Talk:Types of volcanic eruptions

Disagree with speedy deletion

I disagree with the speedy deletion nomination of this page. The tag is completely wrong- this is not a non-notable group of people, at all, it is a description of the different types of volcanic eruptions. There is no reason to delete this page, unless it is original research, which I do not believe it is. It needs sources, wikifying and sections, but the content of the article and its style of writing is sound. I will now contact the page author to ask them about sources. J Milburn 16:37, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

this article adds nothing

to the information already available in Volcano. Paul 16:40, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

I have not read the article from start to end, but I cannot see this information anywhere. Could you be more precise? Where is it explained in the Volcano article? J Milburn 16:56, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Rewrite

I am currently in the process of rewriting the article, so that it is not a copyright violation, in my sandbox. Please do not delete it in the mean time. J Milburn 17:06, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Done. J Milburn 17:24, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

much better

Good work - thanks for cleaning it up. Paul 17:28, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Hawaiian eruption

In compiling information from various places on Wikipedia to improve Hawaiian eruption beyond stub status, I removed the description of Hawaiian eruptions from this page because it appeared to be WP:COPYVIO from a book called Geology Super Review. Further research, however, appears to reveal that the original source of the text was a U.S. government publication. So I'll restore the text but add a link to the above USGS glossary. Sorry for the confusion. PubliusFL 20:17, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

All information was originally copied from the link at the bottom by a new editor, and then edited by me to stop it being a copyvio. I'll move the external link to the references section. J Milburn 20:22, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

What is the difference?

It is not clear what is the the difference between Plinian and Vesuvian types of eruptions. Aren't these two names of one type? After all, the Plinian was named after the Mount Vesuvius eruption first description by Pliny the Younger.

I agree with the unsigned comment. I've read they were actually named for Pliny the Elder who died during the 79 eruption. I'm removing Vesuvian from the list. Anynobody 09:43, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Paroxysmal Eruptions

I came across a similar list in a Time-Life Planet Earth series book, "Volcano". However, it featured an additional category of eruption: the paroxysmal eruption. Quoting from the book (pg. 69): "Paroxysmal eruption: As viscous, high-pressure magma explodes from a large, shallow reservoir -- at Krakatoa in Indonesia or Santorini in Greece, for example -- it may span the spectrum of volcanism for days on end: A Plinian ash column shoots miles into the stratosphere, glowing avalanches sweep downward, and tens of cubic miles of airborne ejecta bury the countryside. After such eruptions, the entire volcano often collapses piecemeal into its empty magma chamber[;] the resulting caldera, a basin many miles across and perhaps a mile deep, may be filled by the ocean or by a lake like Oregon's Crater Lake." It seems like this category is worth adding, and I will do so if there are no objections, sinice the type of eruption that produces a Krakatau, Thera, Mazama, or Toba event is on a whole other scale of force compared to a Plinian eruption of the Vesuvian model. Sacxpert (talk) 13:11, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I've often seen these eruptions called ultra-Plinian, rather than paroxysmal. "Paroxysmal" is also used more generally; there are hundreds of Google hits for "paroxysmal eruption" Vesuvius, for instance, and it is suggested as a descriptor for smaller VEI 5 eruptions. Some authors at least seem to end their list of eruption types at Plinian, treating ultra-Plinian eruptions as just a much larger version (see e.g. Volcanology by Jacques-Marie Bardintzeff & Alexander McBirney (2000), pp 98-99). I think we should cast a broader net than one Time-Life book before deciding whether to add this, and if so what to call it. -- Avenue (talk) 10:17, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

you may be missing the point

There are three Types of volcanic eruption: Magmatic, Phreatomagmatic and Phreatic. Magmatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions produce juvenile clasts or new material, phreatic does not. magmatic eruptions do not include water. There are three mechanisms of ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact with water causing phreatomagmatic eruptions and ejection entrained particles during steameruptions causing phreatic eruptions (Heiken & Wohletz 1985). The Types that you have listed are merely aspects of these groups,a hawaiian, strombolian, vulcanian, plinian these are all types of MAGMATIC eruption, with the different eruption styles being a result of varying mass flux. Ta-aalian, surtseyan and phreato-plinian are all types of phreatomagmatic eruption, with the only difference being the varying mass flux and the varying ratio of mass flux of lava to mass flux of water. For example a surtseyan eruption style is a phreatomagmatic eruption caused by thermal contraction on contact with water, where the mass flux of magma is relatively low compared to the mass flux of an ocean or large lake. The phreato-plinian on the other hand would have relatively equal mass flux of water and magma caused by, for example rising magma interacting with an acquifer. A distinction also needs to be made between effusive and explosive eruption; Hawaiian is effusive, strombolian is explosive [B] both[/B] are magmatic.

So a vesuvian eruption is also a type of plinian eruption

Reference cited: Heiken, G. & Wohletz, K. 1985. Volcanic Ash. University of California Press, Berkeley. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Russjass (talk • contribs) 13:12, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Difference between plinian and vesuvian

Plinian and vesuvian and strombolian etc are all magmatic eruptions as i have said above. they are distinguished by eruption column height and mass flux with hawaiian fire fountains being the lowest and ultra-plinian being the heighest. Paraxysmal is a term that is not used any more. The column height of many old and ancient eruptions cannot be known, nor can mass flux, but they can be estimated by isopleth mapping of the tephra apron, wich will give an estimation. the system is subjective due to the relative ease with which tephra can be eroded, for example the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo, within months the majority of tephra had been reworked into the sea, giving very very conservative estimates of the column height, which were much lower than the observed column.

Phreatomagmatic eruptions are plotted on a different scale, because the eruptive mechanisms are too different to compare, but mass flux and column height are the distinguiching characteristics.

Russjass (talk) 13:33, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Peléan

Should I put the origins of the name of this eruption?