Volcanoes that do not exhibit volcanic activity. Volcanic activity
Volcanoes vary both in appearance and in the nature of their activity. Some volcanoes explode, spewing out ash and rocks, as well as water vapor and various gases. The eruption of Mount St. Helens in the United States in 1980 corresponded to this type of eruption. Other volcanoes can quietly pour out lava.
Why do some volcanoes explode? Imagine that you are shaking a bottle of warm soda water. The bottle may rupture, releasing water and carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the water. Gases and water vapor that are under pressure inside a volcano can also explode. The most powerful volcanic explosion ever recorded in human history was the eruption of Krakatoa Volcano, a volcanic island in the strait between Java and Sumatra. In 1883, the explosion was so strong that it was heard at a distance of 3,200 kilometers from the explosion site. Most of the island disappeared from the face of the Earth. Volcanic dust enveloped the entire Earth and remained in the air for two years after the explosion. The resulting giant sea wave killed more than 36,000 people on nearby islands.
Very often, before an eruption, volcanoes give a warning. This warning may be in the form of gases and steam released from the volcano. Local earthquakes may indicate that magma is rising within the volcano. The ground around the volcano or on the volcano itself swells and the rocks tilt at a large angle.
If a volcanic eruption occurred in the recent past, such a volcano is considered active or active. A dormant volcano is one that has erupted in the past but has been inactive for many years. An extinct volcano is one that is not expected to erupt. Most of the volcanoes on the Hawaiian Islands are considered extinct.
The sedimentary layers contain far less evidence of volcanic activity than would be expected from a geological history that scientists believe goes back billions of years. Volcanic emissions include lava, ash, slag, and more. Eruptions can be minor, or they can be large, accompanied by the ejection of many cubic kilometers of rock. Several years ago, a geologist, based on a very conservative estimate that all the world's volcanoes emit an average of one cubic kilometer of volcanic material per year, calculated that in 3.5 billion years the entire Earth would be covered with a seven-kilometer layer of such material. Since its actual share is quite small, the scientist concluded that the intensity of volcanic activity should fluctuate 22 .
Currently, Earth's volcanoes appear to emit about four cubic kilometers of material per year. Individual large eruptions may be accompanied by significant emissions. Volcano Tambora (Indonesia, 1815) erupted 100-300 cubic kilometers; Krakatau volcano (Indonesia, 1883) - 6-18 cubic kilometers; and the Katmai volcano (Alaska, 1912) - 20 cubic kilometers 23. Calculations including only major volcanic eruptions over four decades (1940-1980) show an average of 3 cubic kilometers per year 24 . This estimate does not take into account the many smaller eruptions that periodically occur in regions such as Hawaii, Indonesia, Central and South America, Iceland, Italy, etc. Experts say that the average volume of volcanic emissions is 4 cubic kilometers per year 25 .
According to the classic work of the famous Russian geochemist A.B. Ronova, the Earth's surface contains 135 million cubic kilometers of sediment of volcanic origin, which, according to his estimates, constitutes 14.4 percent of the total volume of sedimentary rocks 26. Although the figure of 135 million sounds impressive, it is not much compared to the amount of sediment that would have been deposited by volcanic activity over long geological epochs. If current ejection rates are extrapolated over 2.5 billion years, the Earth's crust should contain 74 times more volcanic material than is currently present. The thickness of this volcanic layer, covering the entire earth's surface, would exceed 19 kilometers. The absence of such volumes can hardly be explained by erosion, since it would only transport the products of volcanic eruptions from one place to another. It can also be assumed that a huge amount of volcanic material disappeared as a result of subduction, as evidenced by plate tectonics, but this explanation does not stand up to criticism. Along with the volcanic material, other geological layers containing it would also disappear. However, the geological column containing this volcanic material is still clearly visible throughout the world. Perhaps volcanic activity is not 2.5 billion years old after all.
RAISE OF MOUNTAIN RANGES
The so-called solid ground that we prefer to have under our feet is not as unshakable as we think. Careful measurements show that some parts of the continents are slowly rising, while others are sinking. The world's major mountain ranges are slowly rising at a rate of a few millimeters per year. Precise measurement techniques are used to determine this growth. Scientists estimate that, overall, mountains rise by approximately 7.6 millimeters per year 27 . The Alps in Central Switzerland are growing more slowly - from 1 to 1.5 millimeters per year 28. Studies show that for the Appalachians the rate of uplift is about -10 millimeters per year, and for the Rocky Mountains - 1-10 millimeters per year 29.
I am not aware of any data relating to precise measurements of the rate of rise of the Himalayas, however, due to the fact that tropical vegetation that existed relatively recently was discovered at an altitude of 5000 meters, and the fossilized remains of a rhinoceros, as well as on the basis of overturned layers, scientists conclude that uplift rates of 1–5 millimeters per year (under uniform conditions over long periods). Tibet is also believed to be rising at about the same rate. Based on mountain structure and erosion data, researchers estimate the rate of rise of the Central Andes to be approximately 3 millimeters per year 30 . Parts of the Southern Alps in New Zealand are rising at a rate of 17 millimeters per year 31 . Probably the fastest gradual (not associated with catastrophic events) growth of mountains is observed in Japan, where researchers note a rate of rise of 72 millimeters per year over a 27-year period 32 .
It is impossible to extrapolate the current rapid rate of mountain uplift into the too distant past. At an average growth rate of 5 millimeters per year, mountain ranges would rise 500 kilometers in just 100 million years.
Nor will reference to erosion help us resolve this discrepancy. The rate of uplift (about 5 millimeters per year) is more than 100 times higher than the average rate of erosion that scientists estimate existed before the advent of agriculture (about 0.03 millimeters per year). As stated earlier, erosion is faster in mountainous areas, and its rate gradually decreases as the terrain descends; therefore, the higher the mountains, the faster they erode. However, according to some calculations, in order for erosion to keep up with the so-called “typical rate of uplift” of 10 millimeters per year, the height of the mountain must be at least 45 kilometers 33. This is five times higher than Everest. The problem of the discrepancy between the rate of erosion and the rate of uplift does not go unnoticed by researchers 34 . In their opinion, this contradiction is explained by the fact that we are currently observing a period of unusually intense mountain uplift (something like episodicism).
Another problem for standard geochronology is that if mountains have risen at current rates (or even much slower) throughout Earth's history, then the geological column, including its lower layers, which geologists estimate to be hundreds of millions, if not billions of years, should have risen long ago and disappeared as a result of erosion. However, all ancient sections of the column, as well as younger ones, are well represented in the geological record of the continents. Mountains where unusually high rates of uplift and erosion are observed have apparently not gone through even one cycle involving these processes, although throughout all hypothetical eras there could have been at least a hundred such cycles.
CONCLUSION
The observed rates of erosion, volcanism, and uplift of mountain ranges are perhaps too high for the standard geologic time scale, which allows billions of years for sedimentary strata to emerge and the life forms they contain to evolve. The discrepancies are very significant (see Table 15.3), and therefore they cannot be neglected. Hardly any scientist can guarantee that the conditions that existed on Earth in the past remained constant enough to ensure the same rate of change over billions of years. These changes may have occurred more rapidly or more slowly, but the figures given in Table 15.3 show how great the discrepancies are when we compare contemporary rates with geological time scales. Geologists have put forward various explanations to try to reconcile these data, but their hypotheses are largely based on guesswork.
On the other hand, it can just as well be argued that many of the above processes are too slow for the creation model, according to which the age of the Earth does not exceed 10,000 years. However, this argument does not carry much weight, since the creation model includes a catastrophic, worldwide flood that could increase the rate of each of these processes many times over. Unfortunately, our knowledge of this unique event is too poor for us to make any serious calculations, but recent trends in geological science towards catastrophic interpretations allow us to judge how quickly such changes could occur 35.
Factors that contradict standard geochronology Table 15.3
One can try to reconcile today's high rates of change with geological time by suggesting that in the past these rates were lower or were cyclical. However, calculations show that individual processes should have proceeded tens and hundreds of times slower than now. This is unlikely, given the fact that the Earth of the past was not very different from the Earth of the present, as evidenced by the species of animals and plants found in the fossil record. Fossil forests, for example, needed significant moisture, just like their modern counterparts. Moreover, slower changes in the past appear to contradict the general geological scenario in which the Earth was more active early in its history 36 . Geologists believe that at that time heat flow and volcanic activity were on a much larger scale. Is it possible for evolutionary scientists to turn this model on its head and claim that change is now occurring at a much faster rate? Unfortunately, this trend is completely inconsistent with what we might expect from an evolutionary model. This model assumes an initially hot Earth cooling to a more stable state, and the rate of geological change slowly decreasing over time towards equilibrium.
When we consider modern rates of erosion and mountain uplift, the same question periodically arises: why is the geological column so well preserved if such processes have been occurring for billions of years. However, the current pace of geological change can easily be attributed to the concept of a recent creation and subsequent catastrophic flood. The receding flood waters must have left behind significant parts of the geological column in the form in which they remain to this day. In the context of the Flood, the relatively low rates of erosion, volcanism, and uplift of mountain ranges that we observe today may represent the lingering effects of that catastrophic event.
The current intensity of geological transformations calls into question the validity of the standard geological time scale.
1. Smiles S. n.d. Self-help, chapter 11. Quoted in: Mackay AL. 1991. A dictionary of scientific quotations. Bristol and Philadelphia: Institute of Physics Publishing, p. 225.
2. These and related factors are discussed more fully in: Roth AA. 1986. Some questions about geochronology. Origins 13:64-85. Section 3 of this article, dealing with geochronological issues, needs updating.
3. a) Huggett R. 1990. Catastrophism: systems of earth history. London, New York, and Melbourne: Edward Arnold, p. 232; b) Kroner A. 1985. Evolution of the Archean continental crust. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 13:49-74; c) McLennan SM, Taylor SR. 1982. Geochemical constraints on the growth of the continental crust. Journal of Geology 90:347-361; d) McLennan SM, Taylor SR. 1983. Continental freeboard, sedimentation rates and growth of continental crust. Nature 306:169-172; e) Taylor SR, McLennan SM. 1985. The continental crust: its composition and evolution: an examination of the geo-chemical record preserved in sedimentary rocks. Hallam A, editor. Geoscience texts. Oxford, London, and Edinburgh: Blackwell Scientific Publications, pp. 234-239; f) Veizer), Jansen SL. 1979. Basement and sedimentary recycling and continental evolution. Journal of Geology 87:341–370.
4. I.e., Garrels RM, Mackenzie FT. 1971. Evolution of sedimentary rocks. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., p. 260.
5. JudsonS.RitterOF. 1964. Rates of regional denudation in the United States, Journal of Geophysical Research 69:3395-3401.
6. a) Dott RH, Jr.. Batten RL. 1988. Evolution of the Earth. 4th ed. New York, St. Louis, and San Francisco: McGraw-Hill Book Co., p. 155. Other authors using the same estimates: b) Garrels and Mackenzie, p. 114 (note 4); c) Gilluly J. 1955. Geologic contrasts between continents and ocean basins. In: Poldervaart A, editor. Crust of the earth. Geological Society of America Special Paper 62:7-18; d) Schumm SA. 1963. The disparity between present rates of denudation and orogeny. Shorter contributions to general geology. G.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 454-H.
7. Sparks BW. 1986. Geomorphology. 3rd ed. Beaver SH, editor. Geographies for advanced study. London and New York: Longman Group, p. 510.
8. a) Ahnert F. 1970. Functional relationships between denudation, relief, and uplift in large mid-latitude drainage basins. American Journal of Science 268:243-263; b) Bloom AL. 1971. The Papuan peneplain problem: a mathematical exercise. Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs 3(7):507,508; c) Schumm (noteGd).
9. Ruxton BP, McDougall 1.1967. Denudation rates in northeast Papua from potassium-argon dating of lavas. American Journal of Science 265:545–561.
10. Corbel J. 1959. Vitesse de L'erosion. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie 3: 1 -28.
11. Menard HW. 1961. Some rates of regional erosion. Journal of Geology 69:154–161.
12. Mills HH. 1976. Estimated erosion rates on Mount Rainier, Washington. Geology 4:401–406.
13. OHierCD, Brown MJF. 1971. Erosion of a young volcano in New Guinea. Zeitschrift fbr Geomorphologie 15:12–28.
14. a) Blatt H, Middleton G, Murray R. 1980. Origin of sedimentary rocks. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, p. 36; b) Schumm (note 6d).
15. The surface area of our continents is approximately 148,429,000 square kilometers. With an average height of the continents of 623 meters, the volume of their constituent rocks located above sea level is approximately 92,471,269 cubic kilometers. If we assume that the average density of rocks is 2.5, then their mass will be 231171x10 12 tons. If we divide this number by 24108 x 10 6 tons of sediment carried by the world's rivers to the oceans in one year, it turns out that the complete erosion of the continents would occur in approximately 9.582 million years. That is, in 2.5 billion years at this rate of erosion, the continents could be eroded 261 times (2.5 billion divided by 9.582 million).
17. The remains of ancient sedimentary rocks must be very insignificant. All sedimentary rocks (including much of what lies below sea level) must have been repeatedly eroded. The total mass of sedimentary rocks is 2.4 x 10 18 tons. Rivers before agricultural development carried approximately 1 x 10"° tons per year, so the erosion cycle would be equal to 2.4 x 10 18 divided by 10 x 10 9 tons per year, which is approximately 240 million years, or ten complete cycles of sediment erosion in 2 .5 billion years These are conservative estimates, with some scientists suggesting that there have been "between three and ten such cycles since the Late Cambrian" ([a] Blatt, Middleton, and Murray, pp. 35-38;) Moreover, eluvium (remnant) of sedimentary rocks per unit time is even more significant in some more ancient periods (for example, Silurian and Devonian) compared to those quite close to modern times (from Mississippian to Cretaceous) (see: [b] Raup DM. 1976. Species diversity in the Phanerozoic: an interpretation. Paleobiology 2:289-297). For this reason, some scientists have suggested two cyclical sequences of changes in the rate of erosion in the Phanerozoic (for example, [c] Gregor SV. 1970. Denudation of the continents. Mature 228:273-275). This scheme contradicts the hypotheses that due to cyclicity, older sediments of smaller volume were formed. In addition, our depositional basins are often smaller in deep areas, limiting the volume of the lowermost (oldest) sediments. Some might also argue that in the past, much more sediments arose from granitic rocks than we now have, and that only a small part of it remains. These precipitation could survive several cycles. Perhaps the most serious problem facing this model is the chemical mismatch between sedimentary rocks and the Earth's granitic crust. Granite-type igneous rocks on average contain more than half as much calcium as sedimentary rocks, three times more sodium and more than a hundred times less carbon. Data and analysis can be found in: d) Garrels and Mackenzie, pp. 237, 243, 248 (note 4); e) Mason W, Mooge SV. 1982. Principles of geochemistry. 4th ed. New York, Chichester, and Toronto: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 44,152,153; f) Pettijohn FJ. 1975. Sedimentary rocks. 3rd ed. New York, San Francisco, and London: Harper and Row, pp. 21, 22; g) RonovAB, Yaroshevsky AA. 1969. Chemical composition of the earth's crust. In: Hart PJ, editor. The earth's crust and upper mantle: structure, dynamic processes, and their relation to deep-seated geological phenomena. American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph 13:37-57; h) Othman DB, White WM, Patched J. 1989. The geochemistry of marine sediments, island arc magma genesis, and crust-mantle recycling. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94:1-21. Calculations based on the assumption that all sedimentary rocks arose from igneous rocks give incorrect results. Calculations should be used. , based on actual measurements of different types of sediments. It is difficult to imagine recyclability between granitic and sedimentary rocks with such a mismatch of basic elements. One of the larger problems is how limestone (calcium carbonate Moreover, redeposition of sediment in a localized area on a continent does not seem to solve the problem of rapid erosion, since the figures used for calculations are based on the amount of sediment flowing from the continents into the oceans and do not include local redeposition. In addition, usually the main sections of the geological column come to the surface and are eroded in the basins of the world's main rivers. This erosion is especially fast in the mountains, where there is a lot of ancient sedimentary rock. Why are these ancient sediments still there if they are being redeposited?
18. a) Gilluly J, Waters AC, Woodford AO. 1968. Principles of geology. 3rd ed. San _ Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co., p. 79; b) JudsonS. 1968. Erosion of the land, or what's happening to our continents? American Scientist 56:356-374; c) McLennan SM. 1993. Weathering and global denudation, Journal of Geology 101:295-303; (d) Milliman JD , Syvitski J. P. M. 1992. Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: the importance of small mountainous rivers. Journal of Geology 100:525-544.
19. Frakes LA. 1979. Climates throughout geologic time. Amsterdam, Oxford, and New York: Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co., Figure 9-1, p. 261.
20. Daily B, Twidale CR, Milnes AR. 1974. The age of the lateritized summit surface on Kangaroo Island and adjacent areas of South Australia. Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 21(4):387–392.
21. The problem and some general solutions are given in: Twidale CR. 1976. On the survival of paleoforms. American Journal of Science 276:77–95.
22. Gregor GB. 1968. The rate of denudation in post-Algonkian time. Koninklijke Nederlandse Academic van Wetenschapper 71:22–30.
23. Izett GA. 1981. Volcanic ash beds: recorders of upper Cenozoic silicic pyroclastic volcanism in the western United States. Journal of Geophysical Research 868:10200–10222.
24. See list in: Simkin T, Siebert L, McClelland L, Bridge D, Newhall C, Latter JH. 1981. Volcanoes of the world: a regional directory, gazetteer, and chronology of volcanism during the last 10,000 years. Smithsonian Institution Stroudsburg, Pa.: Hutchinson Ross Pub. Co.
25. Decker R, Decker B, editors. 1982. Volcanoes and the earth's interior: readings from Scientific American. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co., p. 47.
26. a) Ronovand Yaroshevsky (note 17g); b) Ronov says 18 percent volcanic material for the Phanerozoic alone; see: Ronov AB. 1982. The earth's sedimentary shell (quantitative patterns of its structure, compositions, and evolution). The 20th V. I. Vernadskiy Lecture, Mar. 12, 1978. Part 2. International Geology Review 24(12): 1365-1388. Volume estimates sedimentary rocks according to Ronov and Yaroshevsky are high relative to some others. Their conclusions were greatly influenced by discrepancies. Total calculated thickness: 2500 x 10 6 years x 4 cubic kilometers per year = 10,000 x 10 6 cubic kilometers divided by 5.1 x 10 8 square kilometers = 19.6 kilometers in height.
27. Schumm (note 6d).
28. Mueller St. 1983. Deep structure and recent dynamics in the Alps. In: Nz KJ, editor. Mountain building processes. New York: Academic Press, pp. 181-199.
29. Hand SH. 1982. Figure 20-40. In: Press F, Siever R. 1982. Earth. 3rd ed. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co., p. 484.
30. a) Gansser A. 1983. The morphogenic phase of mountain building. In: Hsb, pp. 221-228 (note 28); b) Molnar P. 1984. Structure and tectonics of the Himalaya: constraints and implications of geophysical data. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 12:489-518; c) Iwata S. 1987. Mode and rate of uplift of the central Nepal Himalaya. Zeitschrift for Geomorphologie Supplement Band 63:37–49.
31. Wellman HW. 1979. An uplift map for the South Island of New Zealand, and a model for uplift of the southern Alps. In: Walcott Rl, Cresswell MM, editors. The origin of the southern Alps. Bulletin 18. Wellington: Royal Society of New Zealand, pp. 13-20.
32. Tsuboi C. 1932-1933. Investigation on the deformation of the earth's crust found by precise geodetic means. Japanese Journal of Astronomy and Geophysics Transactions 10:93-248.
33. a) Blatt, Middleton, and Murray, p. 30 (note 14a), based on data from: b) Ahnert (note8a).
34. a) Blatt, Middleton, and Murray, p. 30 (note 14a); b) Bloom AL. 1969. The surface of the earth. McAlester AL, editor. Foundations of earth science series. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, pp. 87-89; c) Schumm (note 6d).
35. Several examples can be found in Chapter 12.
Volcanoes are individual hills above channels and cracks in the earth’s crust, along which eruption products are brought to the surface from deep magma chambers. Volcanoes usually have the shape of a cone with a summit crater (from several to hundreds of meters deep and up to 1.5 km in diameter). During eruptions, a volcanic structure sometimes collapses with the formation of a caldera - a large depression with a diameter of up to 16 km and a depth of up to 1000 m. As the magma rises, the external pressure weakens, associated gases and liquid products escape to the surface and a volcanic eruption occurs. If ancient rocks, and not magma, are brought to the surface, and the gases are dominated by water vapor formed when groundwater is heated, then such an eruption is called phreatic.
Active volcanoes include those that erupted in historical times or showed other signs of activity (emission of gases and steam, etc.). Some scientists consider active volcanoes that are reliably known to have erupted within the last 10 thousand years. For example, the Arenal volcano in Costa Rica should be considered active, since volcanic ash was discovered during archaeological excavations of a prehistoric site in this area, although for the first time in human memory its eruption occurred in 1968, and before that no signs of activity appeared.
Volcanoes are known not only on Earth. Images taken from spacecraft reveal huge ancient craters on Mars and many active volcanoes on Io, a moon of Jupiter.
Distribution of volcanic activity
The distribution of volcanoes across the surface of the globe is best explained by the theory of plate tectonics, according to which the Earth's surface consists of a mosaic of moving lithospheric plates. When they move in the opposite direction, a collision occurs, and one of the plates sinks (moves) under the other in the so-called. subduction zone, where earthquake epicenters are located. If the plates move apart, a rift zone forms between them. Manifestations of volcanism are associated with these two situations.
Subduction zone volcanoes are located along the boundaries of moving plates. The oceanic plates that form the floor of the Pacific Ocean are known to subduct beneath continents and island arcs. Subduction areas are marked in the topography of the ocean floor by deep-sea trenches parallel to the coast. It is believed that in zones of plate subduction at depths of 100-150 km, magma is formed, and when it rises to the surface, volcanic eruptions occur. Since the plunging angle of the plate is often close to 45°, volcanoes are located between the land and the deep-sea trench at a distance of approximately 100-150 km from the axis of the latter and in plan form a volcanic arc that follows the contours of the trench and coastline. There is sometimes talk of a “ring of fire” of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean. However, this ring is intermittent (as, for example, in the region of central and southern California), because subduction does not occur everywhere.
Rift zone volcanoes exist in the axial part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and along the East African Rift System.
There are volcanoes associated with “hot spots” located inside plates in places where mantle plumes (hot magma rich in gases) rise to the surface, for example, the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands. It is believed that the chain of these islands, extending in a westerly direction, was formed during the westward drift of the Pacific Plate while moving over a “hot spot.”
Now this “hot spot” is located under the active volcanoes of the island of Hawaii. Towards the west of this island, the age of the volcanoes gradually increases.
Plate tectonics determines not only the location of volcanoes, but also the type of volcanic activity. The Hawaiian type of eruptions predominates in areas of “hot spots” (Fournaise volcano on Reunion Island) and in rift zones. Plinian, Peleian and Vulcanian types are characteristic of subduction zones. There are also known exceptions, for example, the Strombolian type is observed in various geodynamic conditions.
Volcanic activity: recurrence and spatial patterns.
Approximately 60 volcanoes erupt annually, and about a third of them erupted in the previous year. There is information about 627 volcanoes that have erupted over the past 10 thousand years, and about 530 in historical time, and 80% of them are confined to subduction zones. The greatest volcanic activity is observed in the Kamchatka and Central American regions, with quieter zones in the Cascade Range, the South Sandwich Islands and southern Chile.
Volcanoes and climate . It is believed that after volcanic eruptions, the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere drops by several degrees due to the release of tiny particles (less than 0.001 mm) in the form of aerosols and volcanic dust (while sulfate aerosols and fine dust enter the stratosphere during eruptions) and remains so for 1 -2 years. In all likelihood, such a decrease in temperature was observed after the eruption of Mount Agung on Bali (Indonesia) in 1962.
Recently, news about volcanic activity on the planet has been coming more and more often. The last such message was . Also, do not forget about the one in the United States, which in the event of an eruption could have a global impact on the Earth's climate. Now, in September 2014, I reminded myself Mayon volcano in the Philippines.
After many frequent mentions in the global information field on this topic, we decided to publish a post that contains all the latest reports about this natural phenomenon of the globe.
We bring to your attention a photo report about volcanic activity on Earth, as well as a translation of the article taken from the website www.boston.com(Total 18 photos)
1. Tens of thousands of people living near the most active Philippine volcano were evacuated after the first manifestations of activity. Approximately 60 thousand people are in the dangerous affected area. Dozens of trucks with military personnel were sent to this zone to ensure the evacuation. Cascades of lava flow down the slopes of the Mayon volcano. View from Legazpi City, September 17 (Zalrian Z. Sayat/EPA): 
2. A Filipino soldier holds a child as civilians arrive at a temporary evacuation center in the city of Guinobatan on September 17. (Dennis M. Sabangan/EPA): 
3. A local farmer with his buffalo against the background of the Mayon volcano, Albay province, south of the capital of the Philippines, Manila. Mount Mayon is known for its almost perfect cone shape.(Reuters): 
4. Lava from the Stromboli volcano, near Sicily, flows into the sea, August 9, 2014. (Giovanni Isolino/AFP/Getty Images): 
5. And this already reminds us of Kilauea, in Hawaii. According to research, the intensity is expected to increase by an order of magnitude in the coming month. (US Geological Survey via Associated Press): 
6. And here comes the eruption, which we had been waiting for all August and finally arrived at the beginning of September. An airplane flying over Mount Bárðarbunga, the second highest mountain in Iceland. (Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images): 
7. Tungurahua volcano in the center of Ecuador. High activity and constant ash emissions continue. (Jose J · come / EPA): 
8. Slow lava flows from Hawaii's Kilauea have been flowing since June 27, and by mid-September, according to calculations by the US Geological Survey, they can reach nearby settlements. (Tim Orr/US Geological Survey via Associated Press): 
9. Bardarbunga lava eruption on September 14. We remind you that the volcano is the second largest mountain in Iceland and is located among the largest glacier in Europe. (Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images): 
10. Panoramic view of the Ecuadorian volcano Tungurahua, which is only increasing its power. (Jose Jacome/EPA): 
11. Flowing lava from the Etna volcano in southern Sicily near the city of Catania, August 13. Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is almost always in a constant state of activity. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images): 
12. At the end of August, on the 29th, the Tavurvur volcano reminded itself of itself in Papua New Guinea for the first time since 1994, when the city of Rabaul was destroyed. The release of ash and rocks into the air forced air traffic controllers to redirect airline flights away from the area. (Oliver Bluett/AFP/Getty Images): 
13. Solidified lava of Etna in the south of Sicily, near the city of Catania, August 14. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images): 
14. According to media reports, the activity of the Slamet volcano continues to increase, and residents are advised to stay away from the four-kilometer zone of the volcano. Mount Slamet, Indonesia's second largest stratovolcano, September 11, 2014. (EPA): 
15. And this is the Indonesian Slamet on September 12th. (Gugus Mandiri/EPA): 
16. Mount Sinabung, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Tens of thousands of residents fled their homes last year due to a series of eruptions and are still unable to return. (Sutanta Aditya/AFP/Getty Images): 
17. There are about 500 volcanoes in Indonesia, 128 of which are considered active and 65 have dangerous status. This photo was taken on September 13, 2014, in an abandoned school, a year after Sinabung's 9/11 series of eruptions. In 2013, 16 people died and about 20 thousand more were forced to leave their homes. (Dedi/Sahputra/EPA): 
18. Lava flowing from the Bárðarbunga volcano in southeast Iceland (Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images): 
Earth's orbital fluctuations
Change in solar activity
Shifting tectonic plates
Natural causes
Thank you for your attention!
Climate change has always occurred as a result of natural processes, such as shifting tectonic plates, volcanic activity, interactions between land, oceans and atmosphere, and changes in solar activity.
Changing the shape of continents and their displacement, the formation of mountain ranges and ocean currents affect the climate. In general, this determines the physical appearance of the Earth.
As the Sun ages, it becomes brighter and emits more energy. However, over short periods of time, the intensity of solar radiation changes cyclically. It is believed that changes in solar activity caused the Little Ice Age, a period of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere that occurred in the 16th to 19th centuries.
Changing the location of the Earth relative to the Sun is the main natural factor shaping the Earth's climate. Changes in both the Earth's orbit around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation occur in accordance with fixed cycles that are interconnected and affect the Earth's climate. By determining when and how much sunlight reaches both hemispheres, these cyclical changes influence the severity of the seasons and can cause dramatic changes in temperature.
Volcanoes can release huge amounts of ash, soot, dust and gases into the atmosphere. A single large volcanic eruption (such as Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991) could release enough material into the atmosphere to cool the entire planet by 1ᵒC for an entire year. Over a longer period of time, the world's volcanic eruptions warm the climate, releasing 100 to 300 million tons of carbon per year into the atmosphere, but this represents less than 10% of the emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Human activities (Anthropogenic causes)
In recent years, rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been identified by scientists as the main cause of global warming. The average air temperature at the Earth's surface has increased by approximately 0.8ᵒC over the last century. It is estimated that over the next hundred years the temperature could rise by another 3-6ᵒC. The speed of this change is such that many of the Earth's ecosystems will not be able to adapt to it. Indeed, many species, especially in tropical and polar regions, have already undergone dramatic changes.
Various gases, known as greenhouse gases, contribute to global warming and climate change. The four most important of them are carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and water vapor. The concentration of these gases remained relatively stable until the Industrial Revolution, but has since risen sharply as a result of human activity.
The main anthropogenic causes are the consumption of fossil fuels, some industrial processes, land use change and waste management.
