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Articles on Lava

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An aerial view of the Mauna Loa volcano, which erupted on the island of Hawaii in December 2022. Andrew Richard Hara/Getty Images News

What causes volcanoes to erupt?

As they shape the Earth, volcanoes inspire and terrify humans.
Lava flows from a fissure in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island, May 22, 2018. Andrew Richard Hara/Ena Media Hawaii via Getty Images

Why can’t we throw all our trash into a volcano and burn it up?

Volcanoes might seem like nature’s incinerators, but using them to burn up trash would be dangerous and disrespectful to indigenous people who view them as sacred.
Men cross the front of the still smoking lava rocks from an eruption of the Mount Nyiragongo on May 23, 2021 in Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. GUERCHOM NDEBO/AFP via Getty Images

The eruption of Mount Nyiragongo: its health effects will be felt for a long time

Nyiragongo is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of its fast-moving lava. It can flow at a speed of about 100km per hour.
Still standing: a structure surrounded by lava following a volcanic eruption on 23 May 2021 in Goma, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Moses Sawasawa via GettyImages

Mount Nyiragongo’s volcano: why it’s unique and treacherous

National governments need to wake up to the volcanic risks posed by tectonic rifting around Mount Nyiragongo.
Some explosive volcanoes can send ash high up into the sky and it can travel around the world over different countries. Shutterstock

Curious Kids: Why do volcanoes erupt?

When magma rises towards the surface gas bubbles start to form. Whether or not they can escape as the magma is rising affects how explosive the eruption will be.
Lifeguards and volunteers run across an ash covered slope after the June 3 eruption of the Fuego volcano in Guatemala. Esteban Biba/AAP

From Kilauea to Fuego: three things you should know about volcano risk

Important points about volcanoes: location matters, explosiveness can be predicted to an extent, and fast-moving flows of volcanic materials (known as pyroclastic flows) are deadly.
A massive fast moving lava flow from Kilauea consumes everything in its path, as the flames from the remnants of one home burns on the left, while it approaches another on the right. EPA/Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters

Eruptions and lava flows on Kilauea: but what’s going on beneath Hawai'i’s volcano?

The current eruption of Kilauea on Hawai'is big island can tell us a lot about what is going on beneath the volcano and may provide lessons for future eruptions.

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