Questions tagged [volcanoes]
For questions involving volcanoes, volcanic eruptions, and related phenomena, whether or Earth or elsewhere.
91
questions
2
votes
2answers
118 views
A single volcano turns a northern island into a tropical jungle: how it is made?
To have a single volcano warm up an island the size of Iceland and located in a northern Europe climate, how hot does a volcano have to be, or what type of volcano does it need to be? I want the ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
How big could a caldera volcano possibly get?
I've found most websites saying that 100 kilometers is the maximum size of a caldera volcano, but none of them explain why this is the case. So, can caldera volcanoes get any bigger than this and why ...
3
votes
4answers
102 views
How would volcanism be different on a terrestrial planet denser than earth?
Specifically, how would volcanism be different on a terrestrial planet with these parameters:
Mass: 0.38 Earth
Radius: 0.7 Earth
Density: 1.1 Earth
4
votes
1answer
149 views
What would happen to a world with three moons?
The world I’m building is approximately 1/3 of the size of earth and it has 3 moons orbiting it. The orbits are all different but occasionally they have either a full moon or a new moon on the same ...
2
votes
2answers
137 views
Planet with stained atmosphere
I'm currently writing a script about planetary colonization. And I've got the idea of a planet with a kind of "colored stains" in its atmosphere but still suitable for life in both locations....
2
votes
1answer
79 views
How to create a volcano?
In the near future, humanity as a whole decides they need a new volcano at unspecified location X. The bigger, the better, short of a cataclysmic world-ending scenario. The reason behind this desire ...
6
votes
2answers
139 views
What is the crust of a habitable planet with Io-like heat-pipe tectonics made of?
The Jovian moon Io is geologically active like Earth, yet it experiences heat pipe tectonics instead of plate tectonics.
Heat-pipe tectonics is a cooling mode of terrestrial planets in which the ...
-1
votes
1answer
111 views
Would a Jungle survive in a highly volcanic area?
I have an idea for a region of the world I am working on, and I'm not sure how realistic it is.
Basically, the area is an equatorial jungle, closely bordering the ocean on one side. As a result there ...
7
votes
4answers
585 views
Could a regularly erupting volcano create fertile soil for a fantasy empire to thrive?
I have recently learnt about the flooding of the Nile and the irrigation around it, enabling plentiful crops by depositing nutrient rich silt during bronze age Egypt. I have also learnt about volcanic ...
3
votes
3answers
114 views
Would these processes be probable on this planet?
Background
This planet, located somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy, orbits a M5V star about 0.682764 AU away from its star. The planet is volcanically active due to the gravitational field of the ...
5
votes
3answers
351 views
How to survive a supervolcano eruption in short term and a post-apocalyptic world in long term?
A supervolcano has erupted (with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 8 or higher1) at Yellowstone Park. I am not in the kill zone and not in at least 300 km (~185 miles) radius so I have time to ...
2
votes
1answer
40 views
Volcanic island generating its own storms
Picture this, a highly volcanic island sitting in the middle of a temperate or sub-arctic sea, the heat generated by the magma beneath the island and the volcano heats the air enough to generate a ...
4
votes
1answer
121 views
Could Volcanism Provide a Large “Heat Oasis” in a Polar Desert?
So there is an Antarctic like continent in my setting; and just like Antarctica it is the largest and most inhospitable desert in the planet due to how absolutely cold it is.
But what if there was a ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
Is an extinct volcanic tube marketplace possible
Could people with Iron Age technology possibly dig large holes in volcanic rock on the edges of a lave tube system. Would this be an effective way to run a trade business or to live in an underground ...
13
votes
1answer
372 views
Where do hydrothermal vents form inside icy ocean worlds?
Context:
In a near-future version of our solar system, humans have established multiple underwater colonies on Jupiter's moon Europa. Many of these outposts are situated next to hydrothermal vents ...
3
votes
1answer
109 views
Can I use an active flood basalt province as a “biome” without messing my world up?
I want to use the an active large ignious province (LIP) as a "biome" on a continent in my world. This video about the Siberian Traps inspired me. A LIP modeled after the Siberian Traps gives you a ...
2
votes
2answers
327 views
Would the Flamebreaker Armor in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” work?
The Flamebreaker Armor is a full plate armor present in the videogame The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which protects the wearer from heat. When fully upgraded, it makes the wearer fireproof ...
9
votes
3answers
807 views
Could an eruption be triggered at Yellowstone via kinetic bombardment?
While similar questions have been asked, I don't believe kinetic bombardment was brought up, with focus centred around nuclear warheads.
Considering the ability for a "rod from god" to embed into the ...
6
votes
4answers
575 views
How could a volcanic island last for 100 million years?
Some islands can survive for very long. Madagascar, for example, has been around for 80-100 million years and is likely to remain isolated for hundreds of millions of years more.
Volcanic islands, ...
8
votes
2answers
657 views
What's the largest igneous province an impact event could create on Earth?
With the potential for an impact event to trigger volcanic activity on the opposite side of the planet, what is the largest plateau of flood basalt physically capable of forming on Earth, post-impact?
8
votes
2answers
86 views
Plausibility check: heat emission from extinct volcanoes
There's an important aspect of my headworld involving volcanoes which I planned many years ago. Recently I revisited this concept to refine it further, only to run into a few questions that I've been ...
8
votes
6answers
265 views
Geothermal Oasis Alternatives on Ice Planet
I have an Earth analog that is nearly completely covered in ice and glaciers. I want to have oases of warmth scattered across the planet. These oases aren't tropical by any means, having just enough ...
3
votes
7answers
995 views
How could a tree survive a volcanic blast?
Background
I am working on a Role Play Video game, and I have a particular island called Morogar in my medieval fantasy. (Magic and Mythical Beasts run wild). Originally an island with forests and a ...
2
votes
2answers
146 views
What is a required for a creature to be capable of diving into lava lakes? [closed]
So far along the lines of this matter, I've decided that if they were 5'8" and humanoid, composed of something similar to Tungsten, so they don't melt or burn, they would weigh around 3,846lbs/1,744....
4
votes
2answers
263 views
A Dozen Cubic Miles of Volcanic Ash--How Big Would the Cloud Be?
On May 18, 1980, Mount Saint Helens made American history with an eruption that took 57 human lives and killed thousands of animals. It has released only a quarter of a cubic mile of ash, but it is ...
20
votes
2answers
5k views
A hang glider, sudden unexpected lift to 25,000 feet altitude, what could do this?
This is the third in a series of 5 (at this point) questions. It's not relevant to this question, but for anyone who's curious this was the first, this the second.
Conditions for this question are:
...
2
votes
2answers
430 views
Realistic placements of Mountains and the like
This question basically boils down to this: What would be the places on a given continent where one would find mountains? I have seen maps from games, movies, board games, books etc. where it would ...
3
votes
4answers
324 views
Perpetual Volcanic Eruption
As the title says, is it possible to have a volcano that is perpetually erupting, and how would it be achieved?
To be considered a "Perpetual Eruption", the volcano must emit moderate quantities of ...
7
votes
4answers
401 views
Can reckless idiots wake up a dormant volcano using mining equipment?
My story for a video game has some kind of "enemy" (think "the Others" from Lost—little is known about them; they have control over a small settlement or two and appear to be engaging in some manner ...
7
votes
5answers
828 views
Stopping a Volcano
I've seen in multiple forms of fiction the sort of joking notion of stopping a volcano from erupting by just... plugging up the top with something? Like, a large and sufficiently heavy rock?
While ...
7
votes
5answers
410 views
Effects and feasability of a modern-day Olympus and Hephestus
The time... a few years from now. On the laser-launch pad of one of the spacefaring nations of Earth, a spacecraft stands, the time until its launch counting down steadily. The launch vehicle weighs ...
3
votes
4answers
316 views
Defence against volcano?
Say I have a group of people who live next to a volcano for religious reasons. They will not move. This volcano erupts very regularly - almost once a week. What kind of defence or adaptability ...
6
votes
2answers
166 views
How to modify the human respiratory system to be able to breath in volcanic ash
Okay so in the novel I am writing there’s a Third World War fought by the nations of earth against a human space empire (I am overly simplifying this ) . Now the thing is the empire uses transhuman ...
-2
votes
1answer
67 views
New virus living in geothermal steam vents [closed]
Would a scenario be possible where an existing virus hybridizes with a still-undiscovered virus that previously lived only in geothermal features, such as deep ocean vents, geysers, mud pots, or ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views
Volcano near river mouth
When a volcano is under the sea, but close to the coastline, it creates islands.
I have a volcanic island near (less than 20km away) a river mouth.
Is this feasible? I couldn't find any real example.
...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
How long does it take for islands to form after an underwater volcanic eruption?
So, vaguely, I remember from earth science that when submarine volcanoes erupt they eventually form archipelagos. My question actually has several parts;
Starting with the first eruption to break ...
4
votes
3answers
565 views
Determination of reasonable volcanic island height from area?
My islands (in the world I'm building) were formed from a volcanic hotspot. I want to build realistic islands, so I was wondering how tall volcanic islands are generally in relation to their area. ...
4
votes
4answers
184 views
Could a large string of mountains stop volcanic ash from traveling any farther?
I am adding a new area to my game (a free-roam RPG): the ashlands. I put a small volcano (only about 15ft wide and long, and about 20ft tall. Really, more of a lava vent) on the western edge and have ...
5
votes
1answer
176 views
Would it be feasible for a single planet to have both magma based volcanoes and cryovolcanos?
I took astronomy class last semester, and I became aware that there were not only magma based volcanoes, but ones run on colder moons in our solar system, called cryovolcanos that in essence spew ...
8
votes
2answers
583 views
Is there anything wrong with my plate tectonics map?
Here is a map I just produced of the plate tectonics of a world I'm working on. Does anyone familiar with the subject see anything wrong with it? If you can differentiate between the penciled and the ...
4
votes
2answers
289 views
Can Off-shore Calderas Exist?
A caldera is usually the remnant of a volcanic eruption powerful enough to collapse the structure surrounding the magma chamber. Many of our examples, like Yellowstone, Crater Lake, Toba and even ...
4
votes
3answers
373 views
How can the human race disappear in a few days? [duplicate]
Is it possible to eradicate the human race in one week? And if yes, by which way?
Of course, the human race should do everything to survive. What could be more powerful than our will to survive?
1. ...
7
votes
2answers
628 views
Three of the Four Kinds of Volcanic Eruptions…Underwater
A volcanic eruption is measured in two constants--gas and viscosity. For clearance, low viscosity is like squirting water off a nozzle, whereas high viscosity is like squirting caramel off a nozzle, ...
5
votes
2answers
641 views
What type of city-structure can survive a shield volcano?
So I have a continent by the name of Sho. It is highly inspired by Asia, but will have a few mixes in the fray to give it my own touch. There is a specific people that live near a shield volcano.
I'...
1
vote
2answers
257 views
Can a new volcano have metals inside?
If I were to use handwavium to raise a volcano in the middle of the sea, would it contain metals or ores large enough to be extracted by normal means, like mining with a pickaxe?
Everything apart ...
1
vote
1answer
123 views
Given an initially high concentration of CO2 and H2O, how efficient can I conceivably make a photosynthetic reaction?
I have been told that the high proportion of O2 and CH4 in my atmosphere are unsustainable unless constantly refreshed by an active process.
I would like to sustain the following atmospheric ...
4
votes
2answers
154 views
What is a plausible way to fuel highly active volcanism and seismic activity on my planet?
I thought that a large, close moon might help generate enough heat and stress to raise the average temperature on my world and stave off a Snowball Earth scenario. According to this article and this ...
8
votes
1answer
230 views
Where to find equations to calculate tidal heating in a binary planet/planetesimal system?
I'm building a very small homeworld (0.602 M$_e$) with a very large moon (0.0711 M$_e$) that orbit each other at a barycenter about 7.12 planetary radii (1 R = 0.870 R$_e$) from the primary's center; ...
7
votes
5answers
272 views
Boiling sea between volcanoes
In my world, there is a chain of offshore volcanoes which are the result of a smaller plate hitting a larger one. There are two to three active volcanoes.
My question is: two of these volcanoes are ...
3
votes
6answers
166 views
How do I use explosives to erupt a small volcano and cause a pyroclastic flow and large plume? [duplicate]
I am evil and wish to destroy a town near a volcano and kill all of its citizens.
The volcano is small - about 15 square kilometers in area. The town is even smaller.
The thing is that I don't live ...
