NationStates Jolt Archive

Right now, I am watching a show about volcanoes, and that in spired me to make a thread about volcanoes.

So let's talk about 'em!

The show i'm watching is about a volcano called, well, I don't know if I can pronounce it. Any way, if that baby erupts, it will kill more than 2 MILLION people in the city at the foot of the lava-spewer.

Anyway, I would like opinions about everything volcanoes.

Right now, I am watching a show about volcanoes, and that in spired me to make a thread about volcanoes.

So let's talk about 'em!

The show i'm watching is about a volcano called, well, I don't know if I can pronounce it. Any way, if that baby erupts, it will kill more than 2 MILLION people in the city at the foot of the lava-spewer.

Anyway, I would like opinions about everything volcanoes.
Is that the one in Indonesia where they started evacuating people a couple of weeks ago?

Indonesia has a reputation for cool volcanoes - Krakatoa, Tambora (1815(?) was the most powerful eruption in recorded history, and killed more than twice as many as Krakatoa), etc. Just had a look on wiki, and apparently Mount Tambora was 1350 metres shorter after the eruption.

Yeah, volcanoes are cool. So long as you don't get caught in an eruption.

Quote from "Deep Thoughts with Jack Handy"...

"If you are ever running from a lava-spuing volcano, and you drop your keys, let em go man, cause they're gone...."

Is that the one in Indonesia where they started evacuating people a couple of weeks ago?

Indonesia has a reputation for cool volcanoes - Krakatoa, Tambora (1815(?) was the most powerful eruption in recorded history, and killed more than twice as many as Krakatoa), etc. Just had a look on wiki, and apparently Mount Tambora was 1350 metres shorter after the eruption.

Yeah, volcanoes are cool. So long as you don't get caught in an eruption.

All I can think about is that damn movie with Tom Hanks....

The show i'm watching is about a volcano called, well, I don't know if I can pronounce it. Any way, if that baby erupts, it will kill more than 2 MILLION people in the city at the foot of the lava-spewer.
Vesuvius? It destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in ancient times, and now sits above the city of Naples.

Is that the one in Indonesia where they started evacuating people a couple of weeks ago?

Indonesia has a reputation for cool volcanoes - Krakatoa, Tambora (1815(?) was the most powerful eruption in recorded history, and killed more than twice as many as Krakatoa), etc. Just had a look on wiki, and apparently Mount Tambora was 1350 metres shorter after the eruption.

Yeah, volcanoes are cool. So long as you don't get caught in an eruption.


No, that's not it. I'll try to ppronounce it:

Nirigongo, in Africa. Near lake Kivu.

Sorry if I did not pronounce it rite.

Yellowstone and much of the surrounding area is one large megavolcano. If it were to erupt, there would most likely be a 50-90% loss of life on Earth.

Have a nice day. :)

Lets hope it dosen't erupt then. Krakatoa and Tambora are like Gods to vulcanologists as are Mount Loa and Kilauea one of the worlds most active volcanoes. The one in Indonesia that is going to erupt is Mount Merapi

Yellowstone and much of the surrounding area is one large megavolcano. If it were to erupt, there would most likely be a 50-90% loss of life on Earth.
It's more when than if. Parts of the Yellowstone caldera have risen by up to four metres in the last 30 years. And it's overdue for an eruption.

Volcanoes are freaky, yet awe-inspiring at the same time. Thats the feeling I get when I looked at images of when Mount St. Helens erupted in the 1980s. Some pretty crazy stuff!

For all the destruction they inflict upon life on Earth, we have to hope they keep on doing it. If they stop it means the planets core has cooled and the magnetic field shielding us from solar winds will disappear. It's only a matter of time before we become another Mars after that :( .

For all the destruction they inflict upon life on Earth, we have to hope they keep on doing it. If they stop it means the planets core has cooled and the magnetic field shielding us from solar winds will disappear. It's only a matter of time before we become another Mars after that :( .

I was under the impression that the atmosphere plays a large role in protecting us from solar winds.

I was also under the impression that magnetic fields are caused by rotating, rather than heated, metal. And I don't see why all that iron would suddenly stop rotating because it cooled down.

Please don't use the film, "The Core" as a scientific basis, in case you are...

Right now, I am watching a show about volcanoes, and that in spired me to make a thread about volcanoes.

So let's talk about 'em!

The show i'm watching is about a volcano called, well, I don't know if I can pronounce it. Any way, if that baby erupts, it will kill more than 2 MILLION people in the city at the foot of the lava-spewer.

Anyway, I would like opinions about everything volcanoes.
seen that. the one where the vent fissures extend beneith the city. Nyiragongo (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/volcanocity/)it was called, I believe.

Nasty for not only would an eruption destroy the city, but any major disruption of the lake would release a CO2 cloud that would sufforcate anyone located by the lake for a couple of miles.

Volcanoes are freaky, yet awe-inspiring at the same time. Thats the feeling I get when I looked at images of when Mount St. Helens erupted in the 1980s. Some pretty crazy stuff!
but also beautiful. Kilauea is an awsome sight.

No, that's not it. I'll try to ppronounce it:

Nirigongo, in Africa. Near lake Kivu.

Sorry if I did not pronounce it rite.

I think this might be the one you mean http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&c2coff=1&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Nyiragongo&spell=1

And check out this page while you are at it. Cool pictures;
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://quakeinfo.ucsd.edu/~gabi/erth15/lecture09/nyiragongo-flowmap.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://quakeinfo.ucsd.edu/~gabi/erth15/lecture09/volcanoes.html&h=1465&w=960&sz=616&hl=en&start=18&tbnid=sbJ1CpAHoL73AM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3DNyiragongo%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26c2coff%3D1%26sa%3DX

Noooooo! *Reminded of geography GCSE exam on monday after next*

I've just spent ages memorising: Effects of volcanoes on LEDCs and MEDCs, and prediction of volcanic eruptions. At least now I can call this revision.:)

I was under the impression that the atmosphere plays a large role in protecting us from solar winds.

I was also under the impression that magnetic fields are caused by rotating, rather than heated, metal. And I don't see why all that iron would suddenly stop rotating because it cooled down.

Please don't use the film, "The Core" as a scientific basis, in case you are...


If the core cools, it hardens. If it hardens there is no metallic core and in turn no Magnetic field, which DOES reflect solar wind particles -thanks astronomy 100 for that info- :D

one thing is bothering me about Nyiragongo, they have all the information that the volcano will erupt. the only question is when.

so why are they not quietly evacuating the city or looking at ways of moving the city?

Volcanoes are freaky, yet awe-inspiring at the same time. Thats the feeling I get when I looked at images of when Mount St. Helens erupted in the 1980s. Some pretty crazy stuff!


Why not goto Mt St Helens itself, now that is a fun tour

Tour guide: See that rock in the lake below us, it weighs about 750 tonnes, and came from round about the top of the mountain which is SEVEN miles away.

Although the best bit is seen on leaving the national park, where you can see a nice large sign on the way out that says "You are now 19 miles from the Mt St Helens, this is the edge of the blast zone"

As for volcanos in general, each one has its own personality, and ways of erupting, Nirigongo fills its crater with extremely runny lava.... then has a mild earthquake and lets the lava loose on anything in its way.
Vesuvius just sits there sulking most of the time, then goes POP big time.... or little depending on how long its been sitting there, Krakatoa goes fizzle fizzle pop fizzle all the time..... then it goes BANG!

The latest earthquake in Java has me a bit concerned since it was within 40 km of an erupting volcano...... who knows... maybe that one is going to go bang big time and then temps worldwide drop by 3 degrees......

El-presidente Boris

Ps I like snow

For all the destruction they inflict upon life on Earth, we have to hope they keep on doing it. If they stop it means the planets core has cooled and the magnetic field shielding us from solar winds will disappear. It's only a matter of time before we become another Mars after that :( .
Ahahahahaha. No.

But they should keep erupting for soil purposes. Incredibly rich soil comes from land after a volcano has erupted. This, I suspect, was life evolving to make use of this common geological phenomenon more than anything else.

Is that the one in Indonesia where they started evacuating people a couple of weeks ago?

Indonesia has a reputation for cool volcanoes - Krakatoa, Tambora (1815(?) was the most powerful eruption in recorded history, and killed more than twice as many as Krakatoa), etc. Just had a look on wiki, and apparently Mount Tambora was 1350 metres shorter after the eruption.

Yeah, volcanoes are cool. So long as you don't get caught in an eruption.
Sorry to be a pedant here, but the 186AD eruption of Taupo in NZ is the largest eruption in recorded history - and estimated to be the 5th largest in history. If you want to find it on the map, look at the North Island of New Zealand and in the middle is a bloody great lake over 60m deep. That's Taupo.


Out of interest, regards Yellowstone Park. There's been 3 eruptions there in the last 2.1 million years.
The initial eruption 2.1 million years ago was 2,500 times more powerful than the Mt. St. Helens eruption and perhaps was the largest, most violent volcanic eruption in the history of earth. Enough ash and volcanic debris exploded from the eruptions to cover the entire western half of the United States with about a four-foot deep layer of ash. Roughly 600 cubic miles of material were thrown into the atmosphere.
The other two eruptions have been 600 000 to 800 000 years apart, being 280 times and 1000 times the force of Mt. St. Helens, respectively.
It's been 640 000 years since the last eruption, which means we're about due.