What caused the possible eruption in Mount Ruapehu?
Katharine Gardiner
Dear Katharine,
Eruptions at
Mount Ruapehu
are
caused by the interaction of lava and water. Volcanologists call this a
phreatic eruption. Because the lava erupts into the bottom of a crater
lake, a lot of heat energy converts water to steam. The steam expands
violently, throwing water and sometimes ash into the air. The recent
increase in activity was caused by a greater volume of lava being erupted
into the lake. Similar, but usually smaller, phreatic eruptions have been
occurring at Ruapehu since 1889.
Steve Mattox, University of North Dakota
Source of Information:
Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the world: Geoscience
Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.
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