Volcanic Eruption Paper

This article from News and Views discusses the observation and analysis of submarine volcanic eruptions. Volcanism underwater is unalike volcanism on land due to the differing qualities of water and air. Air is not as dense as water; the properties of air allow for larger eruptions than those that occur underwater (Mitchell 444). Pressure on the ocean floor does not allow water or gasses to escape from lava. This causes the eruption to have less of an impact underwater than it would if it were on land. Water’s ability to hold heat aids in cooling the erupting lava quicker than it would when exposed to the air (Mitchell 444). This article is important in order to further research by geologists and oceanographers, making this an interdisciplinary matter. It highlights the need for additional research using new technology to study the effects the ocean has on volcanoes and vice versa. New research is cited throughout this article; each study highlights an area in the Pacific Ocean. The Axial Seamount, off the Oregon coast, erupted in 2011 and again in 2015. The Chadwick study utilized hydrostatic pressure sensors to record sea floor movement prior to the eruption (Mitchell 444). The Dziak study also used sensors and
It is intriguing to me that scientists and researchers possess the technology to observe and study events that happen on the depths of the ocean floor. This topic relates to the Geology 307 class in various ways. The first of which is plate tectonics. The eruptions of the volcano are a result of plates shifting causing magma to build under the ocean floor. Earthquakes also cause the volcanoes to erupt. Submarine volcanoes also affect the movement of sediment and plankton through the ocean. Submarine volcanism’s importance lies in its ability to change the physical landscape of the ocean floor as well as the contents in the