A Pelean eruption is a type of volcanic eruption characterized by producing highly viscous lava and many volcanic gases. Its name comes from Mount Pelée, in Martinique, whose eruption in 1902 could be observed and typified.
They tend to leave a thorn or tower; This is a consequence of the rapid speed at which the thick lava consolidates as it leaves the calderas.
How do volcanoes work?
As the temperature of the magma that rests inside the Earth's mantle increases, its pressure also increases.
The eruption occurs due to the need for the fluid to come to the surface as a consequence of this increase in pressure.
Normally the eruption of magma or lava is accompanied by gases and smoke. Although these emissions are visible and serve to alert to an eventual eruption, there is no way to predict an eruption until it finally happens.
Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée is located in Martinique, one of the Lesser Antilles located in the Caribbean Sea. In 1902, its most famous eruption occurred and it devastated the largest city on the island, causing the death of more than 30 thousand people.
Two years before this event, an increase in the amount of gases and vapors around the mountain could be seen with the naked eye.
But the biggest event occurred on May 2, after strong explosions and earthquakes added to a large column of black smoke.
A week later, the main eruption began and remained active intermittently until the end of that month.
Main features
Water and land are different in different parts of the world; the same goes for magma. Different minerals, environmental conditions, and pressure generate different gases and magma.
Pelean eruptions are characterized by highly viscous lava that quickly consolidates, that is, it cools relatively easily, turning into stone.
When this happens, a dry magma thorn is built that makes way for more magma to come out, but eventually it closes up and encapsulates the magma in the volcano.
The encapsulated magma cannot continue to flow and begins to increase in pressure and temperature, to the point that it explodes the thorn.
Wide-ranging lava explosions then result, because instead of flowing like a river would flow down the slopes, the magma spreads unpredictably as a result of the explosion.
Volcanic spines look like towers and can grow up to 15 meters per day, reaching heights of over 300 meters.
The tower of Pelée, for example, reached a volume similar to that of the Great Pyramid of Egypt and kept growing for eleven months, until it finally collapsed in 1903, almost a year after the initial eruption.
Apart from the example of Martinique, similar but smaller eruptions have occurred in Popocatépetl (Mexico), Vesuvius (Italy) and Tenerife (Spain).
References
- Wikipedia - Volcanic eruption en.wikipedia.org
- Volcanpedia - Types of volcanic eruptions volcanpedia.com
- Wikipedia - Peléan eruption en.wikipedia.org
- Author Stream - Types of Volcanic Eruptions authorstream.com
- University of Castilla La Mancha - Previous Plinian Eruption.uclm.es
- La Tercera - Learn about the types of volcanic eruptions latercera.com