The Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database is a global listing of over 600 eruptions from 4360 BC to the present. A significant eruption is classified as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: caused fatalities, caused moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or greater, generated a tsunami, or was associated with a significant earthquake. The database provides information on the latitude, longitude, elevation, type of volcano, last known eruption, VEI index, and socio-economic data such as the total number of casualties, injuries, houses destroyed, and houses damaged, and $ dollage damage estimates. References, political geography, and additional comments are also provided for each eruption. If the eruption was associated with a tsunami or significant earthquake, it is flagged and linked to the related database. For a complete list of current and past activity for all volcanoes on the planet active during the last 10,000 years, please see Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP).

Context:

What is the global distribution of recent eruptions and what type of volcano is associated with each type? This brief dataset from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Significant Volcanic Eruption Database contains metrics related to global eruptions. I chose to use the dataset to produce a global terrain map and HTML file that displays recent eruptions as colored markers associated with the type of volcano as well as a pop up description with location info from the dataset.

Content:

The time period of this dataset is from 2010 to 2018 when this notebook was written. It contains 36 columns that describe various properties of the volcano as well as data related to economic and human impact of the eruption. Properties that I feel are relevant and worthy of displaying on a marker pop up are "Year", "Name", "Country", "Latitude", "Longitude", "Type" although there are some tempting ones such as 'TOTAL_DAMAGE_MILLIONS_DOLLARS' and 'TOTAL_HOUSES_DESTROYED' that I chose to not include. This particular slice in time only contains 63 observations. The NOAA eruptions data is not real time nor is it updated fully as seen in the many null fields. I believe the data is entered as NOAA becomes aware of various situations related to that event. For example, as the total economic damage and death toll is finally made public, NOAA updates their database.

Acknowledgements:

Data was sourced from the NOAA Significant Volcanic Eruption Database

https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/servlet/ShowDatasets?dataset=102557&search_look=50&display_look=50

Inspiration:

I personally think geology is fascinating and I am currently learning Python for data analysis. The recent eruptions of Mount Kilauea in Hawaii came to mind so I hunted down open datasets that had to do with natural disasters and came upon the site from NOAA.

Extensions:

Although this dataset is small, anyone can download the full contents of the database from NOAA and perhaps answer some other burning questions: Do certain types of volcanoes erupt more frequently? Do certain types of volcanoes cause more economic damage than others? Is there a correlation between number of lives lost and volcano type or location?

Global Volcano Hazard Frequency and Distribution is a 2.5 minute gridded data set based upon the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Volcano Database spanning the period of 79 through 2000. This database includes nearly 4,000 volcanic events categorized as moderate or above (values 2 through 8) according to the Volcano Explosivity Index (VEI). Most volcanoes are georeferenced to the nearest tenth or hundredth of a degree with a few to the nearest thousandth of a degree. To produce the final output, the frequency of a volcanic hazard is computed for each grid cell, with the data set consequently being classified into deciles (10 classes of approximately equal number of grid cells). The higher the grid cell value in the final output, the higher the relative frequency of hazard posed by volcanoes. This data set is the result of collaboration among the Columbia University Center for Hazards and Risk Research (CHRR) and Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

The word volcano is used to refer to the opening from which molten rock and gas issue from Earth's interior onto the surface, and also to the cone, hill, or mountain built up around the opening by the eruptive products. This slide set depicts ash clouds, fire fountains, lava flows, spatter cones, glowing avalanches, and steam eruptions from 18 volcanoes in 13 countries. Volcano types include strato, cinder cone, basaltic shield, complex, and island-forming. Perhaps no force of nature arouses more awe and wonder than that of a volcanic eruption. Volcanoes can be ruthless destroyers. Primitive people offered sacrifices to stem the tide of such eruptions and many of their legends were centered around volcanic activity. Volcanoes are also benefactors. Volcanic processes have liberated gases of the atmosphere and water in our lakes and oceans from the rocks deep beneath Earth's surface. The fertility of the soil is greatly enhanced by volcanic eruptive products. Land masses such as islands and large sections of continents may owe their existence entirely to volcanic activity. The "volcano" is used to refer to the opening from which molten rock and gas issue from Earth's interior onto the surface, and also to the cone, hill, or mountain built up around the opening by the eruptive products. The molten rock material generated within Earth that feeds volcanoes is called magma and the storage reservoir near the surface is called the magmachamber. Eruptive products include lava (fluid rock material) and pyroclastics or tephra (fragmentary solid or liquid rock material). Tephra includes volcanic ash, lapilli (fragments between 2 and 64 mm), blocks, and bombs. Low viscosity lava can spread great distances from the vent. Higher viscosity produces thicker lava flows that cover less area. Lava may formlava lakes of fluid rock in summit craters or in pit craters on the flanks of shield volcanoes. When the lava issues vertically from a central vent or a fissure in a rhythmic, jet-like eruption, it produces a lava fountain. Pyroclastic (fire-broken) rocks and rock fragments are products of explosive eruptions. These may be ejected more or less vertically, thenfall back to Earth in the form of ash fall deposits. Pyroclastic flows result when the eruptive fragments follow the contours of the volcano and surrounding terrain. They are of three main types: glowing ash clouds, ash flows, and mudflows. A glowing ash cloud (nuee ardente) consists of an avalanche of incandescent volcanic fragments suspended on a cushion of air or expanding volcanic gas. This cloud forms from the collapse of a vertical ash eruption, from a directed blast, or is the result of the disintegration of a lava dome. Temperatures in the glowing cloud can reach 1,000 deg C and velocities of 150 km per hour. Ash flows resemble glowing ash clouds; however, their temperatures are much lower. Mudflows (lahars) consist of solid volcanic rock fragments held in water suspension. Some may be hot, but most occur as cold flows. They may reach speeds of 92 km per hour and extend to distances of several tens of kilometers. Large snow-covered volcanoes that erupt explosively are the principal sources of mud flows. Explosions can give rise to air shock waves and base surges. Air shock waves are generated as a result of the explosive introduction of volcanic ejecta into the atmosphere. A base surge may carry air, water, and solid debris outward from the volcano at the base of the vertical explosion column. Volcanic structures can take many forms. A few of the smaller structures built directly around vents include cinder, spatter, and lava cones. Thick lavas may pile up over their vents to form lava domes. Larger structures produced by low viscosity lava flows include lava plains and gently sloping cones known as a shield volcanoes. A stratovolcano (also known as a composite volcano) is built of successive layers of ash and lava. A volcano may consist of two or more cones side by side and is referred to as compound or complex. Sometimes a violent eruption will partially empty the underground reservoir of magma. The roof of the magma chamber may thenpartially or totally collapse. The resulting caldera may be filled by water. The volcanic structure tells us much about the nature of the eruptions.

The Significant Volcanic Eruption Database is a global listing of over 500 significant eruptions which includes information on the latitude, longitude, elevation, type of volcano, and last known eruption. A significant eruption is classified as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: caused fatalities, caused moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or larger, caused a tsunami, or was associated with a major earthquake.

License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

Context

The data this week comes from The Smithsonian Institution.

Axios put together a lovely plot of volcano eruptions since Krakatoa (after 1883) by elevation and type.

For more information about volcanoes check out the below Wikipedia article or specifically about VEI (Volcano Explosivity Index) see the Wikipedia article here. Lastly, Google Earth has an interactive site on "10,000 Years of Volcanoes"!

Content

Per Wikipedia:

A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

Earth's volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major, rigid tectonic plates that float on a hotter, softer layer in its mantle. Therefore, on Earth, volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and most are found underwater.

Erupting volcanoes can pose many hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption. One such hazard is that volcanic ash can be a threat to aircraft, in particular those with jet engines where ash particles can be melted by the high operating temperature; the melted particles then adhere to the turbine blades and alter their shape, disrupting the operation of the turbine. Large eruptions can affect temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth's lower atmosphere (or troposphere); however, they also absorb heat radiated from the Earth, thereby warming the upper atmosphere (or stratosphere). Historically, volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines.

VEI Volcano Explosivity Index: https://www.googleapis.com/download/storage/v1/b/kaggle-user-content/o/inbox%2F4476084%2F27b6f67938591a3fd463bc11dcafd797%2Fvei.svg?generation=1589216563726306&alt=media" alt="">

Volcano eruptions also can affect the global climate, a Nature Article has open-access data for a specific time-period of eruptions along with temperature anomalies and tree growth. More details can be found from NASA and the UCAR. A summary of the pay-walled Nature article can be found via the Smithsonian.

The researchers detected 238 eruptions from the past 2,500 years, they report today in Nature. About half were in the mid- to high-latitudes in the northern hemisphere, while 81 were in the tropics. (Because of the rotation of the Earth, material from tropical volcanoes ends up in both Greenland and Antarctica, while material from northern volcanoes tends to stay in the north.) The exact sources of most of the eruptions are as yet unknown, but the team was able to match their effects on climate to the tree ring records.

The analysis not only reinforces evidence that volcanoes can have long-lasting global effects, but it also fleshes out historical accounts, including what happened in the sixth-century Roman Empire. The first eruption, in late 535 or early 536, injected large amounts of sulfate and ash into the atmosphere. According to historical accounts, the atmosphere had dimmed by March 536, and it stayed that way for another 18 months.

Tree rings, and people of the time, recorded cold temperatures in North America, Asia and Europe, where summer temperatures dropped by 2.9 to 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit below the average of the previous 30 years. Then, in 539 or 540, another volcano erupted. It spewed 10 percent more aerosols into the atmosphere than the huge eruption of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815, which caused the infamous “year without a summer”. More misery ensued, including the famines and pandemics. The same eruptions may have even contributed to a decline in the Maya empire, the authors say.

There are additional datasets from the Nature article available as Excel files, but they are a bit more complicated - feel free to explore at your own discretion! If you use any of the Nature data, please cite w/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14565.

Acknowledgements

The data was downloaded and cleaned by [T...

A volcano is a vent in Earth's surface from which lava, rock, ash, and hot gases erupt. Most volcanoes are located along the boundaries of tectonic plates, although some, such as those that built the Hawai'ian Islands are found over hot spots. A significant volcanic eruption, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is defined "as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: (1) caused fatalities, (2) caused moderate damage (approximately one million U.S. dollars or more), (3) has a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of six or larger, (4) caused a tsunami, or (5) was associated with a major earthquake."Similar to the Richter or moment magnitude scales that measure earthquakes, the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) is a logarithmic scale (from zero to eight) used to describe and classify volcanic eruptions based on magnitude (amount of magma erupted) and intensity (height of the eruption column). A logarithmic scale means each interval describes an increase ten times greater than the previous number. Each number on the VEI scale is also associated with a word to describe the eruption:0. Non-explosive (Kilauea in 1975)1. Gentle (Karangetang in 1997)2. Explosive (Lengai, Ol Doinyo in 1940)3. Severe (Hekla in 1980)4. Cataclysmic (Tungurahua in 2011)5. Paroxysmal (Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.)6. Colossal (Novarupta in Katmai National Park and Preserve in 1912)7. Super-colossal (Santorini in 1610 B.C.E.)8. Mega-colossal (Yellowstone National Park 640,000 years ago)This map layer, featuring data from the National Center for Environmental Information part of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows the location of significant volcanic eruptions. If you click an event on the map, a pop-up opens with additional information about past eruptions at that location.Want to learn more about volcanoes? Check out Forces of Nature.

NCEI maintains a database of over 1,500 volcano locations obtained from the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, Volcanoes of the World publication. The database includes information on the volcano name, location, elevation, volcano type, date of the last known eruption, and the certainty of Holocene volcanism.

The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) is housed in the Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, in Washington D.C. We are devoted to a better understanding of Earth's active volcanoes and their eruptions during the last 10,000 years.

The mission of GVP is to document, understand, and disseminate information about global volcanic activity. We do this through four core functions: reporting, archiving, research, and outreach. The data systems that lie at our core have been in development since 1968 when GVP began documenting the eruptive histories of volcanoes.

Reporting. GVP is unique in its documentation of current and past activity for all volcanoes on the planet active during the last 10,000 years. During the early stages of an eruption anywhere in the world we act as a clearinghouse of reports, data, and imagery. Reports are released in two formats. The Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report provides timely information vetted by GVP staff about current eruptions. The Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network provides comprehensive reporting on recent eruptions on a longer time horizon to allow incorporation of peer-reviewed literature and observatory reports.

Archiving. Complementing our effort toward reporting of current eruptive activity is our database of volcanoes and eruptions that documents the last 10,000 years of Earth's volcanism. These databases and interpretations based on them were published in three editions of the book "Volcanoes of the World".

Research. GVP researchers are curators in the Department of Mineral Sciences and maintain active research programs on volcanic products, processes, and the deep Earth that is the ultimate source of volcanism.

Outreach. This website presents more than 7,000 reports on volcanic activity, provides access to the baseline data and eruptive histories of Holocene volcanoes, and makes available other resources to our international partners, scientists, civil-authorities, and the public.

The Global Volcanism Program relies on an international network of collaborating individuals, programs and organizations, many of which are listed below:

United States Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program (USA). The Volcano Hazards Program monitors active and potentially active volcanoes, assesses their hazards, responds to volcanic crises, and conducts research on volcanoes. The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) (with the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance) works to reduce fatalities and economic losses in countries experiencing a volcano emergency.

Global Volcano Model (Bristol University and the British Geological Survey, UK). GVM is a growing international network that aims to create a sustainable, accessible information platform on volcanic hazard and risk.

WOVOdat (Earth Observatory of Singapore). A collective record of volcano monitoring, worldwide - brought to you by the WOVO (World Organization of Volcano Observatories).

Integrated Earth Data Applications (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, USA). A community-based data facility to support, sustain, and advance the geosciences by providing data services for observational solid earth data from the Ocean, Earth, and Polar Sciences.

VHub (The State University of New York at Buffalo, USA). An online resource for collaboration in volcanology research and risk mitigation.

International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI). IAVCEI represents the primary international focus for: (1) research in volcanology, (2) efforts to mitigate volcanic disasters, and (3) research into closely related disciplines, such as igneous geochemistry and petrology, geochronology, volcanogenic mineral deposits, and the physics of the generation and ascent of magmas in the upper mantle and crust. IAVCEI has charged GVP with providing the official names and unique identifier numbers for the world's volcanoes.

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAACs) The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has established nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers tasked with monitoring Volcanic Ash plumes within their assigned airspace.

Context

Volcanic eruptions are an exceptional phenomena, one of the few (if not the only one) that's capable to connect the litosphere with the troposphere in very short timescale. Despite the dangers that represents for local inhabitants, volcanic eruption can also affect the whole planet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer).

This dataset represent the work of more than 7.000 papers and hundreds of years of research. It summarize the volcanic eruption magnitud (~VEI), date, location and in some cases the volcanic processes related to it.

Content

Eruption list contains:

Volcano Number = id of the volcano Volcano Name Eruption Number = eruption id Eruption Category = Confirmed Eruption or Uncertain Eruption Area of Activity = where in the volcano, the eruption occurs (crater, side walls, a certain area) VEI = volcanic eruption index, is a logaritmic scale of the eruptions magnitud (from 0 to 8) VEI Modifier = I supose it is a post modification to the VEI, but is almost full of nan values Start Year Modifier = same that above Start Year = Beginning of the eruption Start Year Uncertainty = the uncertainty related to the age datation Start Month = the month of the eruption Start Day Modifier = same as all modifiers Start Day = the day of the month were the eruption start Start Day Uncertainty = confidence intervals related to the datation method Evidence Methon (dating) = The method used to define the date of the eruption End Year Modifier = End Year = when the eruption finished End Day Modifier = End Day = the day that ends End Day Uncertainty = related to the datation method Latitude = coordinates y axes Longitude = coordinates x axes

Acknowledgements

This dataset is publicly available thanks to the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution https://volcano.si.edu/.

Inspiration

As a geologist and data scientist, volcanoes and data aren't just my field of expertise, they're also my passion. I'm really interested to know what's the future of both interconnected areas.

This statistic displays the largest volcanic eruptions in history based on the volume tephra that was erupted. About ** million years ago, the Wha Wha Springs eruption produced more than 5500 cubic kilometers of ejecta in a week.

About The Project

Volcanic tsunamis aren't limited to only a few areas around the globe. Entire ocean coastlines are at risk. This includes the 'Ring of Fire' that wraps around the pacific and central Atlantic. Considering Earth is more than 70% covered in water, and experiencing vigorous plate tectonic shifts, that leaves many coastal populations at risk of tsunamis. Detecting tsunamis caused by volcanic activity is incredibly difficult today.

This project aims to analyze historic data about volcanos and how they are connected to earthquakes and tsunamis by analyzing attributes about the volcanic event. These attributes include explosion VEI, damage, injuries, date/time, (etc).

Potential Data Questions

• Which type of volcano has been the deadliest?
• Which type of volcano is the most active? By location? VEI?
• Which type of volcano tends to trigger tsunamis the most?
• What are the signs or classified commonalities between tsunami triggered eruptions?

About The Data

The data is directly reported from the NOAA site. The Significant Volcanic Eruption Database is a global listing of over 500 significant eruptions which includes information on the latitude, longitude, elevation, type of volcano, and last known eruption.

National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Considering the lack of technology and tools to measure volcano activity, the data is filtered from year 0 to 2021. No additional filters are applied.

The Smithsonian's "Eruptions, Earthquakes, & Emissions" web application (or "E3") is a time-lapse animation of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes since 1960. It also shows volcanic gas emissions (sulfur dioxide, SO2) since 1978 — the first year satellites were available to provide global monitoring of SO2. The eruption data are drawn from the Volcanoes of the World (VOTW) database maintained by the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program (GVP). The earthquake data are pulled from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Catalog. Sulfur-dioxide emissions data incorporated into the VOTW for use here originate in NASA's Multi-Satellite Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide L4 Long-Term Global Database. Please properly credit and cite any use of GVP eruption and volcano data, which are available via a download button within the app, through webservices, or through options under the Database tab above. A citation for the E3 app is given below.Clicking the image will open this web application in a new tab.Citation (example for today)Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Eruptions, Earthquakes & Emissions, v. 1.0 (internet application). Smithsonian Institution. Accessed 19 Oct 2018 (https://volcano.si.edu/E3/).Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)?VEI is the "Richter Scale" of volcanic eruptions. Assigning a VEI is not an automated process, but involves assessing factors such as the volume of tephra (volcanic ash or other ejected material) erupted, the height the ash plume reaches above the summit or altitude into the atmosphere, and the type of eruption (Newhall and Self, 1982). VEIs range from 1 (small eruption) to 8 (the largest eruptions in Earth's entire history).What about eruptions before 1960?For information about volcanic eruptions before 1960, explore the GVP website, where we catalog eruption information going back more than 10,000 years. This E3 app only displays eruptions starting in 1960 because the catalog is much more complete after that date. For most eruptions before the 20th century we rely on the geologic record more than historical first-hand accounts — and the geologic record is inherently incomplete (due to erosion) and not fully documented.What are "SO2 emissions" and what do the different circle sizes mean?The E3 app displays emissions of sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) from erupting volcanoes, including the mass in kilotons. Even though water vapor (steam) and carbon dioxide gas (see more about CO2 below) are much more abundant volcanic gases, SO2is the easiest to detect using satellite-based instruments, allowing us to obtain a global view. There is no universally accepted "magnitude" scale for emissions; the groupings presented here were chosen to best graphically present the relative volumes based on available data.What am I seeing when I click on an SO2 emission event?You are seeing a time-lapse movie of satellite measurements of SO2 associated with a particular emission event. These SO2 clouds, or plumes, are blown by winds and can circle the globe in about a week. As plumes travel, they mix with the air, becoming more dilute until eventually the concentration of SO2 falls below the detection limit of satellites. Earth's entire atmosphere derives from outgassing of the planet — in fact, the air you breathe was once volcanic gas, and some of it might have erupted very recently!Why are there no SO2 emissions before 1978?E3 shows volcanic gas emissions captured from satellite-based instruments, which were first deployed in 1978. NASA launched the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) in 1978, which provided the first space-borne observations of volcanic gas emissions. Numerous satellites capable of measuring volcanic gases are now in orbit.Why don't you include H2O and CO2 emissions?The most abundant gases expelled during a volcanic eruption are water vapor (H2O in the form of steam) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is typically the third most abundant gas. Hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide and other carbon species, hydrogen halides, and noble gases typically comprise a very small percentage of volcanic gas emissions. So why can't we show H2O and CO2 in the E3 app? Earth's atmosphere has such high background concentrations of H2O and CO2 that satellites cannot easily detect a volcano's signal over this background "noise." Atmospheric SO2 concentrations, however, are very low. Therefore volcanic emissions of SO2 stand out and are more easily detected by satellites. Scientists are just beginning to have reliable measurements of volcanic carbon dioxide emissions because new satellites dedicated to monitoring CO2 have either recently been launched or have launches planned for the coming decade.How much carbon is emitted by volcanoes?We don't really know. CO2, carbon dioxide, is the dominant form of carbon in most volcanic eruptions, and can be the dominant gas emitted from volcanoes. Humans release more than 100 times more CO2 to the atmosphere than volcanoes (Gerlach, 2011) through activities like burning fossil fuels. Because of this, the background levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have risen to levels that are so high (greater than 400 parts per million, or 0.04%) that satellites cannot easily detect the CO2 from volcanic eruptions. Scientists are able to estimate the amount of carbon flowing from Earth's interior to exterior (the flux) by measuring carbon emissions directly at volcanic vents and by measuring the carbon dissolved in volcanic rocks. Scientific teams in the Deep Carbon Observatory (one of the supporters of E3) are working to quantify the flux of carbon from Earth's interior to exterior.Do volcanic emissions cause global warming?No, not in modern times. The dominant effect of volcanic eruptions is to cool the planet in the short term. This is because sulfur emissions create aerosols that block the sun's incoming rays temporarily. While volcanoes do emit powerful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, they do so at a rate that is likely 100 times less than humans (Gerlach, 2011). Prior to human activity in the Holocene (approximately the last 10,000 years), volcanic gas emissions did play a large role in modulating Earth's climate.Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes seem to occur in the same location. Why?Eruptions and earthquakes occur at Earth's plate boundaries — places where Earth's tectonic plates converge, diverge, or slip past one another. The forces operating at these plate boundaries cause both earthquakes and eruptions. For example, the Pacific "Ring of Fire" describes the plate boundaries that surround the Pacific basin. Around most of the Pacific Rim, the seafloor (Earth's oceanic crust) is "subducting" beneath the continents. This means that the seafloor is being dragged down into Earth's interior. You might think of this as Earth's way of recycling! In this process, ocean water is released to Earth's solid rocky mantle, melting the mantle rock and generating magma that erupts through volcanoes on the continents where the plates converge. In contrast, mid-ocean ridges, chains of seafloor volcanoes, define divergent plate boundaries. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge that runs from Iceland to the Antarctic in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is one example of a divergent plate boundary. Earth's crust is torn apart at the ridge, as North and South America move away from Europe and Africa. New lava erupts to fill the gap. This lava cools, creating new ocean crust. All these episodes where solid rock collides or is torn apart generate earthquakes. And boom! You have co-located eruptions and earthquakes. To learn more about plate margins using E3, watch this video.Is this the first time eruptions, emissions, and earthquakes have been animated on a map?E3 is a successor to the program Seismic/Eruption developed by Alan Jones (Binghamton University). That program was one of the first to show the global occurrence of earthquakes (USGS data) and eruptions (GVP data) through space and time with animations and sound. The program ran in the Smithsonian's Geology, Gems, and Minerals Hall from 1997 to 2016, and was also available on the "Earthquakes and Eruptions" CD-ROM. E3 builds upon Seismic/Eruption with the addition of emissions data and automated data updates.How many eruptions and emissions are shown, and from how many volcanoes?The application is currently showing 2,065 eruptions from 334 volcanoes. It is also showing 360 emission activity periods from 118 different volcanoes. In addition, there are 67 animations available showing the movement of SO2 clouds from 44 volcanoes.How often do you update the data represented in the web application?The application checks for updates once a week. Earthquake data, being instrumentally recorded, is typically very current. Eruption data, which relies on observational reports and analysis by GVP staff, is generally updated every few months; however, known ongoing eruptions will continue through the most recent update check. Emissions data is collected by satellite instruments and also must be processed by scientists, so updates will be provided as soon as they are available following an event, on the schedule with eruption updates.Is my computer system/browser supported? Something isn't working right.To run the map, your computer and browser must support WebGL. For more information on WebGL, please visit https://get.webgl.org to test if it should work.Source Obtained from http://volcano.si.edu/E3/

The Significant Volcanic Eruption Database is a global listing of over 500 significant eruptions which includes information on the latitude, longitude, elevation, type of volcano, and last known eruption. A significant eruption is classified as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: caused fatalities, caused moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or larger, caused a tsunami, or was associated with a major earthquake.

The statistic shows the number of people, who were affected by the world's most significant volcanic eruptions from 1900 to 2016*. In 1991, total 1,036,035 were affected due to volcanic eruption in Philippines.

This dataset comprises MISR-derived output from a comprehensive analysis of Icelandic volcano eruptions (Eyjafjallajokull 2010, Grimsvotn 2011, Holuhraun 2014-2015). The data presented here are analyzed and discussed in the following paper: Flower, V.J.B., and R.A. Kahn, 2020. The evolution of Icelandic volcano emissions, as observed from space in the era of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS). J. Geophys. Res. Atmosph. (in press).The data is subdivided by volcano of origin, date and MISR orbit number. Within each case folder there are up to 11 files relating to an individual MISR overpass. Files include plume height records (from both the red and blue spectral bands) derived from the MISR INteractive eXplorer (MINX) program, displayed in: map view, downwind profile plot (along with the associated wind vectors retrieved at plume elevation), a histogram of retrieved plume heights and a text file containing the digital plume height values. An additional JPG is included delineating the plume analysis region, start point for assessing downwind distance, and input wind direction used to initialize the MINX retrieval. A final two files are generated from the MISR Research Aerosol (RA) retrieval algorithm (Limbacher, J.A., and R.A. Kahn, 2014. MISR Research-Aerosol-Algorithm: Refinements For Dark Water Retrievals. Atm. Meas. Tech. 7, 1-19, doi:10.5194/amt-7-1-2014). These files include the RA model output in HDF5, and an associated JPG of key derived variables (e.g. Aerosol Optical Depth, Angstrom Exponent, Single Scattering Albedo, Fraction of Non-Spherical components, model uncertainty classifications and example camera views). File numbers per folder vary depending on the retrieval conditions of specific observations. RA plume retrievals are limited when cloud cover was widespread or the solar radiance was insufficient to run the RA. In these cases the RA files are not included in the individual folders.

This dataset represents historical significant volcanic eruptions. A significant eruption is classified as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: caused fatalities, caused moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or greater, generated a tsunami, or was associated with a significant earthquake. The database contains information on the latitude, longitude, elevation, type of volcano, last known eruption, VEI index, and socio-economic data such as the total number of casualties, injuries, houses destroyed, and houses damaged, and dollar damage estimates, if available. The Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database is a global listing of over 600 eruptions from 4360 BC to the present.

This dataset contains Volcanic Hazard Level for proximal volcanic hazards (e.g., pyroclastic flows, lahars, lava). Volcanic Hazard Level is derived from the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program (GVP) volcano dataset, GVP eruption dataset, and the British Geological Survey LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database. These data provide volcano location, maximum volcanic explosive intensity (VEI), and dates of previous eruption. Date of last eruption and maximum VEI are used to generate the Volcanic Hazard Level, which is assigned to the area within 100km radius of the volcano. This dataset does not include data for hazard from volcanic ash.

Global Volcano Mortality Risks and Distribution is a 2.5 minute grid representing global volcano mortality risks. The data set was constructed using historical hazard-specific mortality loss data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), subnational year 2000 population estimates from Gridded Population of the World, Version 3 (GPWv3), and volcano hazard data from the Global Volcano Hazard Frequency and Distribution data set. Estimates were made as to the mortality numbers associated with volcano hazard. In turn, these mortality estimates were classified into deciles, 10 class of an approximately equal number of grid cells of increasing mortality risk. This data set is the result of collaboration among the Columbia University Center for Hazards and Risk Research (CHRR), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, and Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

The Significant Volcanic Eruption Database is a global listing of over 500 significant eruptions which includes information on the latitude, longitude, elevation, type of volcano, and last known eruption. A significant eruption is classified as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: caused fatalities, caused moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or larger, caused a tsunami, or was associated with a major earthquake.

Acknowledgement

Foto von Tetiana Grypachevska auf Unsplash