Page 180 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

BIG BANG

MOUNT PINATUBO

Some volcanoes erupt with frequent displays of
smoke and fire. Others lie dormant, building up
pressure over centuries before detonating in highly
distructive explosions, like Mount Pinatubo in the
Philippines. In 1991, after a 600-year silence, this
volcano shook the islands with a series of eruptions
that blasted a huge cloud of ash and gas high into the
atmosphere. Sulfur dioxide gas combined with water in
the air to create vast quantities of sulfuric acid.
This swept around the globe in an acid haze that
dimmed the Sun for over two years. Meanwhile,
ash settling around the volcano smothered the
landscape in a ghostly shroud of white.

AT A GLANCE
• LOCATION Luzon, Philippines

• VOLCANO TYPE Stratovolcano
• ERUPTION TYPE Explosive,
ultra-plinian
• ASH VOLUME ERUPTED At least
2.4 cubic miles (10 cubic km)

STATS AND FACTS

EXPLOSIVE ERUPTION GLOBAL EFFECT
The 1991 Mount
Pinatubo eruption was The eruption was The acid haze
ten times larger
reduced sunlight
the most destructive
levels, lowering
than the 1980
DISASTER ZONES (now Indonesia) in ASH CLOUD km 10 The cloud of volcanic ash was 40
eruption of
temperatures
eruption since Krakatoa
by 1°F (0.5°C).
Mt St Helens.
in the Dutch East Indies
1883. An estimated
847 people were killed,
up to 21 miles (34 km) high.
fewer than might be
30
20
expected, thanks to
the evacuation of
10
20
20,000 people living
miles
178 in the area.
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