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Molten planet Molten planet
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Every shape and size Every shape and size
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How volcanoes kill How volcanoes kill
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Living safely with volcanoes Living safely with volcanoes
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The next big bang The next big bang
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Cite
Abstract
Volcanoes are one of the ways that our planet dissipates the colossal amounts of heat coming from its interior. There may be as many as 2,000 active volcanoes, more than 500 of which have erupted since 1800, and around 70 of which are in eruption every year. The magma that feeds eruptions is formed in the asthenosphere, which is located in the uppermost mantle. The viscosity of magma is controlled by the silica content, higher levels of which making them stickier. Silica-rich eruptions tend to be more explosive and form domes or steep-sided stratovolcanoes. Relatively silica-poor eruptions are typically effusive (lava-forming) and build gently sloping shield volcanoes. Eruptions can occur at a range of scales—measured by the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)—right up to so-called super-eruptions that can excavate giant craters known as calderas and plunge our world into volcanic winter. Volcanoes can kill in any number of ways, the deadliest being the hurricane blasts of gas and ash known as pyroclastic flows, and the volcanic mudflows termed lahars. The effects of large explosive eruptions on the global climate can also result in many indirect deaths due to harvest failure and famine. On the plus side, no volcano erupts without warning signs, so—provided a volcano is being monitored—eruptions can be predicted in time for evacuation.
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