Simply put, that particular crack in the Earth's crust that can force out volcanic ash and lava is a volcano. Several volcanoes can be found the world over where some of them are active while some are dormant but note that history has it that this force of nature can truly result to hundreds of death for people and even animals. Those who study these geological features are known as volcanologists.
There are several reasons why volcanologists study volcanoes but on top of them all is that need to predict volcanic eruptions hence, volcanology. Several lives can be saved because of this. However even when volcanologists has the capacity to measure seismic activity as well as the level of gases it may still be tough to tell the exact time when a volcano is to erupt and its extent of eruption too.
In the last 50 years, more than 25,000 people have been killed because of volcanic eruptions. In terms of loss of life, the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia was the most catastrophic of these volcanic events, with more than 22,000 people being killed as a result of the eruption. In the United States, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 was the most destructive in our nation's history, causing the death of 57 people and causing millions of dollars in damage
Several different tools are used by volcanologists in their studies. One such important tool is the clinometers or inclinometer which is actually a tilt meter. What a clinometer does is measure the slope's angles. Especially constructed for measuring tiny changes in cases of horizontal levels - this is what the tilt meter is. Extremely small changes can be measured accurately by this device thus helping scientists to record volcanic changes. To measure seismic waves, volcanologists depend on the tool called seismometers.
Obviously, seismic activity is something that occurs prior to a volcanic eruption. The release of different gases also occurs, and volcanologists use special devices to measure the different levels of gases. A correlation spectrometer is one such device and this is used to measure the levels of sulfur dioxide. A rise in this type of gas near a volcano can be a significant indicator that an eruption is eminent.
When volcanologists begin their study on a volcano they are likely to use several surveying tools including optical instruments and theodolites. Once the survey has been done rock samples are likely to be collected by them because they can tell so much historical prospective using the rocks found in the area of the volcano. A rock hammer of course is still truly useful for this even when there can already be high-tech equipment around.
There are several reasons why volcanologists study volcanoes but on top of them all is that need to predict volcanic eruptions hence, volcanology. Several lives can be saved because of this. However even when volcanologists has the capacity to measure seismic activity as well as the level of gases it may still be tough to tell the exact time when a volcano is to erupt and its extent of eruption too.
In the last 50 years, more than 25,000 people have been killed because of volcanic eruptions. In terms of loss of life, the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia was the most catastrophic of these volcanic events, with more than 22,000 people being killed as a result of the eruption. In the United States, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 was the most destructive in our nation's history, causing the death of 57 people and causing millions of dollars in damage
Several different tools are used by volcanologists in their studies. One such important tool is the clinometers or inclinometer which is actually a tilt meter. What a clinometer does is measure the slope's angles. Especially constructed for measuring tiny changes in cases of horizontal levels - this is what the tilt meter is. Extremely small changes can be measured accurately by this device thus helping scientists to record volcanic changes. To measure seismic waves, volcanologists depend on the tool called seismometers.
Obviously, seismic activity is something that occurs prior to a volcanic eruption. The release of different gases also occurs, and volcanologists use special devices to measure the different levels of gases. A correlation spectrometer is one such device and this is used to measure the levels of sulfur dioxide. A rise in this type of gas near a volcano can be a significant indicator that an eruption is eminent.
When volcanologists begin their study on a volcano they are likely to use several surveying tools including optical instruments and theodolites. Once the survey has been done rock samples are likely to be collected by them because they can tell so much historical prospective using the rocks found in the area of the volcano. A rock hammer of course is still truly useful for this even when there can already be high-tech equipment around.
About the Author:
Carey Bourdier loves blogging about precision scientific instruments. To get more details about surveying instruments such as an electronic protractor, or to find other alignment instruments, go to the Warren Knight site now.
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