricity by converting the mechanical to electrical energy.

World Climate

This chapter is about the conditions of the atmosphere — its temperature,

humidity, precipitation, wind speed and direction, etc.
Actually, two closely related terms are described in this regard: the weather and
climate of a place.
You will recall from earlier science classes that weather is the condition of the
atmosphere over a short period of time. It pertains to the day's condition of the
air. Is the day warm, cold, windy, cloudy, humid ...what else? Such condition
changes, not only from day to day but even within the day.
In contrast, climate pertains to the average condition of the atmosphere in a
region over a period of many years in terms of the same elements as those of
weather. For instance, how do we describe the climate of the Philippines? Is it
generally warm or cold? Is rainfall generally high or low?
The earth has many climate regions in various altitudes and latitudes since
temperature varies with altitude and latitude. Many factors affect climate.
Discussions on "climate change" actually focuses on changes in the long-term
averages of daily weather. Climate differs in various regions of the world based on
amounts of sunlight recieved, as well as various geographic factors, such as
altitude and proximity to bodies of water.
In this series of lessons, you will learn about climate change, what are its impacts
or effects, and how people can mitigate and adapt to these impacts. Hopefully this
will help you make good decisions not only now but also in the future.
In this chapter, you will realize that the earth's surface, atmosphere and living
organisms have changed throughout time and will continue to change.

In the Philippines, the government agency in charge of monitoring the changes in

atmospheric properties is the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) under the Department of Science
and Technology (DOST). What instruments are used for monitoring atmospheric
properties?

Natural Factors That Affect Global Climate

Solar activities
Solar activities refer to solar irradiance, solar
magnetic field (cosmic rays), ultraviolet radiation (UV), and others.

El Niño phenomenon
El Niño is a recurrent normal phenomenon that occurs in the ocean, producing
extreme weather conditions in many parts of the world. Aside from temperature,
all other elements of weather and climate (temperature, pressure, humidity,
precipitation, wind speed and wind direction) are affected. The term El Niño is
usually a warm water that occasionally forms along the coast of Ecuador and Peru.
Since this phenomenon occurs near Christmas time, it was given the name El Niño
(Spanish for the "boy child", referring to the Christ). Today the term El Niño refers
to unusually warm water that forms across the tropical eastern and central Pacific.
The time between the recurrence of El Niño events is typically every three to seven
years. During an El Niño, pressure in sea levels becomes lower in the Eastern
Pacific and higher in the western Pacific. This means very high atmospheric
temperatures in affected countries and, in some areas, even drought. The
counterpart of El Niño is La Niña (the "girl child"), which is associated with low
temperatures and heavier than usual rainfall in affected areas.

Cloud cover
Clouds reflect sunlight, provide shade and keep parts of the earth cool. However,
water vapor in clouds also acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping some heat and
bounces it back to the earth. It is still a controversy if the net effect of clouds
contributes to global warming or not.

Forest fires
Forest trees use carbon dioxide as they transform light energy from the Sun to
chemical energy in their leaves and other plant parts during photosynthesis.
Forests act as carbon sinks. They absorb carbon dioxide from the air. A carbon sink
is a reservoir that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical
compound for some period of time.
However, wild forest fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is one
of the greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. Every time there is a
forest fire, more carbon dioxide contributes to global warming by trapping heat in
the atmosphere.

Volcanic eruptions
Whenever there are volcanic eruptions, ash and gas are ejected into the
stratosphere. This blocks sunlight, making it appear late at night even at the
middle of the day in affected parts of the earth, similar to what happened when
Mount Pinatubo (Philippines) erupted on June 15, 1991. The plume penetrated the
stratosphere (10 to 15 km altitude), composed of about 15 million tons of sulfur
dioxide. When this gas and ash interacted with water in the atmosphere, particles
of sulfuric acid were formed. These spread around the globe and cooled the earth's
atmosphere for two years.
Volcanic eruptions abundantly release water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur
dioxide. Hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen fluoride, helium
and hydrogen chloride are also released in smaller amounts. Notice that
greenhouse gases are also released during eruptions, which can contribute to
global warming.

Oceans
Oceans cover about 70% of the earth's surface, dominating energy and water
cycles of the earth. Oceans absorb large amounts of solar energy and distribute
this to various parts of the earth through ocean currents that are driven by density
and by atmospheric circulation.
When there are tectonic movements or large influxes of fresh water from melting
glaciers, the ocean currents may change. This could lead to significant abrupt
changes in climate.
Just like forests, oceans also act as carbon sinks. More people have become aware
of the significance of carbon sinks ever since the passage of the Kyoto Protocol.
Oceans are the largest carbon sinks of the world.
These absorb and store more than one fourth of the carbon dioxide in the air.
During the Ice Ages, part of the oceans were frozen. But, as the temperature of the
earth rose, snow caps melted, and the oceans became a source of carbon dioxide.

WHAT ANTHROPOGENIC (HUMAN)

ACTIVITIES AFFECT GLOBAL CLIMATE?

Climate change happens when humans artificially increase the levels of

greenhouse gases that occur in our atmosphere. Human activities include burning
of fossil fuels such as natural gas, gasoline and coal.
Burning all these release into the atmosphere large amounts of carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide.
As the gases accumulate, they form a thick insulating
"blanket" around the earth. Consequently, this traps a higher percentage of the
thermal infrared radiation that is reflected off the earth's surface. This leads to
higher global atmospheric temperatures. Burning fossil fuels for transportation is
the most common source of greenhouse gas produced by human activity.
Other human activities are deforestation (for space, lumber, etc.), and mining
activities. Since trees and other plant life use up carbon dioxide in the air,
deforestation leads to less trees to do the job. Consequently, more carbon dioxide
stays in the atmosphere and this leads to higher atmospheric temperature.
Other greenhouse gases include methane and nitrous oxide. These are a result of
waste disposal and industrial practices. The use of electrical power for indoor lights
or appliances also contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. So, what can
humans do to lessen the GHG emissions?

What Is Climate Change?

Before going any further, let us review three closely related atmospheric
phenomena: enhanced greenhouse effect that leads to global warming which, in
turn, brings about climate change. Let us go back a little further and review two
more related topics: earth's carbon cycle and the carbon budget.

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon (C) is the basic building block of life, although many nonliving things also
contain carbon.
It is the fourth most common element in the universe.
Organisms need carbon for structure, for energy, or both. Humans use carbon for
both.
Carbon atoms are moved from one form to another.
The carbon in your own body was once part of a plant or animal that you have
eaten.
Before plants or animals consume carbon, it is part of the earth's atmosphere as a
molecule of carbon dioxide.
Humans, like all animals, release carbon dioxide when they exhale or go to the
bathroom. When a living organism dies and decomposes, all its stored carbon is
released into the ground. The carbon cycle shows that carbon moves between the
atmosphere, the oceans, the biosphere (living things) and the geosphere
(sediments, rocks and fossil fuels). All things that add carbon to the atmosphere
are called "source". All things that remove carbon from the atmosphere are called
"sink".
Plants use carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis, producing sugar and
oxygen as a by-product. Plants and animals use body sugars for energy to grow. As
sugar is "burned" or used, some carbon is released back into the atmosphere as
carbon dioxide in a process called respiration.
The Earth's Carbon Budget
just like a financial budget, you can think of the earth as having a carbon "budget".
The ideal is to have the amount of carbon balanced. Meaning, all carbon produced
by sources are taken up by sinks. Now, recall that as humans burn fuels, carbon is
released into the atmosphere. If humans clear forests for agriculture, more carbon
is released into the atmosphere.
Consequently, there are lesser trees available as carbon sinks. Humans are adding
more carbon faster than the earth's natural sinks can remove or absorb it. The
extra carbon contributes to global warming.

31.1 ENHANCED GREENHOUSE EFFECT

What have you learned in Science 8 regarding enhanced greenhouse effect? Recall
the following:

a. The Greenhouse Effect

To understand climate change, you need to understand the greenhouse effect.
Recall what a greenhouse is. What is it for? What happens inside a greenhouse?
Sunlight that reaches the earth heats the land, oceans and the atmosphere. Some
of the sunlight is reflected back to space by the surface, by clouds, or by ice. Most
of the sunlight that reaches the earth is absorbed, and this makes the planet warm
enough to live in. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon where heat-
trapping gases in the atmosphere, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide, absorb
the infrared (heat) radiated back by the earth's surface.

b. Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

The enhanced greenhouse effect refers to the increased heat-retaining process in
the atmosphere due to an unusually large amount of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases resulting from air pollution and other environmental problems.
The increased concentrations of some of these gases amplify or enhance the
natural greenhouse effect.
Living things consume and produce greenhouse gases. The problem is that human
beings are adding extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We human beings
burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas to do many of our activities such as using cars,
computers, air conditioners, fans, television or electric lights.
Carbon dioxide is released when fossil fuels (remains of dead plants and animals)
are burned. Carbon dioxide is normally taken out of the atmosphere in the process
of photosynthesis. Other greenhouse gases like methane gas is produced by
microbes in wetlands, garbage dumps, rice paddies, and in the digestive tract of
farm animals like sheep and cattle. Nitrous oxide gas is produced when man-made
fertilizers (with nitrate and ammonium) break down in the soil. The amount of
greenhouse gases produced is far greater than the amount of greenhouse gases
consumed. This contributes to global warming.
Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor) act as
a blanket that keeps the planet warm. In normal conditions, these gases keep the
earth at 14°C instead of an extremely cold - 19°C. However, because of too much
greenhouse gases, there has been an enormous amount of heat trapped in our
atmosphere. Over so many years, the amount of greenhouse gases within the
atmosphere has been rapidly increasing.
Most scientists today agree that the earth's temperature has risen over the past
century, mainly because of carbon dioxide and is mainly due to the burning of
fossil fuels.
We also learned in Science 8 that:
a. Natural greenhouse effect provides the heat that maintains life on Earth; but
b. Enhanced greenhouse effect contributes to global warming.

31.2 GLOBAL WARMING

Global warming refers to the marked increase in ambient temperature brought
about by the release of greenhouse gases into the earth's atmosphere.
When the amount of heat that enters the atmosphere changes, or when the
amount of heat that leaves the atmosphere changes, climate is affected on a global
scale. Thus, global warming can occur because of an increased amount of heat
entering the earth or a decreased amount of heat that escapes the earth's
atmosphere.
Sunlight enters the earth's atmosphere and heats up land and waters. The heat is
then released back into the atmosphere. However, sometimes there are slight
changes in the earth's orbit over thousands of years.
There are also some changes in the intensity of solar radiation. These affect the
amount of sunlight that reaches the earth.
As the earth is warmed by solar energy, heat radiates away and leaves the earth's
surface. However, with the presence of greenhouse gases in the earth's
atmosphere, some amount of heat is absorbed by the atmosphere. This actually
traps heat within the earth's atmosphere. The amount of solar energy absorbed or
radiated by the earth is affected by the composition of the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane) occur naturally in
small amounts. These minute amounts of gases absorb and release heat more
efficiently than other more abundant gases in the air like nitrogen or oxygen.
Carbon dioxide normally averages about 0.03 percent by volume at sea level. Small
increases in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air can have a large effect
on the climate system.
Some time at the beginning of the 20th century, Svante August Arrhenius (1859-
1927), a Swedish physicist and chemist, researched on the possible effects of an
increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide on global climate. About 50 years later, a
study by an American geophysicist by the name of Roger Revelle showed that
atmospheric carbon dioxide actually increased due to the use of fossil fuels.
Revelle became a member of the U.S. government committee which predicted the
possibility of global warming by carbon dioxide.

31.3 CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is a long range change in patterns of temperature, wind and
precipitation of a certain region or of the entire planet. The period can range from
decades or even millions of years. Climate change may be due to different factors,
which include natural processes and human activities.
What is the relation between global warming and climate change? Among the
elements of weather and climate are temperature and precipitation. Global
warming contributes to climate change.
Rapid population growth and commercial development have transformed natural
landscapes, farms and villages into industrialized urban and residential areas. With
the increase in population, there is an increase in carbon emissions. There is a
tremendous increase of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere nowadays
compared to centuries ago. These result in an increase in global atmospheric
temperatures. These changes in our climate may result in an increase in the
frequency and intensity of extreme weather disasters.
Extreme storms can consequently lead to less water supply or damage to property.
It is therefore necessary for us to be proactive in trying to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG) and adapt these methods to reduce the impact of climate change.
It is important to take steps to reduce carbon emissions and to prepare to adapt to
the impact of climate change.

31.3.1 Global climates in the past

The climate change phenomenon is not a recent one.
Evidences from geologic records, glaciers, pollen from fossil plants, fossil
distributions, carbon and oxygen isotopes and tree rings show that the earth's
climate has been changing since ancient times. You can delve deeper and
investigate about cycles of ice ages and inter-glacial periods in the past millions of
years. You can also investigate about the dinosaur ages about 135 to 115 million
years ago, other periods of mass extinction 245 million years ago, and modern ice
ages 3 million years ago.
Some people think that, since global temperatures run in cycles of cold and warm
due to mining and burning of fossil fuels, naturally occurring volcanic eruptions,
and other factors, there is no real controversy regarding global warming. However,
other scientists believe that, recently, human activities have accelerated the
warming process so that the changes in world climate are unstoppable. The
amount of carbon dioxide produced exceeds the amount of carbon dioxide
absorbed by natural carbon sinks. Due to the rapid change in climate, many
humans and other living things may not be able to adapt to the changing
conditions.
Life - including plants, animals, microbes, but especially humans — is a major force
in the carbon cycle. This can influence global climate as it modifies the chemical
makeup of the atmosphere. Records about the global climates in the past show
that living things have significantly altered the atmosphere during the history of
the earth.