Analysis Of Volcano: Report On Volcano Shiveluch - Kamchatka Peninsula

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Overview

Shiveluch is a large stratovolcano positioned at the Kamchatka peninsula. This volcano in particular is the 73rd most famous volcano worldwide. A stratovolcano is built up due to layers of ash and volcanic rocks being compressed and put under pressure overtime to form a mountainous formation. The magma from stratovolcanoes is usually viscous and cools quickly, hence, it doesn’t move far and the cooled magma piles up. The closest settlements to Shiveluch are approximately 50 kilometres away for the volcano. Due to this Shiveluch is more isolated, in terms of the distance between people and the volcano. Fortunately, because of this reason, there haven’t been any casualties. The most dangerous eruption occurred in 1854 and 1956 when there was an avalanche of debris after the lava dome collapsed. Due to the isolation of the volcano, there haven’t been preventative measures put in place for Shiveluch in particular, but in general people should wear head protection and a dust musk or wet cloth over both the nose and mouth. In addition to this, avoiding low areas near the volcano is a safe option due to poisonous gasses that can build up in those areas. following these safety measures, assuming they a safe distance from the volcano is kept in case of an avalanche as well, would be highly moderate in terms of effectiveness.

Figure 2: Map showing scale of volcano and surrounding area. It was noticed that there was a lack of green vegetation around the volcano in this image, due to the ash and volcanic rocks depriving any vegetation that might have been there before the volcano formed

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Economic Impacts

The most recent eruption of Shiveluch released volcanic ash up to 3 kilometres in the air and the volcanic ash ended up moving 220 kilometres away from the volcano itself. This eruption (and any eruption before) was quite insignificant in terms of the impact it had on humans. This is mostly due to people living away form it (up to 50 km). But in some cases, the ash can damage or delay crops form growing on a nearby commercial farm. In this case the ash from certain volcanos could damage the crops and cost the owners more money and the people wanting to buy the food more money for the farmers to produce more. In a special case, the ash from a volcano near Alaska (15th December 1989, flight 867) caused the engines to automatically stop, but fortunately they plane landed safely. On a global scale, sometimes the carbon dioxide in the volcanic ash can have an effect on climate change, as the more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the more the temperature changes. On a global scale it would cost a lot to reduce climate change and use sustainable resources, as well as being more environmentally friendly.

Figure 3: Mayon Volcano (also known as the “world’s most perfect volcano”) with villages and farms around the base of the volcano. This volcano has caused up to 1,200 casualties in 1814 form an avalanche.

Social Impacts

Although Shiveluch hasn’t impacted many people during past eruptions, volcanos can have multiple impacts on people around them. For example, the volcanic ash can have many negative effects of humans including irritated eyes and skin. The ash can also cause lung problems from breathing in the air when close to an erupting volcano and this can affect breathing. Volcanic eruptions can also cause avalanches and that could have an impact of a local scale due to the destruction of buildings and infrastructure in the area. Which is why there aren’t many settlements near Shiveluch because of how active it is. Local Towns and communities are at risk of damage to buildings and businesses when near volcanoes as well.

Figure 4: Example of damage to roads and infrastructure from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.

Environmental Impacts

The ash released from eruptions at Shiveluch can have many impacts on the natural landscape in the area. An example is a clouded sky. This negatively affects the environment as it alters the sky in that area meaning it may be troublesome to anything flying in the area, including birds or even planes. The ash can be poisonous and is usually pitch black, meaning a lack of vision. Another affect of the ash is also the change in temperature in the area of the volcano. The ash can block sunlight in certain conditions (when there is still wind or when the wind is moving the ash over like places that are usually sunny) The ash can cool down temperature in the area and alter the seasonal patterns sometimes. As well as this, the ash can also destroy plant habitat’s and vegetation around the area after a volcanic eruption, and if it is violent enough, can trigger avalanches which can crush plants in the area. In some cases, there can be farmland close the volcano which will affect farmers as well, in terms of important infrastructure in the area.

Figure 5: Mount Sinaburg in Indonesia. Thick cloud over farmland.

Conclusion

Shiveluch has been an active volcano since 6500 BC. Since then its had 60 large eruptions over time and the area has changed from what it was before the volcano formed. These changes have been natural events. Since Shiveluch is still an isolated area, recent eruptions haven’t been significant to changing the landscape around it. Due to eruptions having been occurring at 50 to 400-year gaps in the past, it’s likely to see further eruptions in the future from this volcano. As well as this Shiveluch is a part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, which also has other volcanoes of its own that are active.

Bibliography

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiveluch
  2. https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/stratovolcano.htm
  3. https://www.science.gov/topicpages/s/shiveluch+volcano+kamchatka

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