Posted on 08/01/2007 9:50:31 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Like rising bubbles in champagne, gases from Earth's interior can ascend to the surface and cause magma to explode in dangerous splatters. A new study, detailed in the July 13 issue of the journal Science, shows that these volcanic "gas slugs" originate from deeper inside the planet than previously thought. The work, by Mike Burton and colleagues at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy, could help scientists understand why some volcanoes erupt more violently than others... Called "Strombolian" activity -- after the Stromboli volcano in Italy where it has been best studied -- these small volcanic blasts consist of relatively viscous lava sputtering from the throat of volcanoes, like over-cooked chili on a stove. Strombolian eruptions are driven by pockets of water vapor and other gases ascending rapidly through lava tubes inside the Earth... Burton and his team measured changes in the composition of gas escaping from Stromboli during both quiet and active periods. They measured the gas from a safe distance using a beam of infrared light that can detect chemicals in the air... The team's findings suggest the gas slugs formed as deep as 1.7 miles (2,700 meters) below the surface.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Lava bursts 450 meters high in September 1984. Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, on the Big Island, has had dozens of eruptions over the past 18 years during a streak of activity.
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erf pharts ... why deep-well injection of CO2 is a very bad idea
Wow! Volcanic activity releases gases into the atmosphere? Who knew? How does this compare with Man’s release of greenhouse gases? Could the volcanoes contribute to Global Warming in any way?
If these are “burps” the Basin borderd by the Rockies and the Smokies is the “Uncle Jimbo” of them all. Sitting in your living room, swilling beer, dripping nachos, and waiting to clear the house!
Rhythmic Submarine Volcanos And El NinosThe real cause of El Ninos is still obscure. However, the recent discovery of over 1,000 previously unmapped submarine volcanos rising from the seafloor in the eastern Pacific may lead to El Nino's source. The synchronous eruption of, say, 100 of these volcanos might warm the ocean around Easter Island a tad -- just enough to warm the atmosphere above a bit -- resulting in a shift of the high pressure area.
by William Corliss
Stupid question. Everyone knows that these eruptions are due to man made global warming. The models say so....
/sarcasm
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