Eric Hiatt: Volcanoes

Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards

Mount Rainier: a classic composite (strato) volcano located in western Washington state.

Jon Jugenheimer, a UW-Oshkosh Geology major on a climbing expedition up Mount Rainier.

See the links below for more information about this strato-volcano.

In this section we discussed:

The relationships between volcanoes and tectonic plate boundaries. Check out this US Geological Survey web site that explores this relationship further. Most volcanoes are found at or near plate boundaries, especially surrounding the Pacific Ocean basin. We discussed this relationship in class (with the help of Johnny Cash); this web site discusses the Pacific "Ring of Fire" further, but without the musical accompaniment.
Most of the very dangerous, potentially explosive volcanoes are associated with subduction zones. Volcanoes that form large, steep-sided cones are called Strato- or Composite volcanoes. What are the relationships between subduction zones, volatiles (like water) in the magma, and the explosive nature of these volcanic eruptions?
To learn more about Composite or Strato-volcanoes check out this great US Geological Survey web site for Mount Rainier.
Some volcanoes, like Hawaii do not occur at plate boundaries and are instead though to be associated with stationary "hot spots" in the mantle. This US Geological Survey web site explains the connection between hot spots and volcanoes.
One of the pieces of evidence for the stationary nature of hot spots and their relationship to tectonic plate movement is discussed at this US Geological Survey Web site.

Check out this US Geological Survey web site to get information about just about any volcano in the world.
Also check out the Volcano World web page.

	UW-Oshkosh Geology undergraduate Jon Koenig standing in front of a small, eroded volcanic cone in Antarctica. Jon was doing field research with Dr. Tim Paulsen of the UW-Oshkosh Geology Department.