What type of magma causes quiet eruption?
A volcano erupts quietly if its magma is low in silica. Low-silica magma is thin and runny and flows easily. The gases in the magma bubble out gently. Low-silica lava oozes quietly from the vent and can flow for many kilometers.
What are quiet eruptions called?
Effusive eruptions If a magma has low viscosity (it is runny), gas can escape easily, so when the magma erupts at the surface it forms lava flows. These eruptions are (relatively!) gentle, effusive eruptions.
What type of magma erupts least violently?
Strombolian eruptions are often associated with small lava lakes, which can build up in the conduits of volcanoes. They are one of the least violent of the explosive eruptions, although they can still be very dangerous if bombs or lava flows reach inhabited areas.
What causes quiet eruptions?
Volcanoes that have very hot, low-silica magma generally erupt quietly. In a quiet eruption, lava erupts in a stream of low-viscosity lava, called a lava flow. Lava flows from a quiet eruption can travel for great distances.
What is mafic magma?
Describes magma that contains lower amounts of silica and is generally less viscous and less gas-rich than silicic magma. Tends to erupt effusively, as lava flows. Includes andesites (57-63 percent SiO2), basaltic andesites (53-57 percent SiO2), and basalts (47-53 percent SiO2).
What is effusive or quiet eruption?
Effusive eruptions occur when hot, (1200oC) runny basalt magmas reach the surface. Dissolved gases escape easily as the magma erupts, forming lava that flows downhill quite easily. Effusive eruptions build up gently-sloping Shield Volcanoes like Hawaii.
What magma types produce explosive and effusive eruptions?
Overview. There are two major groupings of eruptions: effusive and explosive. Effusive eruption differs from explosive eruption, wherein magma is violently fragmented and rapidly expelled from a volcano. Effusive eruptions are most common in basaltic magmas, but they also occur in intermediate and felsic magmas.
What is basaltic magma?
Basaltic (or mafic) magma predominates in nonexplosive volcanic eruptions. It is a high-temperature magma (1,200 °C (about 2,200 °F)) characterized by flowing lava, and it is made up of about 45–55 percent silica (SiO2) by weight.
What is silica magma?
The silica content of the magma determines how thick the magma is, how easily it flows and how easily dissolved gases within the magma can escape; therefore the silica content determines the characteristic of the volcanic eruption and the shape and size of the resulting volcanic cone.
What is high silica magma?
What determines the type of magma is the percentages of silica and present. Magmas with high silica content have a high viscosity (resistance to flow) and are generally more explosive when eruptions occur. All magmas also contain some degree of trapped gasses (CO2 & H2O ).
What does basaltic magma produce?
Basaltic magmas that form the oceanic crust of Earth are generated in the asthenosphere at a depth of about 70 kilometres. The mantle rocks located at depths from about 70 to 200 kilometres are believed to exist at temperatures slightly above their melting point, and…
Which types of magma produce effusive eruptions?
Effusive eruptions are most common in basaltic magmas, but they also occur in intermediate and felsic magmas. These eruptions form lava flows and lava domes, each of which vary in shape, length, and width.
What does andesitic magma mean?
Andesitic magma has moderate amounts of these minerals, with a temperature range from about 800oC to 1000oC (1472oF to 1832oF). Rhyolitic magma is high in potassium and sodium but low in iron, magnesium, and calcium. It occurs in the temperature range of about 650oC to 800oC (1202oF to 1472oF).
Which type of magma would you expect to produce the most explosive volcanic eruption?
Explosive eruptions are favored by high gas content & high viscosity magmas (andesitic to rhyolitic magmas). The explosive bursting of bubbles fragments the magma into clots of liquid that cool as they fall through the air.
What type of eruption is mafic magma?
The adjacent Magma Comparison table summarizes properties of the two basic magma types. Mafic magma produces high volume, slow moving, effusive eruptions….
| MAGMA COMPARISON | ||
|---|---|---|
| Property | Mafic Magma | Felsic Magma |
| Formation Temp. | higher | lower |
| Example of Rock | basalt | andesite |
| Eruption Type | effusive | explosive |
What is rhyolitic magma?
Rhyolitic lavas are viscous and tend to form thick blocky lava flows or steep-sided piles of lava called lava domes. Rhyolite magmas tend to erupt explosively, commonly also producing abundant ash and pumice.
What type of lava is explosive?
Effusive eruptions occur when hot, (1200oC) runny basalt magmas reach the surface. Dissolved gases escape easily as the magma erupts, forming lava that flows downhill quite easily.
What is felsic magma?
Felsic refers to silicate minerals, magma, and rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium. Felsic magma or lava is higher in viscosity than mafic magma/lava. Felsic rocks are usually light in color and have specific gravities less than 3.
Which magma type erupts most violently?
A Plinian eruption is the most explosive of the eruption types.