Volcanoes and Their Activity

Course Number:

G 208

Transcript Title:

Volcanoes and Their Activity

Created:

Aug 11, 2022

Updated:

Jul 11, 2023

Total Credits:

3

Lecture Hours:

30

Lecture / Lab Hours:

0

Lab Hours:

0

Satisfies Cultural Literacy requirement:

No

Satisfies General Education requirement:

Yes

Grading Options

A-F, P/NP, Audit

Default Grading Options

A-F

Repeats available for credit:

0

Alignment with Institutional Learning Outcomes

Major

1. Communicate effectively using appropriate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. (Communication)

Major

2. Creatively solve problems by using relevant methods of research, personal reflection, reasoning, and evaluation of information. (Critical thinking and Problem-Solving)

Major

3. Extract, interpret, evaluate, communicate, and apply quantitative information and methods to solve problems, evaluate claims, and support decisions in their academic, professional and private lives. (Quantitative Literacy)

Not Addressed

4. Use an understanding of cultural differences to constructively address issues that arise in the workplace and community. (Cultural Awareness)

Minor

5. Recognize the consequences of human activity upon our social and natural world. (Community and Environmental Responsibility)

To establish an intentional learning environment, Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) require a clear definition of instructional strategies, evidence of recurrent instruction, and employment of several assessment modes.

Major Designation

1. The outcome is addressed recurrently in the curriculum, regularly enough to establish a thorough understanding.
2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a thorough understanding of the outcome.
   • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Minor Designation

1. The outcome is addressed adequately in the curriculum, establishing fundamental understanding.
2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a fundamental understanding of the outcome.
   • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Suggested Outcome Assessment Strategies

At the beginning of the course, the instructor will detail the methods used to evaluate student progress and the criteria for assigning a course grade. The methods may include one or more of the following tools: examinations, quizzes, homework assignments, research papers, small group problem solving of questions arising from application of course concepts and concerns to actual experience, oral presentations, or maintenance of a personal work journal.

Course Activities and Design

The determination of teaching strategies used in the delivery of outcomes is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: lecture, small group/forum discussion, flipped classroom, dyads, oral presentation, role play, simulation scenarios, group projects, service learning projects, hands-on lab, peer review/workshops, cooperative learning (jigsaw, fishbowl), inquiry based instruction, differentiated instruction (learning centers), graphic organizers, etc.

Course Content

1. Describe the relationship of volcanoes to plate boundaries.
2. Classify the types of rocks created by volcanic processes.
3. Contrast pyroclastic and effusive eruption styles.
4. Examine the effect of silica content on eruption style.
5. Discuss a number of historical volcanic eruptions and determine the major cause of human destruction for each case.
6. Explore the methods used to forecast volcanic eruptions.
7. Classify the features that occur in volcanic landscapes.
8. Define the different kinds of plutons.
9. Discuss the hazards associated with the Cascade volcanoes.
10. Define the following terms: shield volcano, composite volcano, cinder cone, lahar, pyroclastic flow, pahoehoe, aa.
11. Discuss the effects of volcanic eruptions on climate.

Topics to be covered include:

1. Global Volcanic Activity
   1. Number and geographic distribution of active volcanoes
   2. Major historic volcanic eruptions and their impact on society (e.g. Tambora, Krakatau, Vesuvius, Mount Saint Helens)
   3. Active vs. dormant vs. extinct volcanoes
2. Volcanic Eruptions
   1. Different styles of volcanic eruptions: effusive vs. explosive, Icelandic, Hawaiian, Strombolian, Vulcanian, Plinian and caldera type; lava flows, lava domes, eruption columns, pyroclastic flows, lahars, lateral blasts, landslides
   2. Phreatic eruptions vs. magmatic eruptions; submarine eruptions; sub glacial eruptions
   3. Sizes of volcanic eruption, VEI
3. Volcanic Features
   1. Volcanic systems: volcanoes, vents, fissures and magma chambers
   2. Types of volcanoes: cinder cones, domes, shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes, lava plateaus, calderas, maars, tuff rings
   3. Intrusive features; stocks, necks, cyptodomes, sills, dikes, plutons, batholiths
   4. Volcanic features in the Portland area, Cascades, Columbia River Basin and eastern Oregon
4. Products of Volcanic Eruptions
   1. Chemistry of magmas: major elements and volatiles; physical properties of magmas: freezing temperature and viscosity; relationships between magma chemistry and physical properties
   2. Relationship between cooling rate and igneous rock textures
   3. Description and classification of igneous extrusive rocks: rhyolite, dacite, andesite, basalt, scoria, pumice, obsidian, vesicles, porphyritic texture
   4. Description and classification of igneous intrusive rocks: granite, granodiorite, diorite, gabbro, peridotite
   5. Lava flow features: pahoehoe vs. aa, lava tubes, cooling columns, tree casts, pillows, palagonite breccias etc.; identifying lava flow tops and bottoms in the field
   6. Pyroclastic products: ash, lapilli, cinders, bombs, tuffs, welded tuffs, flow tuffs
   7. Gases: types, quantity; sources: meteoric vs. magmatic
   8. Lahars: dynamics, distance and speed of flow, temperature; causes
   9. Pyroclastic flows: dynamics, distance and speed of flow, temperature, deposits, causes
   10. Lateral blasts: dynamics, distance and speed of flow, temperature, deposits, causes
   11. Landslides: dynamics, distance and speed of flow, temperature, deposits, causes
5. Causes of Volcanic Eruptions
   1. Migration of magmas to shallow magma chambers, cooling and differentiation of magma chambers, differences between mafic and felsic magma chambers
   2. Role of exsolved gasses in driving volcanic eruptions
6. Plate Tectonics and Volcanism
   1. Basic idea of plate tectonics, evidence for plate motion, difference between continental and oceanic crust, internal structure of the earth, heat loss and plate tectonics
   2. Creation of oceanic crust at mid ocean ridges, volcanism and hydrothermal activity at mid ocean ridges, cause of melting at mid ocean ridges, types of magmas produced
   3. Destruction of oceanic crust at subduction zones, volcanism associated with subduction zones, cause of melting at subduction zones, types of magmas produced
   4. Hot spots and associated volcanism in oceanic and continental settings, cause of melting, types of magma produced,
   5. Relationships between tectonic setting, cause of melting, magma type produced and eruption style
7. Living with Volcanoes
   1. Volcanic hazards: lava flows, volcanic gases, eruption columns, ash falls, pyroclastic flows, lahars, landslides, lateral blasts
   2. Volcanic hazard mapping: use of volcanic deposits to determine past eruptive behavior and frequency of volcanoes, identifying hazard zones
   3. Preparing for volcanic eruptions; personal disaster kits, volcano monitoring, evacuation plans, effective communication of scientific information, education of public
   4. Predicting volcanic eruptions: monitoring precursors (earthquakes, deformation, gas emissions): possible triggers
   5. Case studies of volcanic eruptions including successful (e.g. Mt. Pinatubo) and unsuccessful (e.g. Nevado del Ruiz) societal responses with an emphasis on Cascade volcanoes
   6. Resources associated with volcanoes: geothermal energy, hot springs, tourism, volcanic soils, mineral deposits, diamonds
8. Global Impacts of Volcanism
   1. Climate changes associated with historic eruptions, causes of these changes
   2. Flood basalt volcanism: Columbia River Basalts and other large igneous provinces
   3. Possible links between volcanism and mass extinctions
   4. Volcanic degassing as a possible source of the atmosphere and ocean

Department Notes

Volcanoes and Their Activity (G208) is a one-term introductory course in volcanology, which is a branch of the science of geology. The student will develop an understanding of the types, origin, activity, products, and hazards of volcanoes. This course can be used to partly fulfill graduation requirements for the Associate Degree, and has been approved for block transfer. The text and materials have been chosen by the faculty and the emphasis of the course will be the viewpoint of the author(s). This includes the geologic time scale and the evolution of the Earth.

Columbia Gorge Community College Science Department stands by the following statement about regarding science instruction:

Science is a fundamentally nondogmatic and self-correcting investigatory process. Theories (such as biological evolution and geologic time scale) are developed through scientific investigation are not decided in advance. As such, scientific theories can be and often are modified and revised through observation and experimentation. “Creation science", “Intelligent design” or similar beliefs are not considered legitimate science, but a form of religious advocacy. This position is established by legal precedence (Webster v. New Lenox School District #122, 917 F. 2d 1004).

The Science Department at Columbia Gorge Community College therefore stands with organizations such as the National Association of Biology Teachers in opposing the inclusion of pseudo-sciences in our science curricula except to reference and/or clarify its invalidity.

Students are expected to be able to read and comprehend college-level science texts and perform basic mathematical operations in order to successfully complete this course.