Categories > Celebrities > 30 Seconds to Mars > The Volcanologist
My Favourite Student
0 reviewsAfter finishing work in Chile, Shannon teaches Jared about volcanoes on the flight back to L.A. But when they land, they receive some worrying news from their boss.
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The destruction is terrible - widespread damage from avalanches and flooding. We go up to the crater as we usually do, minus Jared. He didn't want to come after the eruption, deciding instead to stay in the hotel room. I know he's watching the helicopter swirling around the crater from the hotel room, probably holding his breath hoping there's no more ash.
There is no more ash from the volcano. But this volcano is known to give toxic gas emissions during and after eruptions, so we take no chances and wear masks and oxygen packs. A similar eruption in 1971 poisoned the air for several minutes and also destroyed the crater, which explains the state of the mountain when Jared and I climbed it 6 years later. After this eruption, the volcano can now be recognised as the one Jared and I climbed - almost the same since the eruption had blown it apart, with the crater once again a shallow dent and still holding the lava lake.
We also review the side of the mountain where the bulge had formed. We check it from different angles and conclude that it is gone, and that the mountain was only deformed by the magma rising in the magma chamber before the eruption.
We've seen lava domes before. They build over weeks, months, or years and can cause devastating explosions, or occassionally they can create new volcanoes. Lassen Peak in California is one.
We've also seen mountains change shape as magma rises. On stratovolcanoes (you know the stereotypical volcano shape?) it can be difficult to spot, especially since lava domes are built with a slow eruption of the same, slow-running, thick lava underground. But in Hawaii, the lava is more fluid and runny, so it travels further and makes cone shaped volcanoes that spread and cover wide areas. Because of their shallow profile, they are called shield volcanoes. And because they are so flat, any rising magma in the magma chamber clearly changes the shape of the volcano.
However, in all the volcanic activity I have witnessed, I have never seen a Hawaiian eruption. And by that, I don't mean "an eruption in Hawaii". I mean any eruption anywhere in the world that has been classed as a Hawaiian eruption, named because of their similarities to the volcanoes in Hawaii.
Since it is a Strombolian eruption and could start a new cycle, we put Villarrica to YELLOW - ADVISORY alert for a month to make sure. Happy with the current state of the volcano and with our work complete, we return to our hotel room and get ready to leave. Another team must take over from this point on, helping people to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the eruption and the loss of their homes.
On the plane back to LA, Jared wants to know more about volcanoes. Of course he knows how they work and what causes eruptions, but he wants me to tell him something interesting. Is he ready for the Mid-Atlantic Ridge? Maybe. But first I teach him about the basics of volcanoes - namely how they get different shapes because of the differences in lava flow. Then I go on to tell him about the most interesting volcanic information I can think of to tell a new student.
"The Pacific Ring of Fire."
"I take it that's the name of a crater somewhere?"
"Bigger than that."
"Bigger than a crater? What's bigger than that?"
I offer him one last guess before pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, and draw a map of the world on it.
"Here's North and South America, Asia, and Australia..." I tell him as I roughly draw the outlines of the continents "... separated by the Pacific Ocean right? Well, all around the Pacific Ocean is a fault line. It runs all the way around the Pacific plate."
"Right?"
"So, where this fault line runs around the plate, there are volcanoes." I start drawing dots on the page along the line. "So all the volcanoes run around this fault line in a horseshoe shape - almost a circle. A ring of volcanoes..."
"... so its called the Ring of Fire" he finishes.
"Exactly! See? You're getting it now! How about when we get back to the office, I print off a map of the world showing you the plates? Trust me, it gets interesting."
He agrees to that. Then we all get some sleep after our irregular sleeping habits.
Upon switching our phones on when we get off the plane, I receive a voicemail message from our superior. Dannielle and Luke get one too. We listen to them. Its a little bit shocking to hear, and I can tell from their changed expressions that it is the same message:
"Hello Shannon. I've left a message for Danni and Luke too. Well done for doing such a great job with the Villarrica disaster. But there's another one you should know of when you get off the plane..."
"Katla..."
There is no more ash from the volcano. But this volcano is known to give toxic gas emissions during and after eruptions, so we take no chances and wear masks and oxygen packs. A similar eruption in 1971 poisoned the air for several minutes and also destroyed the crater, which explains the state of the mountain when Jared and I climbed it 6 years later. After this eruption, the volcano can now be recognised as the one Jared and I climbed - almost the same since the eruption had blown it apart, with the crater once again a shallow dent and still holding the lava lake.
We also review the side of the mountain where the bulge had formed. We check it from different angles and conclude that it is gone, and that the mountain was only deformed by the magma rising in the magma chamber before the eruption.
We've seen lava domes before. They build over weeks, months, or years and can cause devastating explosions, or occassionally they can create new volcanoes. Lassen Peak in California is one.
We've also seen mountains change shape as magma rises. On stratovolcanoes (you know the stereotypical volcano shape?) it can be difficult to spot, especially since lava domes are built with a slow eruption of the same, slow-running, thick lava underground. But in Hawaii, the lava is more fluid and runny, so it travels further and makes cone shaped volcanoes that spread and cover wide areas. Because of their shallow profile, they are called shield volcanoes. And because they are so flat, any rising magma in the magma chamber clearly changes the shape of the volcano.
However, in all the volcanic activity I have witnessed, I have never seen a Hawaiian eruption. And by that, I don't mean "an eruption in Hawaii". I mean any eruption anywhere in the world that has been classed as a Hawaiian eruption, named because of their similarities to the volcanoes in Hawaii.
Since it is a Strombolian eruption and could start a new cycle, we put Villarrica to YELLOW - ADVISORY alert for a month to make sure. Happy with the current state of the volcano and with our work complete, we return to our hotel room and get ready to leave. Another team must take over from this point on, helping people to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the eruption and the loss of their homes.
On the plane back to LA, Jared wants to know more about volcanoes. Of course he knows how they work and what causes eruptions, but he wants me to tell him something interesting. Is he ready for the Mid-Atlantic Ridge? Maybe. But first I teach him about the basics of volcanoes - namely how they get different shapes because of the differences in lava flow. Then I go on to tell him about the most interesting volcanic information I can think of to tell a new student.
"The Pacific Ring of Fire."
"I take it that's the name of a crater somewhere?"
"Bigger than that."
"Bigger than a crater? What's bigger than that?"
I offer him one last guess before pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, and draw a map of the world on it.
"Here's North and South America, Asia, and Australia..." I tell him as I roughly draw the outlines of the continents "... separated by the Pacific Ocean right? Well, all around the Pacific Ocean is a fault line. It runs all the way around the Pacific plate."
"Right?"
"So, where this fault line runs around the plate, there are volcanoes." I start drawing dots on the page along the line. "So all the volcanoes run around this fault line in a horseshoe shape - almost a circle. A ring of volcanoes..."
"... so its called the Ring of Fire" he finishes.
"Exactly! See? You're getting it now! How about when we get back to the office, I print off a map of the world showing you the plates? Trust me, it gets interesting."
He agrees to that. Then we all get some sleep after our irregular sleeping habits.
Upon switching our phones on when we get off the plane, I receive a voicemail message from our superior. Dannielle and Luke get one too. We listen to them. Its a little bit shocking to hear, and I can tell from their changed expressions that it is the same message:
"Hello Shannon. I've left a message for Danni and Luke too. Well done for doing such a great job with the Villarrica disaster. But there's another one you should know of when you get off the plane..."
"Katla..."
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