Explosive eruptions are so powerful, they can shoot particles 20 miles up (32 kilometers), hurl 8-ton boulders more than a half mile (0.8 kilometers) away, and cause massive landslides. Explosive eruptions also create an avalanche of hot volcanic debris, ash, and gas that bulldozes everything in its path.
Fluid basalt flows can extend tens of kilometers from an erupting vent. The leading edges of basalt flows can travel as fast as 10 km/h (6 mph) on steep slopes but they typically advance less than 1 km/h (0.27 m/s or about 1 ft/s) on gentle slopes.
In short bursts humans can run at 32 km/hr (20 miles/hr). So people could easily walk, jog or run away from almost all lava flows…. unless they are in situation such as a steep sided very narrow valley leading to a volcanic event that is churning out basaltic lava at a huge rate.
Lava fountains can propel lava 1,000-2,000 feet (300-600 m) above the volcano. The gas dissolved inside the magma is the driving force. As the magma approaches the surface the pressure on it decreases.
If you live anywhere near an active or dormant volcano, you should be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice as eruptions are not always predictable. The danger area around a volcano covers approximately a 20-mile radius; however, some danger may exist 100 miles or more from a volcano.
But just like many natural things in the world, volcanoes also come with plenty of dangers. In the process of creating fertile soil, these volcanic eruptions have destroyed cities and cut short the lives of many people.
Yes. Encounters between aircraft and clouds of volcanic ash are a serious concern. Jet engines and other aircraft components are vulnerable to damage by fine, abrasive volcanic ash, which can drift in dangerous concentrations hundreds of miles downwind from an erupting volcano.
Lava won't kill you if it briefly touches you. You would get a nasty burn, but unless you fell in and couldn't get out, you wouldn't die. With prolonged contact, the amount of lava "coverage" and the length of time it was in contact with your skin would be important factors in how severe your injuries would be!
Using thermal mapping, scientists tracked the volcano's emissions with temperatures upward of 1,179 degrees Fahrenheit. Lava is the hottest natural thing on Earth.
Other examples of metals and ceramics that can withstand lava's temperature include; titanium, iridium, iron alloys, osmium, nickel alloys, aluminum oxide, mullite, and silicon nitride.
Most lava is very hot—about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At those temperatures, a human would probably burst into flames and either get extremely serious burns or die.
First, lava is more than three times denser than water; because humans are made mostly of water, it's three times denser than us, too. The laws of physics therefore dictate that we will float on its surface, not sink.
The extreme heat would probably burn your lungs and cause your organs to fail. “The water in the body would probably boil to steam, all while the lava is melting the body from the outside in,” Damby says. (No worries, though, the volcanic gases would probably knock you unconscious.)
In fact, as it spills out onto Earth's surface as lava, the runny rock's temperature is only a little lower than the hottest part of a candle flame: about 1200 °C. On the other hand, a big blob of lava contains many more bouncing particles than a small candle flame, so it has a lot more heat energy.
Most seafloor spreading centers lie at depths exceeding 2,000 meters (1.2, miles) and, as a consequence, approximately three-quarters of all volcanic activity on Earth occurs as deep, underwater eruptions.
Concrete has a melting point of about 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,700 degrees Fahrenheit), while lava reaches a piddly 871 degrees Celsius (1,600 degrees Fahrenheit). Pour enough concrete into a vent and you would theoretically be able to block it.
Although the temperature of water immediately adjacent to the submarine lava reaches 88 degrees C (190 degrees F), it degrades quickly to 27 degrees C (81 degrees F), only slightly above the ambient ocean temperature, within a few inches of the contact. This is not to say that the water isn't hot.
But black lava, fresh out of the pit, erupts at 500°C, only 400 degrees hotter than the water boiling in your kettle.
Lava isn't quite hot enough to melt a diamond, but could a diamond burn in lava instead? In short, diamonds can burn in lava as the burning temperature of a diamond is about 900 °C and lava can get as hot as 1200 °C. The burning process will also, however, require oxygen.
Lava does have a smell – sort of acrid, and a bit sulfury (most of the sulfur gas comes out at the eruptive vent, but there is a little in the lava itself).
You will not die instantly, it will be quite painful, you may or may not go into shock or pass out.
Life can't survive in molten rock. However, some animals live near active volcanoes. Life requires water, a way to manufacture nutrients, and heat. Unfortunately, even extremophiles, organisms that live under extreme circumstances, can't survive in molten rock.
If you ever wondered if you could climb a volcano and peer into the crater then the answer is yes, it can be done depending on the state of activity. But the most important thing to remember is that volcanoes are not adventure playgrounds as this is serious nature you are dealing with.
“When air is heated, it expands, so it's thinner than air that's cold,” explains Brian Byrod, a helicopter pilot for California Highway Patrol's Valley Air Divisions, which responds to hiker emergencies throughout the Sacramento Area and Lake Tahoe. When air is thin, helicopters can't get the lift they need to fly.