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Scientific Method for Volcano Science Projects

Volcanic eruptions are a result of rapidly expanding gases.

What Are the 8 Steps in Scientific Research?

Model volcanoes have been a standby of science fair projects for many students. The displacement of gas that is formed from the reaction has to go somewhere, typically out the opening to the environment. The scientific method gives scientists a form to follow when asking questions about an observation they make. The scientific method guides students through a thinking process in an attempt to explain what happens to a volcano during an explosion.

Observation

The first step in the scientific process is to make an observation about an event. A question typically arises from the process that needs to be answered. The question can be as simple as “Why does the eruption come out the top of the volcano?”

A hypothesis is an educated guess or prediction based upon past knowledge of other events. In a volcano project, a hypothesis may try to explain why a volcano erupts . This idea will be supported or discounted in the experimental phase of the scientific process. A well-formed hypothesis is one that can be measured either qualitatively or quantitatively.

Experimental Process

The next step is to design an experiment that mimics the conditions of the actual event. In the case of a volcano, the experiment is making a small controlled explosion. An explosion is basically a rapid expansion of gas in a specific amount of space. A mixture of baking soda and vinegar can give a rapid production of gas in a small area to result in an eruption. This step should also include the procedure for how the experiment will be carried out.

Conclusions

From the experimental process, the student should be able to draw conclusions about how an eruption occurs and the properties of an explosion. Rapid gas formation builds up and fills the reaction vessel and will come out of the weakest point. Since there should be an opening at the top of the volcano, the gas will come from this point.

Testing the Hypothesis

After the conclusion has been made, the hypothesis should be evaluated. If the hypothesis does not match the experimental data, then a new hypothesis should be made and tested. Scientists are continually changing and making new hypotheses based on ongoing research.

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University of Rochester: Introduction to the scientific method

About the Author

Based out of Reno, Nev., Andrew Youngker has been writing since 2007. He writes articles for various websites, covering cooking and education. Youngker is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Nevada, Reno.

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Find Your Next Great Science Fair Project! GO

How to Write Up an Elementary Volcano Science Project

Jennifer tolbert, 27 jun 2018.

The baking soda and vinegar volcano is a favorite science experiment among elementary students. It is important to make your presentation stand out from the other students at the science fair with an exceptional presentation. Also be sure to follow the teacher's guidelines or science fair guidelines to ensure that your score is as high as possible.

Write an introduction. The introduction is your first impression. Be sure it is concise and accurately introduces exactly what you studied in the experiment. This is also an excellent place to include fun facts, background information or general volcano information. The reaction is due to the properties of bases and acids and would be important to include in your experiment. Identify the variable that you are testing, such as the ratio to vinegar and baking soda. Or maybe you would like to see what other base-acid combinations would produce similar eruptions.

Write a hypothesis. Remember a hypothesis is an educated guess or prediction. Explain what you believe will happen during the experiment based upon your previous knowledge or research. The hypothesis should be written in a declarative sentence.

List your materials. Provide a detailed list of all of the materials you used when you conducted the experiment. Be sure to also include how much of each material was used. Explain whether you made your own volcano or bought a kit.

Write your procedure. The procedure should be written step-by-step, in detail. If someone else could easily reproduce your experiment, you have probably written a fairly clear procedure. Be detailed, accurate and logical in your explanation. Procedures are usually written in a numerical list format.

Explain your results. Be sure your results reflect exactly what you were testing. You can provide observations or measurements. If applicable, you can create a chart or graph to describe any numerical data you may have taken. You may want to describe what the eruptions looked like, how long they lasted or how explosive the reactions were.

Write a conclusion. Basically, sum up what you learned during the experiment. Say whether or not your hypothesis was correct. Point out patterns in your data and explain if they were consistent with your previous knowledge of the subject. Also, do not forget to relate how that information can be used in the real world. This would also be a good spot to place recommendations if there are changes you would make to the experiment.

1 Discovery Education: Science Fair Center
2 Science Buddies: Science Fair Project Final Report

About the Author

Jennifer Tolbert currently resides in Magnolia, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in agricultural communications from Texas Tech University and a Master of Science from Texas A&M University. She has written several award-winning special sections as a marketing writer and is currently a special education teacher.

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Study acid-base chemistry with at-home volcanoes.

Baking soda volcanoes are a fun demonstration, and with a few tweaks they can be an experiment, too

A few kitchen chemicals can give you an at home volcano. But you’re going to need more than one volcano for an experiment.

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Blowing it up

To test this, I need to make volcanoes with different amounts of baking soda while the rest of the chemical reaction remains the same. The baking soda is my variable — the factor in the experiment that I am changing.

Here’s the recipe for a basic baking soda volcano:

In a clean, empty 2-liter soda bottle, mix 100 milliliters (mL) of water, 400mL of white vinegar and 10mL of dish soap. Add a few drops of food coloring if you want to make your explosion a fun color.
Place the bottle outside, on a sidewalk, driveway or porch. (Do not put it on grass. This reaction is safe, but it will kill the grass. I learned this the hard way.)
Mix together half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of water. Pour the mix into the 2-liter bottle as quickly as you can and stand back!

(Safety note: It’s a good idea to wear gloves, sneakers and eye protection such as glasses or safety goggles for this experiment. Some of these ingredients can be uncomfortable on your skin, and you don’t want to get them in your eyes.)

To turn this demonstration into an experiment, I’ll need to try this again, with three different amounts of baking soda. I started small — with just 10 mL, mixed with 40 mL of water. My middle dose was 50 mL of baking soda mixed with 50 mL of water. For my last amount, I used 100 mL of baking soda, mixed with about 50 mL of water. (Baking soda has a similar volume and mass, in that 10mL of baking soda weighs about 10 grams, and so on. This meant I could weigh the baking soda on a scale rather than have to measure it by volume.) I then made five volcanoes with each amount of baking soda, for a total of 15 volcanoes.

The explosion happens very quickly — too fast to mark its height accurately on a wall or yardstick. But once the eruption happens, the foam and water fall outside the bottle. By weighing the bottles before and after the reaction, and adding in the mass of the baking soda and water solution, I can calculate how much mass got ejected from each eruption. I could then compare the mass lost to show if more baking soda produced a larger explosion.

the 10 gram baking soda bottles bubbling

When I used only 10 grams of baking soda, the bottles lost 17 grams of mass on average. The eruptions were so small that most never made it out of the bottle. When I used 50 grams of baking soda, the bottles lost 160 grams of mass on average. And when I used 100 grams of baking soda, the bottles lost almost 350 grams of mass.

But that’s not quite the whole story. Because I added different amounts of baking soda and water to the bottles, there might not be as big of a difference here as I think. The extra mass from the 100-gram bottles, for instance, could just be because the reaction started out heavier.

To rule that out, I converted my numbers to the percent of mass lost. The 10-gram bottles lost only about three percent of their mass. The 50-gram bottles lost 25 percent of their mass, and the 100-gram bottles lost more than half of their mass.

a table showing all the data collected during the volcano experiment

To confirm that these results are different, I need to run statistics. These are tests that will help me interpret my results. For this, I have three different amounts of baking soda that I need to compare to each other. With a test called a one-way analysis of variance (or ANOVA), I can compare the means (in this case, the average) of three or more groups. There are calculators on the internet where you can plug in your data to do this. I used this one .

a graph showing the total mass lost for each amount of baking soda used

The test will give me a p value. This is a probability measure of how likely I would be to get a difference between these three groups as large as the one I have by chance alone. In general, scientists think of a p value of less than 0.05 (five percent probability) as statistically significant . When I compared my three baking soda amounts, my p value was less than 0.00001, or 0.001 percent. That’s a statistically significant difference that shows the amount of baking soda matters.

I also get an F ratio from this test. If this number is around one, it usually means that the variation between the groups is about what you would get by chance. An F ratio bigger than one, though, means the variation is more than you’d expect to see. My F ratio was 53, which is pretty good.

a graph showing the percentage of mass lost at each baking soda dose

My hypothesis was that more baking soda will produce a larger explosion . The results here seem to agree with that.

Of course there are things that I could do differently next time. I could make sure that my bottle weights were all the same. I could use a high-speed camera to measure explosion height. Or I could try changing the vinegar instead of the baking soda.

I guess I’m just going to need to make more explosions.

White vinegar (2 gallons) ($1.92)
Food coloring: ($3.66)
Nitrile or latex gloves ($4.24)
Small digital scale ($11.85)
Roll of paper towels ($0.98)
Dish soap ($1.73)
Glass beakers ($16.99)
Baking soda (three boxes) ($0.46)
Two-liter soda bottles (4) ($0.62)

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Big volcano science: needs and perspectives

Perspectives
Open access
Published: 12 February 2022
Volume 84 , article number 20 , ( 2022 )

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Paolo Papale ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5207-2124 1 &
Deepak Garg 1

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Volcano science has been deeply developing during last decades, from a branch of descriptive natural sciences to a highly multi-disciplinary, technologically advanced, quantitative sector of the geosciences. While the progress has been continuous and substantial, the volcanological community still lacks big scientific endeavors comparable in size and objectives to many that characterize other scientific fields. Examples include large infrastructures such as the LHC in Geneva for sub-atomic particle physics or the Hubble telescope for astrophysics, as well as deeply coordinated, highly funded, decadal projects such as the Human Genome Project for life sciences. Here we argue that a similar big science approach will increasingly concern volcano science, and briefly describe three examples of developments in volcanology requiring such an approach, and that we believe will characterize the current decade (2020–2030): the Krafla Magma Testbed initiative; the development of a Global Volcano Simulator; and the emerging relevance of big data in volcano science.

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Introduction

Volcano science has deeply evolved during last decades. One of us (PP) presented perspectives for next decade developments at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meetings 2010 and 2020, which are summarized in Table 1 . As from that easy forecast, approaches based on statistics and probabilities have become progressively more widespread in volcanology: a search in the Web of Science shows that the number of entries responding to “volcano” and “probability” more than doubles from the first to the second decade of this century. Similarly, sharing resources, as well as sharing experience, is continuing to increase in relevance. Examples include the large investments from the European Commission in infrastructural developments such as EPOS, the European Plate Observing System ( www.epos-eu.org ), representing the platform for EU-level data accessibility and sharing in solid Earth, and the frame within which European geoscientists discuss and implement common development strategies; and other EU-level investments, facilitated through EPOS, aimed at transverse, transnational access to resources such as advanced laboratories, observatories, data collections, and computational centers, and of which Eurovolc ( www.eurovolc.eu ) represents a valuable example. Other successful sharing initiatives include the VOBP (Volcano Observatory Best Practices) workshop series aimed at sharing best practices for volcano observatories, and including sharing of resources to sustain the inclusion of observatories from developing countries (Pallister et al. 2019 ).

The talk at AGU 2020 focused on the expected major developments in the current decade 2020–2030. Identifying the many sectors of volcanology that may benefit from significant advance is beyond the scope. The aim there, and here with this short paper, was that of identifying some major elements that may contribute significantly to shape volcanology in the next years. Together with the contributions from many other colleagues in this volume, the objective is to present a picture of what volcano science may look like in 10 years from now. The perspective that we present here largely (but not exclusively) refers to examples from Europe, that we believe can be representative of developments at international scale.

Big science and volcano science

The key word describing major upcoming developments in volcanology is big science. Big science usually refers to large scientific endeavors involving big budgets, big staff, big machines, and big laboratories. Other communities have engaged in big science since long, with enormous impacts such as those brought by the Large Hadron Collider in particle physics, the Hubble telescope in astronomy and astrophysics, or the large-scale initiative represented by the Human Genome Project ( https://www.genome.gov/human-genome-project ) in life sciences. ODP (Oceanic Drilling Program) activities carrying out exploration of the ocean floor are an example of large-scale projects in the Earth sciences, which have also largely benefited volcanology especially when the research involved volcanic ridges and arcs. One may wonder whether volcano science needs similar large-scale, international cooperative efforts. As a matter of fact, we are deeply convinced of the unique importance of science developed by individual or small groups of researchers. Examples of deep scientific innovation following from modest funding are countless, and, fortunately, science still flourishes on great ideas. It is a fact, however, that some extraordinary achievements strictly require similar extraordinary investments. The standard model of quantum mechanics constituting our current vision of the world would not be the same, without extreme technological implementations at a few large particle accelerators. Similarly, we would not have machines on Mars sending back pictures and data and possibly preparing a next human mission, without the huge investments that such an endeavor requires.

What about volcanoes? Of all the extremes that we have reached so far, none is as close to us yet as hidden and mysterious as real magma below volcanoes. We send probes to directly observe, sample, and analyze the surface of Mars at a distance of order 10 8 km, but have never done the same for magma at just 10 0 km below our feet. If curiosity and pure scientific interest are not enough, then it can be noticed that at least 800,000 people in the world live close enough to active volcanoes to directly suffer from a volcanic eruption (UNISDR 2015 ), and anticipating the occurrence of an eruption strictly requires understanding the nature of magma and its underground dynamics. If one would rank relevance on economic value, then it is useful to recall the immense heat associated with volcanic intrusions, of which the proportion converted into energy at geothermal power plants is nothing but a vanishing fraction (e.g., Friðleifsson and Elders 2005 ; Tester et al. 2006 ; Reinsch et al. 2017 ), as well as the potential of underground brines related to magmatic intrusions to be sources of strategic metals (Blundy et al. 2021 ). Summed up with renewable and clean characteristics of geothermal energy may make the search for real magma a highly remunerative effort in the near future.

In the talk at AGU 2020, the focus was on three themes that we expect are going to represent big developments in volcanology: directly reaching underground magma; collecting and processing volcanic data at unprecedented level; and developing a global volcano model. Ultimately, those themes can be reduced to measuring, analyzing, and modeling, making up the fundamental components of scientific investigation. Current and foreseen developments are described mostly with reference to ongoing or next initiatives in the European research landscape, of size and breath such as to likely represent big directions for developments also at the global scale.

Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT)

If one had to fix a date for the initiation of KMT, that would almost certainly be September 2014, when the first dedicated workshop took place within the Krafla caldera. That resulted from John Eichelberger’s vision and determination, as well as from the openness of Landsvirkjun, the Icelandic energy company owning the Krafla geothermal power plant and hosting the workshop. The story began, however, 5 years earlier, when the drill rig at the IDDP-1 well, aiming at supercritical fluids at 4-km depth, got stuck for days at only 2.1 km before it was realized that rhyolitic melt had been unexpectedly hit (Elders et al. 2014 ; Rooyakkers et al. 2021 ). Retrospectively, it was then realized that buried magma had been encountered a few other times at the same depth while drilling at various locations inside the caldera (Eichelberger 2019 ). Seismic imaging (Schuler et al. 2015 ) suggests that the rhyolitic melt may have a minimum volume around 0.5 km 3 . Flow testing at IDDP-1, before the well casing collapsed, produced an amazing 15–40 MW e (Axelsson et al. 2013 ), suggesting that two such wells would be enough to replace the entire Krafla power plant including a few tens conventional geothermal wells.

The serendipitous encounter with magma at Krafla demonstrates that (i) shallow magma bodies can escape even the most sophisticated geophysical prospections, a fact that is alarming for many high risk volcanoes; and (ii) drilling to magma can be safe, as any known accidental case, including those at Puna, Hawaii, and Menengai caldera, Kenya, did not lead to uncontrolled events (Eichelberger 2020 ; Rooyakkers et al. 2021 ).

Today, a large scientific consortium is engaging with country governments and industrial partners to define a long-term program named Krafla Magma Testbed, or KMT ( www.kmt.is ). KMT is foreseen to be the first underground magma observatory in the world, in the form of a series of long-standing wells for scientific and industrial exploration, directly opening inside and around the shallow magmatic body and equipped with advanced monitoring instrumentation (Fig. 1 ). Scientific fields opening to next level investigation include the origin of rhyolitic magmas in basaltic environments (and ultimately, the origin of continents), the thermo-fluid dynamics and petro-chemical evolution of magmas, the heat and mass exchange with the plumbing system, surrounding rocks and geothermal system, the rheology and thermo-mechanical properties from deep volcanic rock layers to magma and across the melt-rock interface, the relationships between surface records and deep magma dynamics and interpretation of volcanic unrests, and many others. Decades of speculation that still dominates the scientific debate would be overcome by direct evidence and measurements, and by real-scale experiments on the natural system. Similarly, innovative experimentation and measurements could lead to next-generation geothermal energy production systems exploiting extremely efficient, very high enthalpy near-magma fluids and heat directly released from the cooling margins of the magma body.

The KMT concept. A series of wells are kept open inside and around the shallow magma intrusion at Krafla (2.1 km depth). Temperature- and corrosion-resistant instrumentation is placed inside the wells down to magma. The surface is heavily instrumented with an advanced multi-parametric monitoring network. Dedicated laboratories, offices, and a visitor center complement the infrastructure. Background picture: courtesy of GEORG (Geothermal Research Cluster of Iceland)

KMT is, obviously, an endeavor that cannot be faced by a restricted group or a single country. It requires instead a large, coordinated effort involving many diverse expertise and capacities from scientific to industrial, and disciplines embracing from thermo-fluid dynamics and material science to geology, geochemistry, and geophysics. The challenges are such as to require coordinated investments of order 10 8 dollars (see www.kmt.is ), not little money but still much less than the costs of other large infrastructures mentioned above. Currently (October 2021), the Icelandic government is welcoming partners and dedicating resources; a KMT/ICDP project has been recently approved; national and international projects raised in support of KMT are saturating the costs for the KMT preparatory phase 0, and phase 1 involving the first scientific well reaching to magma is getting closer.

Global Volcano Simulator (GVS)

The atmospheric scientists have been developing for decades general circulation models and a global simulation approach to atmospheric dynamics that they employ daily to produce weather forecasts. While the physics governing volcanic processes is of comparable complexity (e.g., Sparks 2003 ; Segall 2019 ; Papale 2021 ), a large part of the volcanic system is not directly observed (see the KMT description above). That makes a huge difference in terms of quality and accuracy, as atmospheric model predictions can be updated in real time with data coming from below (ground-based), from inside (weather balloons and rockets, radars) and from above (satellites). Similar capacities in volcano science exist for the atmospheric dispersion of volcanic ashes (e.g., Stohl et al. 2011 ; Tanaka and Iguchi 2019 ; Pardini et al. 2020 ), and for other sufficiently slow surface phenomena, such as lava flows (e.g., Wright et al. 2008 ; Vicari et al. 2011 ; Bonny and Wright 2017 ). For the complex dynamics of volcanic unrest and escalation to eruption or return to quiet conditions, which are of utmost relevance for volcano early warning systems and implementation of emergency plans, we are limited to indirect observations through multi-parametric monitoring networks. Those networks provide a rich basis over which the deep volcano dynamics are inferred and the short-term evolutions are forecasted. Still, such forecasts suffer from the lack of a global reference model for their interpretation, often resulting in discordant inferences and projections by different groups of experts.

A reference Global Volcano Simulator would allow many different observations to be placed within a unique, consistent physical framework and integrated holistic dynamic modeling approach. Such a framework should allow a physical representation of the coupled processes and dynamics in multiple domains from the volcanic plumbing system to the surface, including the surrounding rocks and geothermal circulation systems through which signals of deep dynamics are transported to our monitoring networks. Together with the KMT initiative described above and providing ground-truth constraints as well as a unique chance for validation tests, such a global approach to the underground (and surface) volcano dynamics would project volcanology fully into the third millennium, bringing it closer to other scientific fields for which the quantitative revolution started much in advance. The large destination Earth initiative by the European Commission ( https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/destination-earth ) aims at developing a high precision digital model of the Earth to monitor and simulate both natural and man-made phenomena and processes. The initiative provides a long-term perspective which develops largely through the construction of digital twins (Fig. 2 ), that is, digital replicas of natural (physical, biological) or man-made systems. Among the high priority digital twins that are foreseen by the Commission, the one on weather-induced and geophysical extremes ( https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/workshops-reports-elements-digital-twins-weather-induced-and-geophysical-extremes-and-climate ) is expected to provide the conditions for bringing to a next level some of the recent developments in modeling the complex dynamics of volcanic systems and improving the performance of parallel computing in solid Earth (see also the European Centre of Excellence ChEESE: https://cheese-coe.eu ). As a matter of fact, the digital twin concept applied to volcanoes coincides largely with the GVS described here, showing that the times can be mature for such an ambitious undertaking.

Possible scheme for a digital twin of a volcanic system. Models and data concur to scenarios and forecasts. Models are continuously tested and refined, e.g., by adding more or better microphysics. Both data and models are accompanied by quality assessments and certification. Third parties access data and models, as well as visualization tools. While the scheme is general, the cited resources refer to the European landscape

Big volcano data

Direct observations and global modeling described above are expected to impact deeply volcano science. The fundamental source of information on volcanic processes and dynamics from most volcanoes worldwide will continue to be the multi-parametric remote and on-site instrumental networks collecting data before, during, and after volcanic eruptions. With the development of the digital age, big data and related technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have exploded in virtually any aspect of science (e.g., Chen et al. 2012 ; Wamba et al. 2015 ; Gorelick et al. 2017 ). AI algorithms can be trained to reproduce some of our capabilities, such as driving a car or writing a meaningful text. What looks more relevant in volcano science, however, is that ML and AI algorithms can be employed to find, hidden within huge sequences of data, meaningful patterns that trained teams of humans may miss in months or years of work. ML is employed already in a variety of research applications related to volcanoes, including automatic classification of seismicity (Masotti et al. 2006 ; Malfante et al. 2018 ; Bueno et al. 2020 ), analysis of infrasound signals (Witsil and Johnson 2020 ), detection from satellite images of eruptions (Corradino et al. 2020 ) or anomalous deformation areas (Anantrasirichai et al. 2018 , 2019 ), establishment of source regions from tephra analysis (Bolton et al. 2020 ; Pignatelli and Piochi 2021 ), identification of changes in eruption behavior (Hajian et al. 2019 ; Watson 2020 ), and volcano early warning analysis (Parra et al. 2017 ).

The fundamental element of ML and AI is algorithm training, which requires huge amounts of data before the trained algorithms can be used to mine other datasets. Modern multi-parametric networks at highly monitored volcanoes, constellations of satellites, etc. produce continuous streams of space–time data daily. Satellite data are organized and accessible through space agencies, with increasing levels of accessibility being provided through large-scale initiatives, such as GEO’s Geohazard Supersites and Natural Laboratories ( https://geo-gsnl.org/ ). However, a similar level of organization is still missing for ground-based data collected at volcanoes worldwide. Relevant attempts to provide free, organized access to ground-based volcano data are ongoing (e.g., Newhall et al. 2017 ; Costa et al. 2019 ; in Japan: Ueda et al. 2019 ; in Europe: Bailo and Sbarra 2017 ; etc.), while large funding agencies such as the European Union ( https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/strategy/strategy-2020-2024/our-digital-future/open-science_en ; https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf ) increasingly require strict adherence to the principles of open science and FAIR data. Definitely, of all the projections one may make for volcano science in the next decade, the one with the highest likelihood of revealing correct is the burst of big volcano data, or otherwise, volcano science would find itself lagging behind other communities who fully profit of big developments that will largely shape research and support scientific advance in the coming years and decades.

Concluding remarks

The volcanological community has been capable of benefiting from substantial infrastructural developments, for example in relation to satellite missions. Even in such cases, however, volcanologists have taken advantage from missions dedicated to other objectives, such as those related to weather forecasts, climate change, or land evolution. Still, the benefits from a “big science” approach in volcanology appear substantial in terms of mitigated risks and increased security on one side, and potential for efficient, clean, and renewable energy on the other side. In comparison, order of magnitude larger funds dedicated to space exploration, while expanding greatly our fundamental understanding of the Universe, does not seem to bring comparable practical benefits, at least over the short-medium time scale.

Decades of volcano science clearly show that major volcanic eruptions in terms of their size or impacts not only have been big drivers for scientific advance, they also have focused substantial attention by the governments, the media, and the public. However, the momentum gets easily lost, and after an initial promising phase of increased funding opportunities, often volcanoes quickly slip backwards in the priority list. As a volcanological community, we may need to improve our capability to stay on the scene, e.g., by transposing our scientific endeavors into effective narratives which tell of the exciting travel towards unexplored frontiers of our planet Earth, at the same time increasing security and contributing to sustainability and preservation of the delicate equilibria of the planet.

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Acknowledgements

A perspective paper is obviously the result of many years of interactions with colleagues having similar or different, sometimes even diverging, views on what our science misses mostly or mostly benefits from. To all of these colleagues, we are grateful, as literally each of them had much to teach us. We are also grateful to Mike Poland and Steve Sparks who reviewed the manuscript and improved it through many insightful comments and suggestions. One of us (DG) benefited from a grant by EPOS-IT.

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This paper constitutes part of a topical collection: Looking Backwards and Forwards in Volcanology: A Collection of Perspectives on the Trajectory of a Science.

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Scientists aim to broaden knowledge of volcanoes

By erin philipson.

Every year at least 50 volcanic eruptions affect more than 10% of the world’s population. Some eruptions, like Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and Laki in 1783, were so powerful that they impacted the climate of the entire planet.

Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica.

A research team from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences has received a $1.4 million grant from NASA to lead a study of how volcanic ash from past eruptions affected the Earth, and the potential impact of future eruptions. The project involves collaborators from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, among other institutions.

Volcanoes are the main locations for energy and mass exchange between the interior of the Earth and the atmosphere, and thus play a critical role in the climate and habitability of the planet. Volcanic ash can impact air quality, disrupt aviation and change ocean biogeochemistry, among other effects. The research team will study these impacts by integrating volcanology, remote sensing and atmospheric sciences to understand the relationship between volcano pre-eruptive behavior, geochemical signatures, and ash composition.

“The study will focus on micro- and nano-fraction volcanic ash components that are generally not considered traditional volcanology studies,” said Esteban Gazel , associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences. “This is critical as these materials can travel miles away from the primary volcanic hazard source and trigger the most substantial global impact.”

Over the past decade, volcanic ash emissions have not been well characterized and have not been included in Earth system models. The research team is combining remote sensing with volcanic eruption measurements to address an important and under-studied question: What is the role of volcanic ash in current and future climate and biogeochemistry?

“For the first time, we will create a database of satellite observations of volcanic ash from the 250 largest volcanic eruptions between the years 1978 and the present,” said Matthew Pritchard , professor of earth and atmospheric sciences. “We will then use the database, along with in-situ chemistry observations, as input to Earth system models to understand the impact of the ash on temperature, precipitation and feedbacks with life in the ocean and on land.”

Not only will the team characterize past emissions, but they will look for predictive capabilities – first by identifying relationships between pre-eruptive gas, thermal emissions, ground displacement, and the composition of eruptive material. Then they will use past records of emissions from volcanic eruptions to assess the importance of future eruption scenarios that can impact the Earth.

The findings of this project aim to improve the understanding of volcanic aerosols and to what extent background eruptions are modifying aerosol distributions, weather, climate and biogeochemistry. The study also aims to test whether the characteristics of pre-eruptive unrest are related to eventual erupted material and evaluate the potential impacts of large eruptions in the future.

“Volcanoes are one of the most powerful forces of nature and have long lived in human psychology as an incredible force – think of Atlantis or the goddess Pele,” said Natalie Mahowald , the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering. “With this project we will link volcanology, remote sensing and climate science to bring our understanding of volcanoes into the 21st century to see how volcanoes can change climate.”

Erin Philipson is a communications specialist for the College of Engineering.

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Why We’re Unique

Make a Volcano Model

Introduction: (initial observation).

Volcano is an opening in the earth’s crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected. Some volcanoes are on dry land and some others are under water in deep oceans. Some islands are entirely formed by volcanic material. Volcanoes are constantly changing the landscape on the earth.

As the world’s population grows, more and more people are living in potentially dangerous volcanic areas. Volcanic eruptions continue–as they have throughout history–posing ever-greater threats to life and property.

In this project you make a model of a volcano and display the eruption process and and release of lava or magma.

Dear This project guide contains information that you need in order to start your project. If you have any questions or need more support about this project, click on the “Ask Question” button on the top of this page to send me a message.

If you are new in doing science project, click on “How to Start” in the main page. There you will find helpful links that describe different types of science projects, scientific method, variables, hypothesis, graph, abstract and all other general basics that you need to know.

Project advisor

Information Gathering:

Information about volcano models are available at:

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_models/models.html
http://www.madsci.org/experiments/archive/854444893.Ch.html
http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/Input/lahr/taurho/volcano/volcano.html
http://www.rockhoundingar.com/pebblepups/volcano.html
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ekrauss/

Inside the earth, hot magma and gasses look for weak spots to push through. Magma and gasses will push up through not only the main conduit, but also through any cracks (vents) it can find. Once magma (molten rock) leaves the inner earth and finds its way to land, then we call it lava.

Question/ Purpose:

What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement.

We want to see what happens that a volcano erupts. A review of current and past volcano eruptions indicates some kind of under ground pressure that forces the lava out of a volcano. Can we simulate such underground pressure?

Also find out what ratio of vinegar/ baking soda produces the highest amount of gas for your volcano experiment.

Identify Variables:

When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other.

We use the reaction of vinegar and baking soda to produce carbonic gas and use it to create a display similar to a real volcanic eruption.

The independent variable (also known as manipulated variable) is the ratio of vinegar to baking soda.

The dependent variable (also known as responding variable) is the amount of gas produced by the reaction.

Control variable is the ambient temperature (room temperature).

Hypothesis:

Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about what types of things affect the system you are working with. Identifying variables is necessary before you can make a hypothesis.

Baking soda and Vinegar can produce enough gas to simulate a volcanic eruption. This is a sample hypothesis for the ratio of the vinegar to baking soda.

The highest amount of gas will be produced when equal amounts of baking soda and vinegar are used

Experiment Design:

Design an experiment to test each hypothesis or construct a model to display how a volcano is erupted when the pressure of gases push out molten lava.

Experiment 1:

Make a Volcano model that can erupt. Eruption can be simulated by a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. Model can be constructed using paper, aluminum foils and clay.

We mix baking soda and vinegar in a plastic bottle in different ways and see which combination and rates of mixture will create the best model for a volcanic eruption.

When we find the best setup and combination, we cover the bottle by papers, aluminum foil, clay and other material to make it look like real volcano. So in the center of our volcano will be a bottle with chemicals that create the eruption.

In our first experiment we use a small cup of vinegar and start adding baking soda to that. Initially baking soda will release gas as soon as it gets to the vinegar. But if we continue, at some point there will be no gas any more. In this way we record the amount of baking soda and vinegar that create gas with each other.

In the second experiment we check to see which should be at the bottom to create a better and faster reaction, baking soda or vinegar.

In the third experiment we add some liquid detergent and some red food coloring to vinegar before reaction with baking soda. Liquid detergent may help the foams last longer and food coloring gives a better look to the erupting volcano. You may also add some flour to the baking soda that you are using to create a more viscose lava.

When the chemical composition is experimented successfully, we mount the bottle on the center of a card board and cover it with newspaper and aluminum foil to look like a real volcano.

Baking soda and vinegar are frequently used for volcano projects simply because they are easily accessible and less dangerous. Personally I prefer other methods that create better display and of course have more risk. In one example you fill up your volcanic cone with Ammonium bichromate and light it up at the display. Ammonium bichromate is a flammable solid and burns very similar to a volcano. It has a nice display and creates a lot of smoke. Use heavy aluminum foil to cover your card board and construct your cone and do your display in an open area. If you want to do this, make your volcano as small as possible (about 2″ high).

The other method that I like is using a solid acid instead of vinegar. Citric acid for example, specially if you get it in powder form can be a good choice. You can mix it dry with baking soda, paint powder such as Iron oxide (red) and detergent powder. So when you are ready to do your demonstration you just add some water and reaction starts.

Experiment 2:

Compare the number of volcanic eruptions in the past seven years. Draw a graph to show how has the number of annual eruptions changed in the past seven years.

Introduction:

When a volcano is restless, scientists collect and record different data about the volcano. Such data include the earthquakes, ground deformation, and sulfur dioxide gas around each specific volcano. By comparing data from several sources, scientists are able to get a more complete picture of what is happening under the ground than they would by analyzing only one data type. Collected data about volcanic activities can be found on the Internet and Geological publications.

For a list of current volcanic activities search the Internet or visit http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/current.html . A copy of this data ia also available here . You can compile the data provided in this website to determine specific regional volcano information and enter them in a table. You can then use such table to draw a graph. (You may also try http://www.swvrc.org/research.htm for volcano data)

Compile the data in the current volcanic activities table and determine how many volcanic eruptions has happened in each of the last seven years. Record your data in the following table. You have choice to select world wide volcanoes or just the volcanoes in one continent.


1995	45
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001

Use the above table to make a bar chart.

Experiment 3:

In this experiment you will try to find out what ratio of vinegar and baking soda will produce the most amount of gas.

Get a small measuring spoon or measuring cup. The cap of a soda bottle may be used as a measuring cup.
Get 9 Styrofoam cups and label them as vinegar. Also number them from 1 to 9. Add one spoon of vinegar in the cup number 1. Add two spoons of vinegar in the cup number 2. Add three spoons of vinegar in the cup number 3. Continue until you add 9 spoons of vinegar to the cup number 9.
Get 9 empty soda bottles. Label them from 1 to 9. Add 9 spoons of baking soda in the soda bottle number 1. Add 8 spoons of baking soda in the soda bottle number 2. Add 7 spoons of baking soda in the soda bottle number 3. Continue until you add 1 spoon of baking soda in the soda bottle number 9.
Transfer the vinegar from the cup number 1 to a balloon and then place the balloon over the soda bottle number 1. Heavy vinegar will hold the balloon hanging and no vinegar will enter the bottle at this time. Wrap a cotton string on the bottle neck to hold the balloon securely. Make a knot. No gas must be able to leak from the bottle.
Repeat this with all cups and all soda bottles that have the same number.
Carefully start to lift the balloons one at a time so the vinegar in the balloon will enter the bottle and produce gas. Produced gases will inflate the balloons. Measure the circumferences of all balloons and record them in your results table.
Your results table may look like this:


1 Unit	9 Unit
2 Unit	8 Unit
3 Unit	7 Unit
4 Unit	6 Unit
5 Unit	5 Unit
6 Unit	4 Unit
7 Unit	3 Unit
8 Unit	2 Unit
9 Unit	1 Unit

The “Unit” may be measuring spoon; however, if you have access to a gram scale, it is best if you use one gram as your unit. In this way 4 Unit vinegar will really be 4 grams of vinegar.

To calculate the radius of a spherical balloon divide the circumference of the balloon by 6.28.

The volume of the balloon is =4/3¶r3

To calculate the volume of the balloon multiply 4/3 x 3.14 x radius x radius x radius. Write the volume of the balloon for each ratio in the gas volume column.

Materials and Equipment:

Plastic bottle (Wide mouth, 5 to 9 inches tall)
Baking soda
Liquid detergent
Food coloring (red)
Aluminum foil
Masking tape

Results of Experiment (Observation):

Experiments showed that the reaction between baking soda and vinegar creates some gas, but it is not fast enough to create a violent reaction and simulate a real volcanic reaction. We can stir or shake the mixture to create more gas, but it is not very realistic to shake a volcano to cause eruption.

To speed up the reaction we must fill up the plastic bottle with baking soda while leaving an empty hole in the center of that for adding vinegar. This hole should be as wide as possible so your bottle will hold more vinegar than baking soda. To do this you need to make paste of baking soda. Take one spoon liquid detergent, two spoons water, a few drops of food coloring and start adding baking soda slowly while mixing. Continue adding baking soda until you get a sticky paste. If your bottle is very small and your volcano is small too, this should be enough. For larger bottles you may need to repeat this part to make more paste. Apply a thin layer of this paste to the inner sides of your bottle (about 1/4″ tick).

The reason that we add liquid detergent is that bobbles are unstable and disappear very fast. Liquid detergent will make bubbles last for a few seconds. Do this a few times and add vinegar to see how much foam comes out. After a few experiments you will be ready for your final product. When your bottle is ready for final volcano, take a card board and using a masking tape secure the bottle in the center of the card board. Before you start building your volcanic mountain around the bottle, you may also want to use some glue or masking tape around the neck of the bottle. This will prevent the foam from going inside your mountain.

You can almost use anything that can look like a mountain to cover your bottle. I used some packing paper and cut a cross on the center of that to make it easier to be attached to the neck of the bottle.

Cover the bottle with your mountain material such as paper or aluminum foil and paint it. Since my paper was not large enough, I has to use some extra magazine paper to give more body to the mountain.

Before painting, cover the the bottle with something to make sure that paint will not enter the bottle. I used spray paint, but you can use any latex paint as well. (Don’t add water).

I painted my volcano in the backyard, spray paints release harmful fumes and it’s better not to use them inside a building. While the paint was still wet, I also spread some sand to make it more natural. Paint will act like a glue and holds sand in place.

When your volcano is ready and it is your turn to display, fill up a small bottle or a test tube with vinegar and pour it in to your volcano. The eruption will start in a few seconds and lasts for a few minutes.

Remember you can do it only once and when the volcano erupts, it gets wet and you can not repeat your display unless you build everything from the beginning.

Final display that will last only a few seconds may look like this. As you notice I did not use food coloring and my lava is white. Also I used black color to paint the mountain that is not the best choice. If you have enough time for your project, you may use multiple colors and food coloring to get a better display.

Number of worldwide eruptions from 1989 to April 4, 2004


1989	46
1990	33
1991	40
1992	50
1993	44
1994	44
1995	45
1996	35
1997	33
1998	36
1999	48
2000	54
2001	46
2002	52
2003	45
2004	27

Calculations:

Calculate what ratio of baking soda and vinegar produce the most gas.

Summary of Results:

Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical data, or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during experiments.

It is from calculations using recorded data that tables and graphs are made. Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original hypothesis. Often, mathematical equations can be made from graphs. These equations allow us to predict how a change will affect the system without the need to do additional experiments. Advanced levels of experimental science rely heavily on graphical and mathematical analysis of data. At this level, science becomes even more interesting and powerful.

Conclusion:

Using the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to pull together what happened, and assess the experiments you did. The pressure of underground gases in a volcanic mountain will force the molten material out of the volcanic mountain.

Possible Errors:

If you did not observe anything different than what happened with your control, the variable you changed may not affect the system you are investigating. If you did not observe a consistent, reproducible trend in your series of experimental runs there may be experimental errors affecting your results. The first thing to check is how you are making your measurements. Is the measurement method questionable or unreliable? Maybe you are reading a scale incorrectly, or maybe the measuring instrument is working erratically.

If you determine that experimental errors are influencing your results, carefully rethink the design of your experiments. Review each step of the procedure to find sources of potential errors. If possible, have a scientist review the procedure with you. Sometimes the designer of an experiment can miss the obvious.

References:

Visit your local library and find books related to volcano and the earth science (geology). Review and list such books as your references (bibliography) in addition to this website and other Internet resources.

Following are some Internet resources:

http://www.madsci.org/experiments/archive/854444893.Ch.html

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December 4, 1852

Volcanoes, their Causes—Igneous Theory

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With our ideas of volcanoes we always associate the grand and the terrible ; and a volcanic eruption—a huge piece of artillery, with a mouth perhaps miles in circumference, shooting up rocks and burning lava—is truly a terrific sight. Volcanoes are exceedingly plentiful on our planet, there being no less than sixty-three principal ones; still, they are confined to certain localities, which occupy but limited portions of our globe. The question has often been asked, “ what is the cause of volcanoes 1” And truly, when we consider how disastrous some of these eruptions have been, no wonder the question of their cause has been forced upon the attention of almost ev61:y reflecting mind. It is one well worthy of some speculation, and requires a considerable amount of scientific knowledge to investigate. and this may be usefully employed either in pointing out errors or presenting new facts. Various opinions have been expressed respecting their origin and activity. One thing is certain, they are in no way connected with solar influence, for they exist under the tropics of South America, and are found in the frosty regions of Iceland. It was the opinion of Darwin, that the volcanic districts of the world had earthy crusts resting on lakes of igneous melted matter. Humboldt believes that the volcanic region of Quito, in South America— the whole of that vast Plateau—is a single volcanic surface, composed of a solid crust covering a lake of molten matter. Such opinions, however, have nothing to do with a general theory, of which there are two—one is astronomical, and asserts that this earth was originally a fiery molten mass, and that we live on its crust, beneath which all is molten fiery matter; the other theory is chemical, and asserts that they are caused by explosive materials deposited in huge quantities in the volcanic localities, and which, when saturated by some means with oxygen, and ignited, act exactly like any explosion of artillery. Leibnitz first suggested that this earth was originally in a fiery fluid state ; Sir Wm. Herschell afterwards suggested the hypothesis of matter being originally in a nebulous state, which, by condensation, developed great heat, and our earth became a fiery ball, the surface of which we now live upon being a mere crust, the rest not being cooled yet which, when reached by water, causes an explosion like a steam boiler. This is the nebular igneous theory. The author of “ The World Without” states how easy it is to account for volcanoes by this theory, by spying—” according to the fiery nebulous theory, the earth, at a depth of sixty- five miles, is 7000 degrees temperature, and if water percolates through fissures of the earth, we have a sufficient explanation of earthquakes and volcanoes." This theory is unsound, and will not stand the test of scrutiny. The arguments adduced to prove that the interior of the earth is a fiery molten mass, is, the increase of temperature found to exist as we descend in some mines, which is about 1 degree for every 45 feet. According to this rate, at 25 miles depth, the melting point of iron would be obtained ; but we have no facts to prove that the heat of the earth increases regularly to the centre; after a certain depth, it is perhaps uniform. What signify the experiments made in a few mines not over 2,000 feet, deep. From observations made by Kotzebue, Beechy, and Sir James Ross, the fact seems to be established that the waters of the ocean (it is also matter) are uniform in heat, at the depth of 7,200 feet. At the depth of 100 fathoms, as stated in Maury's Wind and Current Charts, the temperature of the water in “ the cruise of the Taney,” was 64°, while at 50 fathoms, one half, it was 70°. In the soundings by the sloop-of-war Albany, at 680 fathams, the temperature was 81°, while that of the air was 83°, and at 995 (5970 feet) fathoms it was only 80°, while the temperature of the air was 79°. Now if it were true that the heat increased downwards, at the rate of one degree for every 45 feet, as asserted by some, then with a temperature of air at 79°, the water of the sea at 5985 feet of depth, should be at the boiling point—212°. Instead of this it was only 80° at 5970 feet, only 15 feet less. How does this accord with a uniform increase of heat as one descends into the matter composing the earth ? Dr. Daubeny, and Sir Charles I.yell are ad vocates of the chemical theory, and the latter is a decided opponent of the central theory of heat. It is well known that when potassium is dropped upon water, it causes an explosion; if, in certain places of the earth, there were large deposits of this metal, and water percolate to or come in contact with it, a terrific explosion would ensue. It appears to us that volcanoes are local, and generally preceded by earthquakes. If the centre of the earth were fluid, according to the well-known laws of fluids those earthquakes, caused by volcanoes would affect equally every part of the earth's surface, a thing which we know they do not. Our attention was directed to this subject by reading some accounts of the recent eruption of Mount Etna. There is no positive certainty respecting the real cause of volcanoes ; but the general, yea, almost universal opinion expressed by writers on the subject, is that water in some way is an active agent in all eruptions. Water, however, in all likelihood, exerts no agency whatever; and a strong argument in proof of this, is, that in the moon there is neither atmosphere nor water, and yet the volcanoes of the earth are mere dwarfs compared with those on our satellite. Our views, then, are distinctly opposed to the prevailing igneous theory, and we choose, rather, to plead ignorance of the causes of volcanoes than adopt any theory which cannot stand the test of scientific analysis.

Your burning questions about volcanoes, answered

Asu experts explain these molten mysteries.

Volcano! That little word brings so much to our minds — streams of lava and clouds of ash, rumbling mountains, the might of a planet’s fiery underbelly, and our own nervous anticipation, curiosity and fear.

In fact, if it seems like more and more people have volcanoes on the brain, there’s a good reason.

It’s not necessarily that the number of volcanic eruptions is increasing, though media coverage of dangerous eruptions, such as the one in Indonesia on Aug. 10 or other recent ones in New Zealand and the Philippines, may make it appear that way. Scientists can’t say without more data from Earth’s history.

What is certain is that humans (and our stuff) take up more space on the planet than ever before, putting more people in the paths of volcanoes.

“The impact of volcanic eruptions is increasing,” volcanologist Amanda Clarke said. “As the global population grows, more people are being affected by eruptions, so we care about them more.”

Despite their growing effect on our lives, volcanoes seem to retain their air of mystery, leaving many of us with questions. Where do they come from? What causes eruptions? How do scientists predict them?

Clarke and fellow volcanologist Christy Till — both faculty in the Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration — answer these questions and more to help us understand how to safely live in the shadows of these mighty forces of nature.

graphic of Mount St. Helens showing magma chamber and plates beneath

Click to view larger image. Illustration by Shireen Dooling

How does a volcano form?

There are two sides to the making of a volcano: what happens below ground and what happens above.

Events below ground have to do with plate tectonics. This is the theory that the Earth’s crust — the outer shell on which we live — is broken up into plates that move around on top of Earth’s mantle like ice cubes in a glass of water. Scientists see it as the force behind earthquakes, mountains, continent migration and volcano formation.

“Scientists for a long time have scratched their heads trying to figure out why these volcanoes occur where they do.” — Christy Till

There are three basic types of tectonic environments where volcanoes grow.

The first is a convergent plate boundary, where two plates crash and an oceanic plate slips underneath another plate, bringing water and carbon dioxide into the mantle. This triggers a magma-melting process and creates more explosive volcanoes. This process created the Ring of Fire, an arch of volcanoes that wraps around the Pacific Ocean.

The second, a divergent plate boundary, occurs when a gap opens up between two plates. The gap is filled in by the mantle underneath, causing magma to melt. These volcanoes are common on the ocean floor and erupt continuously as the plates keep going their separate ways.

Volcanoes that form in the middle of a plate are called hot spot volcanoes.

“Scientists for a long time have scratched their heads trying to figure out why these volcanoes occur where they do,” Till said. “Our best guess is that there’s magma or mantle rising up underneath, and for some reason, it’s just hotter than in other places, so we get a volcano.”

Above ground, the part of the volcano we can see is formed by eruptions.

For example, Mount St. Helens, a composite volcano in Washington, grew over time as layers of debris from a mix of effusive eruptions (think gooey lava) and explosive eruptions (think pumice stone and ash) built on top of each other.

Sunset Crater, a cinder cone volcano in Arizona, ejected glowing fountains of lava and ash when it erupted, which then fell around the crater to create its steep slopes.

And Kilauea, a shield volcano in Hawaii, formed its wide but shallow slopes as its lava spread out in all directions and built up in layers over time.

However, the type of eruption, and therefore volcano, circles back to another underground element.

“The composition of the magma, and the process deep in the earth that forms it, controls the eruption style to a large extent,” Till said.

What is magma?

Magma is the molten material that sits under or inside the Earth’s crust. (Lava is magma that has reached the surface through a volcano.) Till’s lab, the Experimental Petrology and Igneous processes Center , looks at how magma forms on Earth and on other planets, as well as the underground processes that lead up to an eruption.

One of the surprises that researchers have learned in the last 10 years, she says, is that the magma below a volcano is not the cauldron of bubbling, liquid goo we might imagine.

“In fact, what’s below a volcano is more like a slushie. In a slushie, you have mostly ice crystals and some liquid, and at first, it’s hard to suck it through a straw because it’s mostly ice. You have to wait until it melts a little to get it through a straw.”

Magma, too, is composed of crystals (the geological kind) with just a little bit of liquid. Something must happen to the magma underground to warm it up, making it liquid enough to erupt. To study those processes, Till gathers samples of those crystals, which she likens to “little black boxes,” from volcanic deposits on the surface and examines them with microscopes.

“These crystals have little zones in them, much like tree rings. They can tell us about the temperature, pressure and composition of the magma chamber, and also how long before an eruption these specific events happened,” she said.

Video by ASU Research

What happens during a volcanic eruption?

First, a fresher, hotter, more liquid magma rises from deeper in the Earth’s mantle and warms the slushie magma in the volcano’s chamber. One way for it to arrive there is via an earthquake, which might push up fresh magma or open new pathways for it to travel upward. However, not every earthquake can warm a magma chamber and cause an eruption, Till notes.

“There’s also a possibility that the seismic waves passing through the crust can kind of jiggle a magma body and cause it to fizz. Just like with a soda, those bubbles can generate overpressure and buoyancy, driving an eruption,” Clarke said.

As the new and old magmas mix, the crystal mush heats up and comes to the surface. It could be an effusive eruption of syrupy, flowing lava, or it could be an explosive eruption of ash, cinders and hunks of molten rock known as lava bombs. The amount of gas in the body of magma determines how violent the eruption is.

For those that are more explosive, the volcano could generate an ash cloud that travels great distances, which could have indirect effects like roof damage, bad air quality or crop devastation. It could also unleash the significantly more destructive pyroclastic flow, which is a searing wave of dense ash and gases that rushes along the ground, killing and burning everything in its path.

“The plume is the big footprint, but only indirectly dangerous,” Clarke said. “The pyroclastic flows are the smaller footprint, but much more dangerous.”

If the volcano is near a body of water, there is another opportunity for additional destruction — pyroclastic flows entering the sea can cause tsunamis.

How do scientists predict eruptions?

“The bread and butter of prediction is seismic data,” Clarke said. Volcanologists take seismic stations, which measure vibrations in the earth, and distribute them all around a volcano to get the best read on what’s happening underneath.

Another important tool is the tiltmeter, which, as its name suggests, measures any miniscule changes in the level of the earth. Typically, before a volcano erupts, the ground around it inflates slightly, which scientists call deformation.

Observatories typically also monitor gas emissions, such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, which may indicate changes happening deeper in the volcano.

“If you want to know what a volcano is capable of doing in the future, the first thing you have to do is look at what it did in the past.” — Amanda Clarke

And finally, cameras — both standard and thermal — help volcanologists keep an eye on activity. Clarke explains that thermal cameras are especially helpful for tall volcanoes whose tops may often be obscured by clouds.

“Using these kinds of data together, you can even predict how much magma there is, and at what depth,” Clarke said.

Having an idea of what a particular volcano can do once it’s ready to erupt is also a critical piece of prediction that allows volcanologists to make safety recommendations.

“If you want to know what a volcano is capable of doing in the future, the first thing you have to do is look at what it did in the past,” Clarke said.

Researchers do this by collecting ash deposits from a wide area and dating them. This gives them an idea of how large a volcano’s eruptions were and how frequently they occurred. However, the method has its limitations. Hardened magma is much harder to date than ash, and supervolcanoes have eruptions so large that the ash travels thousands of miles, making it difficult to determine their true size.

There’s also the trouble of inconsistent eruptions. Volcanoes tend to fluctuate in the size of their eruptions; a big one may be followed by several smaller ones before another large one happens. That’s why it’s crucial, Clarke said, to look over long timespans for an accurate picture of a volcano’s history.

How far in advance scientists can predict an eruption depends on a host of factors, one of which is whether the eruption is large or small. Large eruptions are farther apart, so they might have longer warning times — from weeks away to even decades — while the magma slowly heats up after the last eruption. Small eruptions are closer together, so their warning times are shorter — months to hours. However, an abundance of data means that those predictions are typically more precise than for large eruptions.

graphic of erupting ash cloud with chemical elements highlighted

How can you stay safe in an area with volcanic activity?

Clarke has seen too many volcanic eruptions to count, but she says that her time on the island of Montserrat while getting her PhD was when she learned how to be safe around them.

“I think some people take a bit of a macho attitude about trying to get close to volcanoes,” she said.

Proper precautions, she argues, help people stay alive.

“The main thing is to understand what the local observatories and scientists are doing. They collect data. They know what’s going on,” she said.

Till has not experienced a volcanic eruption and, despite an academic interest in seeing one, is largely happy to keep it that way.

“I’ve been to volcanoes that could erupt at any time, but I was fortunate enough not to be there when they were erupting,” she said. Like Clarke, by checking in with observatories, she’s managed to keep herself safe in dangerous environments.

In the U.S., you can find the latest reports on activity at the U.S. Geological Survey website . Abroad, other nations may have an equivalent database online, or you can visit the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program website , which gathers data from around the world.

These resources can help you find out what the alert level is in the area (and what colored or numbered alert system locals use), and whether there has been any activity recently. Clarke said it’s not a good idea to assume that other groups are communicating with the local observatory and recommends always checking for yourself.

“If you get a permit from the forest service to hike to a crater, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. That doesn’t mean they’ve checked the data.”

What do classifications like active, dormant and extinct mean?

Not much, it turns out.

Clarke explains that people used to classify a volcano as “active” if it had erupted in historic time. The problem with this is that historic time varies from culture to culture, because it refers to the time when written records became available. Volcanoes in Italy have extensive documentation going back thousands of years, but volcanoes in the U.S. don’t have as deep of a written history.

“Having had a historic eruption is a meaningless classification, because there’s no number that goes along with that,” Clarke said.

A dormant volcano is one that is active but not currently erupting, while an extinct volcano has not erupted in historic time and is unlikely to erupt in the future.

A handier — and globally applicable — way to determine if a volcano is active is whether it has erupted during the Holocene, our present epoch which began over 11,000 years ago. However, this marker ultimately has its own flaws. A volcano can have an incredibly long lifespan, sometimes lasting millions of years. Silence in recent millennia doesn’t mean its erupting days are over.

“Whether it erupted in the Holocene is meaningless when it comes to someplace like Yellowstone or the Valles Caldera, whose timescales are way longer than we even have the capacity to document,” Clarke said.

Can a volcanic eruption be stopped?

Ideas for stopping eruptions range from venting gases to relieve volcanic pressure to plugging the top like a cork in a bottle. However, these concepts remain untested, and most volcanologists don’t take such efforts seriously.

What has found some success, though, is using barriers to redirect lava and pyroclastic flows away from towns and important structures. Clarke gives the example of Heimaey, a harbor town in Iceland that experienced a nearby eruption in 1973. The resulting lava flow threatened to close off the bay that was their main economic resource.

“As it started to enter the bay, they got out all the water hoses they had and sprayed it, and it solidified there. They used the lava itself as a barrier,” Clarke said.

Do volcanoes affect the climate?

Volcanic eruptions have both positive and negative effects on the climate. For example, their plumes carry gases like sulfur dioxide, which reach above the clouds into the stratosphere. There, the gas forms into droplets of sulfuric acid.

“The sulfur compounds can be circulated around the globe, and they can filter out the sun’s light and heat to cool global temperatures,” Clarke said.

Researchers speculate that such an event — an 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia — was behind the 1816 “year without a summer” that caused low temperatures and heavy rains in Europe and North America, leading to food shortages.

Whether an eruption can have a worldwide effect may depend on the size and composition of the ash cloud, as well as the volcano’s position on Earth. The cooling effect is always temporary. The longest documented cooling period lasted about three years, though Clarke believes that super eruptions in Earth’s history may have had longer temperature effects.

If you’re thinking that this sounds like a good way to combat today’s warming temperatures, you’re not alone. Some scientists are beginning to research the possibilities of solar engineering — a strategy inspired by volcanoes that would use planes to spray sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere.

Another climate effect of volcanoes is that their ash makes super fertile soil, creating lush environments in the areas surrounding them. The plants and trees that grow in this rich soil capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“What’s in fertilizer? Phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. Those are abundant in volcanic products,” Clarke said. “Basically, they act as a fertilizer just like you might buy at Agway or ACE Hardware.”

Nutrients from falling ash easily leach into the soil, she adds, making it an excellent delivery system as well.

What are volcanoes like on other planets?

graphic of volcanoes on other planetary bodies

Planets, and moons as well, can have volcanoes very different from those on Earth. Jupiter’s moon Io has more volcanic activity than any other object in our solar system; its lava fountains can be many miles high. And the dwarf planet Ceres has ice volcanoes, or cryovolcanoes. They erupt water instead of magma, which freezes on its surface.

“The compositions of planets are different, so the kinds of magma they have are different, which then gives them unique eruptive behavior,” Till said.

Her lab works to understand the magma of other celestial bodies by creating it in a special device called a piston cylinder, which simulates conditions on the interior of a planet.

“In the same way that you’d mix flour and sugar and eggs to make a cake, we mix silica and magnesium and iron and other elements in the proportion we want to study. Then we put them in our equivalent of an oven to make magma at high pressures and temperatures,” Till said. “When we do this, we can discover how magmas on other planets are different.”

Her team has begun work on a new project that will study the types of magma that may exist on planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Knowing more about their magma will give researchers glimpses into those planets’ volcanic behavior.

“Over 4,000 exoplanets have been confirmed in the last five years or so, and we’re just starting to investigate them,” Till said. “It’s an exciting time.”

Top photo from Shutterstock.

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18 May 2020

The new science of volcanoes harnesses AI, satellites and gas sensors to forecast eruptions

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When Anak Krakatau in Indonesia erupted on 22 December 2018, part of the island collapsed into the ocean, causing a deadly tsunami. Credit: Nurul Hidayat/Antara Foto/Bisnis Indonesia via Reuters

Early in 2018, the volcano Anak Krakatau in Indonesia started falling apart. It was a subtle transformation — one that nobody noticed at the time. The southern and southwestern flanks of the volcano were slipping towards the ocean at a rate of about 4 millimetres per month, a shift so small that researchers only saw it after the fact as they combed through satellite radar data . By June, though, the mountain began showing obvious signs of unrest. It spewed fiery ash and rocks into the sky in a series of small eruptions. And it was heating up. Another satellite instrument recorded thermal emissions from Anak Krakatau that reached 146 megawatts — more than 100 times the normal value. With the increased activity, the slippage jumped to 10 millimetres per month.

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Forming Volcanoes - A Geological Controversy

Interview with , part of the show how do you weigh a volcano, aa_large.jpg.

Chris - We are talking all about the science of volcanoes this week, and to help us forecast an eruption, we need to understand as much as possible about the processes that cause a volcano to form in the first place, and we're joined now by Professor Gillian Foulger who works on understanding how volcanoes form in places like Hawaii. Gillian Welcome.

Gillian - Hello, Chris.

Chris - Welcome the Naked Scientists. Tell us if you would. First of all, how do volcanoes form and what are the areas of contention?

Chris - Can you give us some example of those?

Gillian - Well, an example is Tristan da Cunha, Reunion Island, people also interestingly enough put Iceland in that category, and of course, Hawaii.

Chris - Okay, so these are volcanoes that pop up in the middle of a plate. So what goes at the margin of a plate or plate boundary cannot go for what's going on in the middle. So what do scientists think is driving the emergence of a volcano at that point then?

Gillian - Well, there are two competing hypothesis. There's the plate hypothesis which says, "Hang on, plates are not completely rigid. That's just like a cartoon world." Geology is much more complicated than that, and huge plates do have cracks, they do pull apart in their middles, and we can have the occasional volcano that comes up through the crack in the middle of a plate.

The competing hypothesis is the traditional plume hypothesis which suggests that you have a hot diapir, a hot thermal coming out from the Earth's core, rising 3,000 kilometres through the Earth's mantle and punching its way through the plate at the surface, not caring whether it's in the middle of a plate or not.

Chris - Have we any idea as to why such a pulse of energy should be unleashed by the core in that way? Why should that happen and why don't we see this more extensively then?

Gillian - Well that's a very good question, Chris, because you often hear people say - Hawaii is a typical example of a plume, but in fact, Hawaii is completely unique on the Earth's surface. There isn't anything else like it anywhere. But coming back to your original question - why should this happen - people have suggested, people have pointed out that the earth's core is about 1,000 degrees hotter than the material immediately above. So they have this model like a kettle on a stove with a hotplate underneath and the hotplate is heating water in the kettle, and causing diapirs to rise up. So, that's the fundamental concept behind that theory.

Gillian - Well one of the primary methods used is using earthquake waves to CAT scan the Earth. So, when earthquakes occur, rays go through all parts of the Earth and we have seismometers on the surface, so this is like taking a person into a hospital and CAT scanning them. We can look at the structure inside the Earth. And what we're really looking for is to see if under places like Hawaii and Iceland, if we see some kind of a structure going all the way from the surface right down the Earth's core, and if we saw that, that would pretty much be strong evidence in favour of the plume hypothesis.

Chris - So what have you seen? You presumably haven't seen that yet. So what have you seen?

Gillian - No. What we tend to see almost everywhere is structures which can go down several hundred kilometres, but they don't go down the full 3,000 kilometres that they would have to do to reach the core.

Chris - So do you think it's just a question of making more observations or do you think we need to rethink this model and in fact, you don't need to go all the way down to the core? Perhaps it can act as a sort of vent for pressure slightly outside the Earth's core.

Gillian - Yes. I think we don't need to go down to the Earth's core. I think everything is happening just in the upper 3, 4, 5, 600 kilometres. It's not going all the way down 3,000 kilometres to the core. But regarding how do we address this problem, well, part of the reason why this controversy is so exciting is because a lot of things - a lot of human aspects are weaving in which almost stand outside the science. The plume hypothesis has been popular for a very, very long time and there's great reluctance to let it go partly because it can sort of be trotted in to explain everything. Whatever you see or you don't see, you can find some way of turning the plume hypothesis around to explain that. But the plate hypothesis on the other hand makes specific predictions which we should be able to go out and test. So, there's great excitement in the geological community at the moment and some people say this is the most exciting and fundamental controversy that's developed since plate tectonics.

Chris - So obviously, we will be in a position at some point in the future to make reasonable predictions about volcanic activity at plate margins where one plate is either subducting or overriding another, but if we've got this problem with plume volcanoes, how can we predict those? If we don't understand what's causing them in the first place, how can we predict their activity?

Gillian - This subject is really looking at big scale and long term volcanic behaviour. So, unlike what Hazel (Rymer) was describing , Hazel is looking at the activity of specific volcanoes on the kind of timescales that are relevant to human beings a few years or a few decades. But we're looking at the big scale of things and we're looking on timescales of millions of years. So the sort of problem we would be interested in that we could contribute to would be when Kilauea in Hawaii becomes extinct, where is the next volcano going to form.

Chris - And presumably also, you're in a position to inform the climate change debate because we know that volcanoes and volcanism have had a big contribution to the Earth's atmospheric composition over many, many years, and understanding this important contributor must therefore also feature quite heavily in the argument.

Gillian - Yes. It would certainly give relevant data to that subject indeed.

Chris - We must leave it there. Thank you, Gillian for joining us. That was Professor Gillian Foulger, who is at Durham University.

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How to Make a Baking Soda Volcano

Step-By-Step Instructions for a Classic Science Fair Project

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Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

The baking soda and vinegar volcano is a classic science project that can help kids learn about chemical reactions and what happens when a volcano erupts . While it's obviously not the real thing, this kitchen equivalent is cool all the same! The baking soda volcano is also non-toxic, which adds to its appeal—and it only takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Did You Know?

The cool red lava is the result of a chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar.
In this reaction, carbon dioxide gas is produced, which is also present in real volcanoes.
As the carbon dioxide gas is produced, pressure builds up inside the plastic bottle, until—thanks to the detergent—the gas bubbles out of the mouth of the volcano.

Volcano Science Project Materials

6 cups flour
2 cups salt
4 tablespoons cooking oil
plastic soda bottle
dishwashing detergent
food coloring
baking dish or another pan
2 tablespoons baking soda

Make the Chemical Volcano

Start by making the cone of your baking soda volcano by mixing 6 cups flour, 2 cups salt, 4 tablespoons cooking oil, and 2 cups of water. The resulting mixture should be smooth and firm (add more water if needed).
Stand the soda bottle in the baking pan and mold the dough around it to form a volcano shape. Be sure not to cover the hole or drop dough inside the bottle.
Fill the bottle most of the way full with warm water and a bit of red food coloring. (You can do this prior to sculpting the cone as long as you don't take so long that the water gets cold.)
Add 6 drops of detergent to the contents of the bottle. The detergent helps trap bubbles produced by the chemical reaction so you get better lava.
Add 2 tablespoons baking soda to the liquid in the bottle.
Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle, and then watch out...It's eruption time!

Experiment With the Volcano

While it's fine for young explorers to tackle a simple model volcano, if you want to make the volcano a better science project, you'll want to add the scientific method . Here are some ideas for different ways to experiment with a baking soda volcano:

Make a prediction about what happens if you change the amount of baking soda or vinegar. Record and analyze the effect, if any.
Can you think of ways to change the volcano to make the eruption go higher or last longer? This might involve changing the chemicals or the shape of the volcano. It helps to record numerical data, such as the volume of liquid, the height of the "lava," or the duration of the eruption.
Does it affect your volcano if you use a different kind of chemical to color the volcano? You could use tempera paint powder.
Try using tonic water instead of regular water to get a volcano that glows under black light.
What happens if you substitute other acids instead of vinegar or other bases instead of baking soda? (Examples of acids include lemon juice or ketchup; examples of bases include laundry detergent and household ammonia.) Use caution if you decide to substitute chemicals because some mixtures can be dangerous and may produce hazardous gasses. Never experiment with bleach or bathroom cleaners.
Adding a bit of food coloring will result in red-orange lava! Orange seems to work best. Add some red, yellow, and even purple, for a bright display.
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5 Ways To Make a Volcano

There is more than one way to make a chemical volcano. Actually, there are several methods. Here are some of the best, from the tried-and-true baking soda and vinegar volcano to the most exotic dry ice volcano.

Make the Volcano Cone

You can use a bottle or can or really any container for your volcanic eruption, but it’s easy to make the volcano shape by coating your container with clay or papier mache. Here is a simple recipe for a homemade clay volcano:

6 cups flour
2 cups salt
2 cups water
4 tablespoons cooking oil
Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl. It’s easiest if you stir the flour, salt, and oil together first and then mix in the water. You can add more water if needed. You want a firm, smooth dough.
Stand an empty soda bottle or can in a pie tin or baking pan (so your ‘lava’ won’t make a mess) and mold the dough into a volcano shape. Be sure you don’t drop dough into the bottle or cover the opening.
If you want to paint the volcano, wait until the dough is dry.

Now for the recipes! Most use common ingredients that you have at home.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

This is the classic science fair project volcano. The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) reacts with the vinegar (weak acetic acid) to produce carbon dioxide gas. The detergent traps the gas, which is heavier than air, so it flows down the side of the volcano.

liquid dishwashing detergent
red or orange food coloring
baking soda
Pour warm water into the volcano until it is 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.
Add several drops of food coloring.
Add a squirt of detergent. This helps the ‘lava’ foam up and flow.
Add a couple of spoonfuls of baking soda.
When you are ready to start the eruption, pour vinegar into your volcano.
You can recharge the volcano with more baking soda and vinegar.

Note: If you don’t have vinegar, you can use another acidic liquid, like lemon juice or orange juice.

Yeast and Peroxide Volcano

packet of quick-rise yeast
hydrogen peroxide (3% sold in stores or can use 6% from beauty supply stores)
food coloring
Pour the hydrogen peroxide solution into the volcano until it is nearly full. The 3% household peroxide is safe to handle, but wear gloves and use extreme caution if you use the 6% peroxide, which can give you chemical burns!
Add several drops of food coloring for your lava.
When you are ready for the eruption, add the packet of yeast to the volcano.

Ketchup and Vinegar Volcano

This volcano bubbles and oozes lava. The eruption is not so dramatic, but is interesting and long-lasting. The acidity of the vinegar and tomatoes in the ketchup reacts with the baking soda to produce carbon dioxide gas, which gets trapped as bubbles by the detergent.

dishwashing liquid
Mix together ketchup, warm water, and a squirt of detergent to make lava.
Pour the mixture into the volcano so it is nearly full.
When you are ready for the eruption, add baking soda.

Mentos and Diet Soda Volcano

This volcano erupts instantly and spectacularly. For a truly memorable volcano, use diet tonic water instead of diet cola and shine a black light on the volcano. This produces a vivid blue glowing eruption!

diet soda (regular soda works too, but produces a sticky mess)
Mentos candies
Fill the volcano full of soda (or you could have molded the volcano around a full soda bottle.
When you are ready for the eruption, drop all of the Mentos candies into the mouth of the bottle at once. One easy way to do this is to roll a sheet of paper around the candies, put your finger beneath them to hold them in place, and release the candies over the hole. Be prepared for a major splash!

Dry Ice Volcano

This volcano appears to smoke, releasing a cascade of bubble lava.

Fill the volcano with warm water.
Add a bit of dishwashing liquid.
When you are ready to start the eruption, use gloves or tongs to drop a piece of dry ice into the volcano.

Do you need more ways to make a volcano ? You can bake a souffle to model the geological processes or make a realistic wax volcano .

Science Fun

How to make a Volcano

10 ml of dish soap
100 ml of warm water
400 ml of white vinegar
Food coloring
Baking soda slurry (fill a cup about ½ with baking soda, then fill the rest of the way with water)
Empty 2 liter soda bottle

Instructions:

NOTE: This should be done outside due to the mess.

Combine the vinegar, water, dish soap and 2 drops of food coloring into the empty soda bottle.
Use a spoon to mix the baking soda slurry until it is all a liquid.
Eruption time! … Pour the baking soda slurry into the soda bottle quickly and step back!

WATCH THE QUICK AND EASY VIDEO TUTORIAL!

How it Works:

A chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda creates a gas called carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the same type of gas used to make the carbonation in sodas. What happens if you shake up a soda? The gas gets very excited and tries to spread out. There is not enough room in the bottle for the gas to spread out so it leaves through the opening very quickly, causing an eruption!

Extra Experiments:

1. Does the amount of vinegar change the eruption? 2. Does the amount of water change the eruption? 3. Does the amount of baking soda change the eruption?

EXPLORE TONS OF FUN AND EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS!

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Is mount st. helens about to blow washington volcano recharging 44 years after eruption.

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Is it getting ready to rock?

Mount Saint Helens in Washington, which notoriously and cataclysmically erupted in 1980 and had its ash reach Montana, has been showing major signs of constant activity recently, according to the US Geological Survey .

The volcanic elevation, which is 8,363 feet in the air, has experienced about 350 earthquakes since the start of February, with a peak amount of 38 in the first week of June.

Mount Saint Helens has been acting up recently.

Most were not noticeable, but one on May 31 clocked in at a 2.0 on the Richter scale — under half the magnitude of New York’s less-than-devastating, 4.8 April quake .

Still, its past two periods of heightened seismic activity from 2023 and on “represent the largest short-term increase in earthquake rates since the last eruption ended in 2008,” the USGS’ Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, WA wrote.

Although the 2008 eruption was relatively minor and represented a four year period of buildup, it then let up “to pave seven highway lanes three feet thick from New York City to Portland, Oregon,” per the USGS .

Sequences of small earthquakes typically tell that a volcano is beginning to pressurize its stored magma inside — a process known as “recharging.”

“Magma slowly rises through the lower crust and accumulates in a reservoir about 2.5 to 6 miles (4‒10 km) below sea level,” according to Cascades.

“Recharge events can occur when magma enters this upper reservoir and increases stresses that lead to earthquakes.”

Relax, though.

The experts are bringing people back to Earth, saying this is perfectly natural and not a high risk for another eruption.

There has been a noticeable increase in seismic activity around Mount Saint Helens recently.

“High rates of seismicity, interpreted as recharge, have been observed in the past at Mount St. Helens and at other volcanoes and can continue for many years without an eruption,” the observatory noted.

“No significant changes have been observed in other monitoring parameters and there is no change in alert levels at this time. Mount St. Helens remains at normal, background levels of activity.”

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Mix together half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of water. Pour the mix into the 2-liter bottle as quickly as you can and stand back! Using only 10 grams of baking soda, most volcanoes never made it out of the bottle. K.O. Myers/Particulatemedia.com. Fifty grams of baking soda produced short jets of foam K.O. Myers/Particulatemedia.com.
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Volcano is an opening in the earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected. ... scientific method, variables, hypothesis, graph, abstract and all other general basics that you need to know. ... Citric acid for example, specially if you get it in powder form can be a good choice. You can mix it dry with baking soda, paint ...
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How to Build a Baking Soda Volcano Science Fair Project
Make the Chemical Volcano. Start by making the cone of your baking soda volcano by mixing 6 cups flour, 2 cups salt, 4 tablespoons cooking oil, and 2 cups of water. The resulting mixture should be smooth and firm (add more water if needed). Stand the soda bottle in the baking pan and mold the dough around it to form a volcano shape.
5 Ways To Make a Volcano
warm water. liquid dishwashing detergent. red or orange food coloring. baking soda. vinegar. Pour warm water into the volcano until it is 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Add several drops of food coloring. Add a squirt of detergent. This helps the 'lava' foam up and flow.
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