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dramatic volcanic eruptions happen
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all around the world humans are left in
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both
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fear and awe of these fiery powerful and
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highly dangerous events
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today there are over 600 active
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volcanoes on earth
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with at least 50 eruptions occurring
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each year
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but did you know there are many other
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volcanoes out there that are
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extinct or dormant
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what is going on under the surface to
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cause such a destructive event
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to answer this question we must first
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understand what a volcano is
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[Music]
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a volcano is essentially a rupture in
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the earth's crust
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the earth's rocky outermost layer that
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lies on top of its hotter
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inner layers
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the earth's crust and the upper mantle
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form the lithosphere
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the lithosphere is broken up into slabs
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known as tectonic plates
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and they fit together like puzzle pieces
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to make up the surface of the earth
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most volcanoes are found along these
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tectonic plate margins
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either at a destructive or constructive
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plate margin
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both of these margins allow gas and
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molten rock to escape from inside the
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planet to the surface
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at a destructive or convergent plate
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margin
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an oceanic tectonic plate which is a
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plate mostly covered by the sea
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and a continental plate which is mostly
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covered by land
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move towards each other
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the denser oceanic plate sinks under the
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continental plate
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melting down into the earth's mantle
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[Music]
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this melting releases gases that make
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their way through the crust above
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and erupt through the surface
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at a constructive or divergent plate
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margin
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the two plates move apart really slowly
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less than five centimeters per year but
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over time
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this allows extremely hot magma to rise
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up from deep within the planet
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magma rises and fills the gaps created
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by the plates moving away from each
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other
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and eventually new crust is formed
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magma at the margin can sometimes
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explode through this new crust
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creating a volcanic eruption
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many of these constructive margins are
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found under the ocean
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if you map the locations of volcanoes
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you'll see that 75 of the world's active
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volcanoes are along the margin of the
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pacific plate
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volcanologists refer to this as the ring
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of fire
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since 1850 approximately 90 percent of
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the 16 most powerful volcanic eruptions
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on earth
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have occurred within the pacific ring of
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fire making it one of the most dangerous
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places on earth
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however there are places on earth where
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a volcano can
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form away from tectonic plate boundaries
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we call these
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hot spot volcanoes
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they form when rising magma from deep
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within the planet
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melts through the tectonic plate above
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and begins to build up
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an example of this is the hawaiian
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islands
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which are all made of a mixture of
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extinct and active volcanoes that have
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broken through the middle of the pacific
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plate
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now that you know where volcanoes form
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let's learn about their different types
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there are two main types composite
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volcanoes
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and shield volcanoes
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the majority of volcanoes are composite
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volcanoes
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these are commonly found on destructive
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plate margins
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and have a distinctive conical shape
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let's slice a composite volcano in half
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to learn more about it
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at the bottom of a composite volcano
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lies a magma chamber
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which is like a hot bubbling furnace
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magma enters the chamber from the
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earth's mantle
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and collects here until pressure builds
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causing gases to expand
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and water to become steam
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eventually the pressure becomes so high
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that an explosion
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or volcanic eruption occurs
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most of the magma moves through the main
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vent and exits the volcano through the
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crater
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some magma also makes its way through
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secondary events and out through
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secondary cones
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craters can eject four different types
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of materials into the atmosphere
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these include lava which is the name for
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magma that has reached the surface of
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the earth
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pieces of rocks called volcanic bombs
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thick ash and gas
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with every eruption the lava that
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travels out of the crater
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cools and solidifies along with ash to
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form
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alternate layers of ash and lava
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composite volcanoes are also known as
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strata volcanoes
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because strato means layers
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shield volcanoes on the other hand are
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usually found on constructive plate
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margins or at hot spots
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they have gentle sloping sides caused by
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runny lava
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flowing quicker and covering longer
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distances before it solidifies
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they usually erupt less violently as
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compared to composite volcanoes
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volcanoes reflect the movements of
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earth's major tectonic plates
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and are signs of activity occurring
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under the earth's surface
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this gives us evidence that the earth is
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not just a static and rigid rock
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but one full of dynamic and powerful
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forces
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you