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World map of active volcanoes and plate boundaries Kīlauea's lava entering the sea Lava flows at Holuhraun, Iceland, September 2014. An active volcano is a volcano that has erupted during the Holocene (the current geologic epoch that began approximately 11,700 years ago), is currently erupting, or has the potential to erupt in the future. [1]
Volcanoes vary greatly in their level of activity, with individual volcanic systems having an eruption recurrence ranging from several times a year to once in tens of thousands of years. [76] Volcanoes are informally described as erupting, active, dormant, or extinct, but the definitions of these terms are not entirely uniform among ...
Volcanology advances have required more than just structured observation, and the science relies upon the understanding and integration of knowledge in many fields including geology, tectonics, physics, chemistry and mathematics, with many advances only being able to occur after the advance had occurred in another field of science.
In the continental U.S., the most recent cataclysmic eruption of a volcano was Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. “Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!” radioed U.S. Geological Survey scientist ...
Iceland is one of Earth's most volcanically active areas, with 32 active volcanic sites. It averages an eruption every four to five years — though the frequency has increased closer to every 12 ...
Scientists monitoring an active volcano will often measure the tilt of the slope and track changes in the rate of swelling. An increased rate of swelling, especially if accompanied by an increase in sulfur dioxide emissions and harmonic tremors is a high probability sign of an impending event.
Mount Ruang spewed lava and and ash on April 17, seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi. It also triggered lightning in the ash cloud -- a common phenomenon in powerful volcano eruptions.
Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active object in the Solar System because of tidal interaction with Jupiter. It is covered with volcanoes that erupt sulfur, sulfur dioxide and silicate rock, and as a result, Io is constantly being resurfaced.