Download Tick, Tick, Boom Danger Zone

VOLCANO
BY:STEPHANIE LOPEZ
Caution May
Be Hot
Tick, Tick, Boom
An explosion more powerful than an atomic bomb,
coming from right beneath our feet, rising to the
earth’s surface bringing terror and devastation to
those around it. What monstrosity can cause such
horror? It’s a volcano. A volcano is literally a
mountain with a hole in its top. These
monstrosities are large pots of smoldering lava that
cook at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. As the magma
pushes it’s way to the top, like a vent on the earth’s
surface, molten, rock, debris, and gases from deep
beneath the earth’s surface are released in a large
and deadly explosion (http://
enviorment.nationalgeographic.com).
Danger Zone
Volcanoes are a huge hazard around the world,
they exist almost everywhere, but they “commonly
form along convergent plate boundaries”(Holt,
284). A convergent boundary is where two tectonic
plates collide and the heavier plate slides under the
lighter plate, this movement is also known as
subduction. To form a volcano, magma from
beneath both plates has to rise upward in between
cracks. The magma then erupts onto earth’s surface
and becomes lava. “As the lava flows from an
opening the material may build up as a cone of
material that may form a mountain,”(Holt, 320)
thus creating a volcano. About 75% of the
world's active and dormant volcanoes exist
along the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire
stretches from New Zealand, along the eastern
edge of Asia, north across the Aleutian Islands
of Alaska, and south along the coast of North
and South America (http://
geography.about.com). Living along the Ring
of Fire can be very dangerous for their resident
that’s why scientists always have to be on the
look out for active volcanoes ready to erupt.
[1]
VOCABULARY Caution
atomic bomb: a nuclear weapon
(as a hydrogen bomb)
( http://www.merriamwebster.com)
volcanologists: a person that
studies volcanoes
Landsat satellite: Any of several
satellites used to gather
information for images of the
Earth's land surface and coastal
regions. These satellites are
equipped with sensors that
respond to Earth-reflected sunlight
and infrared radiation.( http://
www.thefreedictionary.com/
Landsat)
Tiltmeters: an instrument
used to measure slight
changes in the inclination
of the earth's surface(http://
dictionary.reference.com)
year without a summer : also
known as the Poverty Year in
which severe summer climate
abnormalities destroyed crops in
Northern Europe, the Northeastern
United States and eastern Canada.
To pin point exactly when an
eruption will happen is very
difficult, but volcanologists are
becoming very skilled at
predicting the likelihood of an
eruption (http://learner.org). To
predict when a volcano will erupt
scientist use monitoring methods.
They look out for warning signs
such as gases from magma rising
from deep within the volcanoes.
They also look out for swelling
in the volcano’s slope and
earthquakes. Although these
warning signs aren’t always the
best way to predict a volcano’s
next eruption scientists also take
temperatures and gas readings by
using a Land Sat satellite. The
satellite uses infrared sensors to
detect temperatures and changes
in volcanoes. Aircraft monitor
the amount of gas released from
the ground. An increase in gasses
usually means that there could be
volcanic eruptions. Tilt meters
are also used to find the rising
and lowering of magma levels by
measuring changes in ground
elevation (http://
library.thinkquest.org). These
methods of monitoring are much
more accurate and more
advanced.
[2]
Ashes to
Dust
When a volcano erupts it can do
numerous amounts of things.
Volcanoes can cause deaths,
damage, and cause both local and
global effects. Mt. Tambora’s
explosion in 1815 caused both it
created a 5-meter high tsunami, ash
fall, disease, and global cooling,
which resulted in 1816 “year
without a summer”. Mt. Vesuvius
explosion in 79 A.D buried the
entire nearby city of Pompeii and
killed thousands of people. When a
volcano erupts it lets out a world of
chaos. Although more than half the
time the explosion of a volcano is
awaited in fear volcanoes have
actually contributed to creating what
most of the time they destroy. In fact
80% of the earth’s surface was
created from dried lava from
volcanic eruptions and the gasses
released formed the earth’s
atmosphere (http://
www.chevroncars.com). Volcanoes
are essential contributors to creating
the earth we live on and walk on
today.
Volcanoes
Bibliography
May 20, 2010 <http://www.learner.org/
interactives/volcanoes/entry.html>.
Farlex, The Free Dictionary. May 20,
2010 <http://
www.thefreedictionary.com/Landsat>.
Dictionary.com. May 20, 2010 <http://
dictionary.reference.com/browse/
tiltmeter>.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
May 20, 2010 <http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/atomic
%20bomb>.
Wikipedia. May 20, 2010 <http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Year_Without_a_Summer>.
"Earth's Fiery Power". National
Geographic. May 20, 2010 <http://
environment.nationalgeographic.com/
environment/natural-disasters/volcanoprofile/>.
"What Causes Volcanoes". Oracle
Think Quest. May 20, 2010 <http://
library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01186/
causes.htm>.
"All About Volcanoes". The Chevron
Cars. May 20, 2010 <http://
www.chevroncars.com/learn/
wondrous-world/volcano>.
"Volcanoes Can We Predict Volcanic
Eruptions". Annenberg Media Learner.
[3]