• Question: What causes a volcano to erupt and how do volcanoes become dormant?

    Asked by Laiba to Andres, Catherine, Darren, Ellie, Samantha on 10 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Andres Olivares del Campo

      Andres Olivares del Campo answered on 10 Nov 2016:

      I am not an expert in this field, but my understanding is that magma (which is molten rock from the surface of the earth) gets accumulated in a volcano, this magma is then pushed upwards and causes an eruption.

      Now, if the flow of magma into the volcano is stopped for any reason (maybe it gets blocked by a rock, or the connections closed down) then, a volcano becomes dormant.

      This might be too simplistic as there are many different types of eruptions and the mechanism is more complicated but I am afraid this is as good as I can do! Hope it helps!

    • Photo: Samantha Watson

      Samantha Watson answered on 11 Nov 2016:

      Another non-expert here but I agree about magma building up under the earth in a volcano until it erupts. But I have no idea what makes it go dormant.

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