Plinian eruption: 1: ash plume; 2: magma conduit; 3: volcanic ash fall; 4: layers of lava and ash; 5: stratum; 6: magma chamber1822 artist's impression of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, depicting what the AD 79 eruption may have looked like, by the English geologist George Julius Poulett Scrope. Lightning is depicted around the rising column of ash and gas.
Plinian eruptions or Vesuvian eruptions are volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The eruption was described in a letter[1] written by Pliny the Younger, after the death of his uncle Pliny the Elder.
Plinian/Vesuvian eruptions are marked by columns of volcanic debris and hot gases ejected high into the stratosphere, the second layer of Earth's atmosphere. The key characteristics are the ejection of a large amount of pumice and very powerful continuous gas-driven eruptions.
Short eruptions can end in less than a day, but longer events can continue for several days or months. The longer eruptions begin with production of clouds of volcanic ash, sometimes with pyroclastic surges. The amount of magma ejected can be so large that it depletes the magma chamber below, causing the top of the volcano to collapse, resulting in a caldera. Fine ash and pulverized pumice can be deposited over large areas. Plinian eruptions are often accompanied by loud noises, such as those generated by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. The sudden discharge of electrical charges accumulated in the air around the ascending column of volcanic ashes also often causes lightning strikes, as depicted by the English geologist George Julius Poulett Scrope in his painting of 1822 or observed during 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami.[2]
The lava is usually dacitic or rhyolitic, rich in silica. Basaltic, low-silica lavas rarely produce Plinian eruptions unless specific conditions are met (low magma water content <2%, moderate temperature, and rapid crystallization);[3] a recent basaltic example is the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera on New Zealand's North Island.[4]
^Bamber, Emily; Arzilli, Fabio (2020). "Pre- and syn-eruptive conditions of a basaltic Plinian eruption at Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua: The Masaya Triple Layer". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 392 (15 February 2020): 106761. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2019.106761. S2CID 214320363.
Plinianeruptions or Vesuvian eruptions are volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed...
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The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa (Indonesian: Letusan Krakatau 1883) in the Sunda Strait occurred from 20 May until 21 October 1883, peaking in the late morning...
Plinianeruptions. Vesuvius has a long historic and literary tradition. It was considered a divinity of the Genius type at the time of the eruption of...
CI eruption has been interpreted as the largest volcanic eruption of the past 200,000 years in Europe. The eruption started with an intense Plinian phase...
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expelled during the volcanic eruption ranges from 28–41 km3 (6.7–9.8 cu mi) DRE. The study revealed that the initial Plinianeruption was the most voluminous...
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Hatepe eruption, named for the Hatepe Plinian pumice tephra layer, sometimes referred to as the Taupō eruption or Horomatangi Reef Unit Y eruption, is dated...
rhyolite forming the Hatepe Plinian Pumice. The vent was then infiltrated by large amounts of water causing the phreatomagmatic eruption that deposited the 2...
The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines' Luzon Volcanic Arc was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, behind only the...
were a Plinianeruption and an Ultraplinian eruption respectively. Pumice falls with a fine graining and creamy colour from the Samalas eruption have been...
similar to those of Plinianeruptions. The term Vulcanian was first used by Giuseppe Mercalli, witnessing the 1888–1890 eruptions on the island of Vulcano...
time, and lava flows were recorded in this VEI 3 sub-plinianeruption. It was the largest eruption in the history of the volcano, with the lava volume...
Heikejo ash (K–Hj) events preceded the eruption.: 336 The eruption proper then started with a Plinianeruption of VEI-6 (K–KyP), which ejected the Koya...
1016/0009-2541(80)90106-0. Sigurdsson, H.; Carey, S. (1989). "Plinian and co-ignimbrite tephra fall from the 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano". Bulletin of Volcanology...
and its 1815 eruption was the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded human history. This volcanic explosivity index (VEI) 7 eruption ejected 37–45 km3...
historical eruptions of this basaltic-andesitic volcano date back to 1616 and range from Strombolian to basaltic Plinianeruptions. Eruptions occur predominately...
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formed by a Plinianeruption approximately 13,000 years BP with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6, on the same scale as the Pinatubo eruption of 1991...
The Oruanui eruption of New Zealand's Taupō Volcano (also known as the Kawakawa eruption or Kawakawa/Oruanui event) was the world's most recent supereruption...
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