제 17 호 Feeling Foreign about Volcanoes?
Volcanic Eruptions Are Actually Part of Our Business
Kicker : SCIENCE
Feeling Foreign about Volcanoes?
Volcanic Eruptions Are Actually Part of Our Business
Do-Hyuk Kim, Reporter
Eruption of Volcano. Fascinating, yet Dangerous
Volcanic eruption is far from a topic that often appears while producing South Korea’s daily news. We occasionally hear about weak earthquakes around the Korean Peninsula, but are barely told about volcanoes. The simple reason for this is because there is only one volcano located under the territory of South Korea, which is in Jeju Island. This volcano is not even active, so we would not see the news about Hallasan erupting during our entire lifetime. By contrast, volcanic eruption is not indifferent to people living in other nations. Recent reports tell that volcanoes placed all over the world are boasting their influence actively, unlike South Korea. So, let’s dive deeper about volcanoes and volcanic eruptions, to share and express interest about these worldwide events.
Details about Volcanoes You Have Forgot Earlier On
The volcano that has erupted most recently is Kilauea Volcano located on Hawaii Island. It resumed eruption on January 5th, which is much closer to today than you might think. The last eruption recorded was on December 2020 and lasted for half of a year, so it took two years to restart volcanic activity. The volcano which is most familiar to Koreans is Mount Baekdu and is known to most scientists that it repeats eruption every decade. Unsurprisingly, since we have not seen Mount Baekdu’s eruption for a very long time, the point where eruption is about to occur is much more imminent than you would think. 2023 marks just two years of time left for the next eruption of Mount Baekdu, because the last eruption occurred in 1925. The fact that this is the biggest volcano located in the Korean Peninsula somewhat frightens us.
So why do volcanoes repetitively erupt, and volcanic activities never seem to completely stop? The fundamental reason for volcanic activity is heat transfer and earthquakes. Moving heat beneath the earth’s surface constantly happens accompanying magma. Convection brings the magma to travel around the earth’s interior which is composed of molten rocks. Those molten rocks are originated from earth’s crust. Then when earthquakes occur, the quake gives a chance for magma to escape from the inside of the earth and let them turn out to the ground. Our planet is consisted with fifteen plates according to modern science, and earthquakes largely occur in plate boundaries where earth’s plates run into each other and deliver its impact to the surface to earth’s crust. This entire episode is associated with volcanoes, and the magma being exposed to the ground through a volcano is called an eruption. The reason why volcanoes are mostly grouped in plate boundaries is because that is where earthquakes happen a lot.
Effects Delivered by Volcano Are Nearer than You Might Think
These volcanic eruptions give us significant impact on our daily lives. Direct impacts would be shown as airlines changing their routes due to interference from a volcano in their ordinary flight route. Volcanic ash and other particles can fly hundreds of kilometers away and drop to towns and villages where people inhabit, and gases included in volcanic eruption can affect people from breathing freely. Volcanoes located in vacation spots where lots of tourists visit can be prohibited from visit due to recent volcanic activities. These are some affects that we could easily notice that’s derived from volcanoes, but not all impacts of volcanic eruption can be clearly counted by us, because there are also knock-on impacts involved in our economy. If the flight making a detour because of a volcano’s eruption is carrying expensive goods or crucial composites that is necessarily required for producing essential social necessities, suspended or delayed delivery can cause trouble on regular pattern of production line running. Occasions like international tourists getting messages about their airlines purchased months ago at the point where departure is not far away could happen. If Mountain Baekdu erupts, airlines passing through near Mountain Baekdu will be influenced inevitably and, of course, some South Korean tourists could be impacted.
As explained above, volcanic eruption is not a lifetime event we face every decade or so. Volcanoes located all over the world are currently working on their job consistently and erupt anytime at any period. Since we are inhabiting the Korean Peninsula, we scarcely meet domestic news that involve volcanoes, but nearby Mount Baekdu is giving some hint of its revival and foreign nation’s volcanic activities could have some effects on our daily lives partially, so we should occasionally care about volcanoes, and those aftermaths which could be delivered to us. Walking away from being unfamiliar about volcanoes is essential.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/story/what-causes-a-volcano-to-erupt
https://blog.lgchem.com/2017/11/30_volcano/
https://www.globalrescue.com/common/blog/detail/6-Tips-For-Surviving-A-Volcanic-Eruption (Image)
