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...
They concluded that the eruption unfolded in two phases, Vesuvian and Pelean, which alternated six times. A first Plinian phase projected a column of...
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...
erupted. The eruption began on 16 December 1631 and culminated the day after. The Volcanic Explosivity Index was VEI-5, and it was a Plinianeruption that buried...
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...
Lake. The eruption began with a strong Plinian column, and ended with voluminous pyroclastic flows. An average of 5 cm (2.0 in) of Plinian ashfall and...
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...
8 km deep. The mixing of the two different types of magma caused a Plinianeruption to occur. Previous to the Hoei, another earthquake named Genroku had...
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...
The Avellino eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in c. 1995 BC. It is estimated to have had a VEI of 6, making it larger and more catastrophic than Vesuvius's...