Question

What are the three hypotheses that were proposed to explain the seismic activity of Pinatubo? What process generates sulfur dioxide gas emission at a volcano?

Answer 1

Answer:

Mt. Pinatubo is one of the contrasting volcanoes that erupted violently in the year 1991, being the second strongest volcanic eruption that took place on earth in this entire century.

The 3 hypothesis that was proposed in order to describe the seismic activity of Pinatubo includes-

• The magma rising upward to the surface from the interior of the earth, erupting through the crater of the volcano.

• The eruption led to the releasing of a large number of volcanic gases into the atmosphere.

• The earthquakes are produced due to the continuous tectonic activities that are primarily caused when the earth's crust moves over the layer of viscous asthenosphere.

A large number of volcanic gases are released such as sulfur dioxide (SO₂), methane (CH₄), Hydrogen sulfide (H₂O), Carbon monoxide (CO), and other gases, due to the formation of convection currents and rising up of magma from the mantle, creating volcanic eruptions at the surface