Mt. Pinatubo Eruption
Created by Hannah Lawry
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Mount Pinatubo lies in the Cabulisan
Mountain Range.
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Pinatubo lies on the island of Luzon, a lush, rural island in the
Philippines. Luzon is the largest island of the Philippines.
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Geography
1. Luzon is the economic center of the Philippines; its capital is Manila
2. Its population stands at 44.35 million residents, of which Manila holds about half
3. Luzon has many mountain ranges along its coasts
4. Mt. Pinatubos eruption was ten times as devastating as Mt. St. Helens eruption
5. Manila is quite close in range to the eruption of Pinatubo
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The red circle indicates where the Eurasian and Philippine Sea Plates collided.
This created a convergent boundary type.
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Mt. Pinatubo was formed when the Philippine Sea Plate was subducted underneath the
Eurasian Plate.
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Plate Tectonics and Boundary Types
1. The boundary type causing the eruption was a convergent boundary,
which is when two plates slide directly toward each other
2. The two plates involved were the Eurasian and Philippine Sea Plates
3. The reason for the plate's increased movement was because of a 7.8 magnitude
earthquake rumbling just a year before, which sped up the slow movement of the plates
4. The stress type associated with the eruption was compression, aka, subduction;
this is when the plates squeeze each other, in this case, pushing the magma to the surface
as it has no where else to go
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During the eruption, when the plates squeezed each other, the magma rose
quickly and powerfully. Because of the position and force of the magma, the lava was able to find many
vents to escape the volcano, mainly the summit.
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This picture shows the sheer power of the volcano, as the ash actually
reached about 22 miles into the air. That is about the distance from Earth to the middle of
the stratosphere, the second layer of Earth's atmosphere.
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The Eruption
1. Mount Pinatubo had not erupted for 500 years, leaving citizens of Luzon
to believe that it was asleep and resting for awhile longer
2. But, to their utmost shock, on June 12, 1991, gas-charged magma rose
to the surface and spewed all around the area
3. On the 15th, the magma ejected even stronger and sent the crust and layers
of the volcano tumbling down the side of itself
4. This jarring sight was just as jarring as the distance the magma
covered and how high it reached: 22 miles high, 400 cubic km wide
5. The magma itself reached 400 cubic km wide but the gases and ash
were followed by satellites around the whole earth a couple of times!
6. After the eruption, the summit of the volcano collapsed, creating
a caldera, something that, after an eruption, uses fallen land to create a sort of
crater on the volcano’s surface that takes the place of the direct hole after the
summit of the volcano collapses
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This is Mt. Pinatubo before the eruption and the forming of the caldera.
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This is the caldera formed after the eruption of Pinatubo.
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The After Effects
1. The eruption itself was terrible and devastating, yet
what was caused afterward was just as bad
2. One such devastation was a series of small earthquakes that, after
the plates underneath Mt. Pinatubo had shaken tremendously, left many
towns in ruins
3. Along with this, Tropical Storm Yunya was passing by, striking
and mixing with the ash and gas that Pinatubo spewed. This created
tephra, a substance of gas, rock, and ash, and this spread all over the island
of Luzon
4. Although 58,000 people were evacuated prior to the eruption, this
volcano and its after effects left 847 killed, and 100,000
homeless.
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The after effects of the eruption. |
Many homes were run over by
countless lahar.
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Quick Facts
- This volcanic eruption was the second
worst in the entire century
"The impacts of the eruption continue to this day."
- This eruption had a VEI of 6, a very high
volcanic explosivity intensity, as the highest it can be is 8
- Nearly 20 million tons of sulfer dioxide were emitted
into the atmosphere following the eruption
- Agricultural fields covered in lahar, a mudslide of
rock, ash, magma, and mud, will still be unusable for many
more years
- Ash made heavier by rain was capable of taking
down roofs, which it did to many
Essay #1- Plate Tectonic Relations
Mt. Pinatubo had been in a deep slumber for 500 years. Why then, did it suddenly reawaken? The answer
is the movement of tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are always on the move, and when the Eurasian Plate
and the Philippine Sea Plate collided, starting a magnitude 7.8 earthquake known as the Luzon Earthquake. This, although
thought to be harmless to Mt. Pinatubo erupting, actually jiggled the plates under Pinatubo and starting compression, when
two plates are literally pressed together. A year later, the magma from Mt. Pinatubo found its way out.
The way Pinatubos eruption connects to plate tectonics is because if the two plates had not collided,
Pinatubo most likely, would not have exploded. Compression, when two plates collide and squeeze each other, is what
happened to the plates beneath Pinatubo. By doing so, the lithosphere pushed up bits of land which forced the magma in the magma
chambers to find a vent. This pushed the magma, therefore, creating an eruption. Although the plate tectonics' convergent aspect,
the hit of the plates might have been strong enough to start the volcano. Yet, the earthquake that occurred before only made
the force and impact stronger, and moved the plates a bit further at a higher speed than usual.
Essay #2- Effects of the Volcanic Eruption
There were many impacts to society, the environment and more after the eruption. Some examples include the
countless houses and bridges that needed replacing and repairing. In addition to this, the harvest for 1991
was ruined completely, and farmland was in desperate need of attention, as lahars had taken most
of it. Over 650,000 residents of Luzon lost their jobs. The ash of the volcanoes made water undrinkable and air
difficult to breathe in. The innumerable lahars took over rivers and river banks along with anything else in their
way. But, unfortunately, global cooling caused by ash in the atmosphere changed by .5 celsius, a large
change in global cooling, and one that is serious in the minds of scientists studying global warming and cooling.
This incredibly deadly volcano was terrible in its devastations yet it didn't do much harm to the population.
Why? Because of the evacuation of 58,000 people before the eruption. If this hadn't happened, for sure 5,000 lives
would be lost, and most likely many more as well. The cost of the repair for Luzon's ruined homes
and sites took billions of pesos to repay. Mt. Pinatubo also took down largest military force centers in
the Philippines and left a lot of damage to clean. Yet, we can be very thankful that an evacuation happened.
Summary of Essay #2
Economic Effects |
Environmental Effects |
Social Effects |
Houses and Bridges taken down
by Tephra and ash
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Volcanic ash and tephra
spread all over fields and homes
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58,000 people
evacuated
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Billions of pesos needed to repay
and rebuild Luzon's towns and cities
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Lahars ruin river banks and
rivers in general
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847 lost lives; many because
of collapsing roofs
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Farmland and the harvest of 1991
was diminished and 650,000 jobs lost
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Global cooling reduced by .5
celsius, a big reduce in global warming
and cooling
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100,000 left homeless
and gone to live in shanties
in Manila
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People flee from area around Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines
Sources:
Video
http://youtu.be/NQzGjGKdGvQ
Informational
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs113-97/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_Explosivity_Index
http://www.learner.org/interactives/volcanoes/
http://www.volcanofacts.org/
http://volcanism.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/iceland-eyjafjallajokull-volcano-erupts/
http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/pinatubo.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pinatubo
http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/volcanoes2.htm
Photos
All of sources in informational section +
beringia.com
thelavazone.wikispaces.com
Comments (9)
Caroline Higgins said
at 3:47 pm on Dec 21, 2013
HANNAH AWESOME JOB!!! I really enjoy your pictures and I like how you did a summary of the Essay 2 question!!!!!!!!! Nice jobbbbb!!!!!
Leah said
at 10:22 am on Dec 23, 2013
Hannah, Your page looks great! So much information, really well organized and very effective photo/diagram choices. I really like how you summarized the effects! Great work. Thanks.
Meredith McBride said
at 12:28 pm on Jan 8, 2014
Nice work! This has a ton of information and pictures. I love your Essay #2 Summary. :O)
Preston Adams said
at 12:58 pm on Jan 8, 2014
Nice Job!! Great information, your pictures helped me understand more. Nice -_-
Maggie Noone said
at 1:01 pm on Jan 8, 2014
GREAT JOB HANNAH! You had so much detail that really explained how the volcano erupted! I liked your video. I liked your diagrams and all of your other pictures!
Garrett Berry said
at 1:09 pm on Jan 8, 2014
Good job. You put a lot of detail. I see you went above and beyond with the photos and detail.
Lauren Kelley said
at 1:09 pm on Jan 8, 2014
Great job Hannah, I can tell you put a lot of handwork into your project!! I loved your video and all of your detailed information. Great job Hannah!!!
Mack Forman said
at 1:30 pm on Jan 8, 2014
This is a great page. I love alap of the disruption that you included in your page. This was done very well, and it looks great. good work.
Leah said
at 10:57 pm on Jan 13, 2014
Hannah, A very detailed, thoughtful and accurate portrayal of this devastating event. I feel like you really "taught' us about this earthquake and its effects. I love how you began your essay on plate tectonics--this really intrigued me and grabbed my attention. You have such a way with words! Excellent work all around. Thanks.
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