What Does volcanism Mean
Volcanism is a concept linked to Vulcan , the god of fire and methanes according to Roman mythology. For geology , it is the system that explains the formation of the globe from the action of inner fire.
The volcanoes are the passages that establish a direct communication between the surface of the Earth and the deep levels of the crust. A volcano, therefore, is an opening that is usually found in mountains and that, every certain period of time, expels lava, ash, gases and smoke, in a process called an eruption .
Specifically, it is established that there are three types of materials that are expelled to the surface when the eruption takes place:
Lava, which is of a liquid type and which originates two kinds of volcanoes: the conical ones and the so-called shield ones.
Pyroclasts. It can be said that they are the solid part of the eruption and are formed from the clumps of lava that are generated. There are very diverse types: blocks, lapilli, volcanic dust, volcanic bombs ...
Gases As their name suggests, they are the gaseous part of any volcanic eruption. Among them are both fumaroles and solfataras or skunks. The phenomenon that they originate called geyser is well known, which is when the groundwater heats up reaching a boiling point and from there the steam comes out through a hole together with dissolved salts and water.
These eruptions take place when magma (the mixture of molten rock and gases, among other components) that is under pressure begins to rise to the surface through the chimney of the volcano. Other formations of volcanoes are fumaroles and parasitic cones .
Among the types of volcanoes, it is possible to distinguish between a dormant or extinct volcano (when there are no records of eruptive activity) and an active volcano (those that record eruptive activity or that only recently recorded it).
In addition to those mentioned, we must not forget the volcanic shields, the complex cones, the compound volcano or the lava plateaus.
Supervolcanoes are known as the type of volcano that produces the largest eruptions on Earth . The volume of the ejected magma is usually in a position to alter the climate for years and, of course, to change the landscape around the volcano abruptly.
The types of volcanic eruptions, on the other hand, will be determined by temperature, composition, dissolved elements in magma, and viscosity, for example.
In addition to all the above, it is important that we highlight the existence of what is known as Io volcanism. This term refers to one of the satellites that the planet Jupiter has and that has the particularity of generating from volcanic wells through rivers of lava or plumes of sulfur dioxide.
Specifically, the scientific activities carried out in this regard have made it clear the existence of different types of eruptions such as explosive or flow.