There are seven types of volcanic eruptions: Strombolian, Vulcan, Peléan, Hawaiian, Phreatic, Plinian, and Subglacial. Each type has unique characteristics, ranging from low to high intensity, and can cause various levels of damage and danger.
All volcanoes erupt, but not always in the same way. There are seven types of volcanic eruptions: Strombolian, Vulcan, Peléan, Hawaiian, Phreatic, Plinian, and Subglacial.
A Strombolian eruption, named after Stromboli in Sicily, consists of large bubbles of magma thrown tens to hundreds of meters into the air, until they fall to the ground and produce short, viscous lava flows. Strombolian volcanic eruptions are caused by the accumulation of bubbles, called slugs of gas, which rapidly rise to the surface, emerging with such force as to expel many tons of magma into the air. Strombolian eruptions are of low or medium intensity.
Named after Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Mediterranean, volcanic eruptions are characterized by large amounts of gases being released explosively. Vulcanian eruptions are often accompanied by phreatic, or steam jet eruptions, caused when incandescent magma becomes constant with groundwater and instantly turns it into steam. In volcanic eruptions, a large cloud of volcanic ash forms in the sky above the volcano, with white smoking ash forming the topmost part of the smoke column. Volcanic volcanic eruptions usually don’t emit much magma into the air.
Peléan eruptions, also called “hot cloud” eruptions, are named after Mt. Pelee in the Caribbean. Peléan eruptions are characterized by sudden explosions of gas, dust, ash, and lava fragments that rain down over kilometer-long areas in a pyroclastic avalanche. When a Peléan eruption occurs in a populated area it can cause many deaths. Peléan volcanic eruptions are often accompanied by the creation of a lava dome.
Hawaiian eruptions are named after the eruptions of the Mauna Loa volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. These are among the more peaceful eruptions and can last for many years. They consist of large amounts of low viscosity lava that pours down the slope of the volcano and produce very little ash or volcanic gas. A Hawaiian eruption is safe enough to see up close, and many helicopter tours in Hawaii offer tours of actively volcanic Mauna Loa. Over geological time, Hawaiian eruptions produce very large mountains, as is the case on the island of Hawaii itself: when measured from the ocean floor, Mauna Loa can be considered the tallest mountain on Earth.
Phreatic eruptions, also known as steam jet eruptions, get their name from a word meaning “sink” or “spring” in Greek and refer to the contact of superheated magma with an underground water table. Phratic eruptions cause explosions of steam, water, ash, rock and volcanic bombs and are known to kill hundreds of people, mainly due to the release of poisonous gases such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulphide. The former simply causes asphyxiation, while the latter is actually an active poison, killing plants and animals alike.
Plinian Eruptions, named after Pliny the Younger, whose uncle was killed in the Plinian eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, is the most serious and extreme of volcanic eruptions. They consist of an extremely tall column of ash and magma that is ejected up into the stratosphere (>11 km, 6.8 mi). This column extends to its top, resembling a stone pine. Plinian volcanic eruptions are known to spread dust over areas hundreds of kilometers wide and are often accompanied by very loud explosive noises that can be heard thousands of kilometers away. Sometimes, Plinian eruptions eject so much magma that the volcano’s summit collapses, forming a caldera.
Subglacial volcanic eruptions occur when a volcano erupts from beneath a layer of ice, which is usually more than a kilometer deep. Only five subglacial eruptions have been recorded in modern history, and only the most severe are capable of actually melting through the entirety of the ice sheet above.
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