Vocabulary
This molten rock is formed when ocean water has slipped into Earth's mantle, lowering the layer's melting point
Magma
The volcano in the story at the beginning of the video
Paricutin
This is what you would call a scientist who studies volcanoes
Volcanologist
This is one of the most common causes of eruptions, an increase in this pressure happens when magma elements like water and sulfur stop dissolving and instead form gas bubbles that burst at the surface
Magmastatic Pressure
Name one North American country within the Ring Of Fire
All acceptable answers: Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, United States, Canada
In this state, magma is a mixture of dissolved gases and melted minerals
Molten
This process, which involves the rapid dropping of lithostatic pressure, is believed to be responsible for the explosion of Mount St. Helens in 1980
Unloading
Thermal imaging
The process in which the weight of the rock above the magma chamber drops enough to effect the lithostatic pressure, instantly causing an eruption
Unloading
Name one South American country within the Ring Of Fire
All acceptable answers: Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia
This pressure is the weight of the Earth's crust pushing down on the magma below it
Lithostatic Pressure
DAILY DOUBLE! This quote, featured at the beginning of the video, comes from Pliny the Younger about the destruction of this historic city:
"Ashes were already falling... a dense black cloud was coming up behind us, spreading over the earth like a flood."
Pompeii
Lasers can now precisely track the impact of rising magma on this aspect of a volcano
Shape
This kind of natural disaster can "create fissures [that allow] magma to escape to the surface"
Earthquakes
Name one Asian country within the Ring Of Fire
All acceptable answers: Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia
Scientists worry that this, caused by climate change, could increase volcanic activity in the future
Glacial Melt
This "super volcano" last exploded around 650,000 years ago
Yellowstone
This tool analyzes gases escaping magma
Spectrometers
These two aspects of magma chambers make measuring changes in magmastatic pressure difficult for scientists
Depth and heat
These islands, though formed by volcanic eruption, are NOT part of the Ring Of Fire
Hawaiian Islands
The corrosion process that turns "hard stone into soft clay"
Hydrothermal Alteration
Volcano Paricutin erupted on this date
February 1942
Geologist
High-pressure gas bubbles on the surface of the magma chamber lower the magma's density and increase this, pushing upward through the crust
Buoyant Force
This Asian country in the Ring Of Fire has the most volcanoes within its subduction zone, 81 to be exact
Japan