Category Science

How does a volcanic eruption happen?

  • A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust through which molten rock or magma from within the Earth’s upper mantle escapes. At the surface, it erupts to form lava flows and ash deposits.
  • The Earth’s crust is made up of huge slabs called tectonic plates, which fit together like a big jigsaw puzzle. These plates constantly move, interacting with one another in three ways – moving away from one another, colliding with each other, or slide past one another. This movement puts pressure on the magma beneath the surface and causes volcanic eruptions.
  • Volcanoes are typically found at the fault lines between these plates. There can be active volcanoes, which regularly erupt, dormant volcanoes, which are capable of erupting but haven’t recently, and extinct volcanoes, which will never erupt again. There are more than 1500 active volcanoes on the Earth. (We currently know of 80 or more under the oceans. An underwater volcanic eruption can lead to a tsunami, which is a large ocean wave that can turn destructive.)
  • When an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate, the denser oceanic plate sub ducts under the lighter continental plate. The oceanic plate sinks further into the Earth’s mantle. High temperature and pressure causes the rocky mantle to melt and become liquid rock or magma. The magma rises up towards the Earth’s surface, and builds up in magma chambers. The magma in such a chamber is under great pressure. Pressure building up over months and years can gradually fracture the rock around it, creating a way for the magma to move upward to the surface, resulting in a volcanic eruption. When magma reaches the Earth’s surface, it is called lava. When the lava cools, it turns into rock.

 

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What is the Ring of Fire?

Also called the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is a geographical region of high volcanic activity that surrounds the majority of the Pacific Ocean Basin. It is a 40,000 km stretch of a series of volcanoes and seismically active sites – from the southern tip of South America, up along the west coast of North America, across the Bering Strait and down through Japan and then into New Zealand. It also takes in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. The term ‘Ring of Fire’ is descriptive rather than literal. The Ring of Fire is home to 75% of the world’s volcanoes and is prone to 90% of its earthquakes.

Why are most volcanoes concentrated here?

The Rink of Fire is the direct result of plate tectonics. Most of the volcanoes are located here because most of the Earth’s subduction zones are located here. A subduction zone is a region of the Earth’s crust where tectonic plates interact with one another. Tectonic plates are massive pieces of the Earth’s crust and the upper mantle.

Countries in the Ring of Fire

1. Chile 2. Mexico 3. The United States 4. Antarctica 5. Russia 6. Japan 7. The Philippines 8. New Zealand 9. Papa New Guinea 10. Indonesia 11. Canada 12. Peru 13. Taiwan 14. Gautemala are the top 14 countries that dot the pacific Ring of Fire.

 

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What are the tips to keep in mind when you use social media?

Most of us have multiple social media accounts these days. From Facebook to Instagram, social media has become a part and parcel of people’s lives. But it is also a source of cybercrime. From sensitive data being captured, to terrorists being hired, to pictures being morphed, social media has seen it all. Hence, it is necessary to be cautious when you post anything online. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you use social media.

Keep details personal

Most social media platforms need you to fill in basic details like Name, age, Email address and Phone number. While it is okay to furnish these details for opening your account, remember to never share it on your news feed or your wall. If anyone asks you for personal details, give it to them in a chat window, provided you know who the person is.

Do not defame anyone

Refrain from defaming someone online. Yes, someone might have offended you or hurt you, but voicing it out on social media is not always the right thing to do. Millions of people use social media, and tomorrow, your prospective employer may also go through your social media handles. In such a case, defaming someone could be held against you.

Have you done your check-in?

Yes, we all travel or go out to restaurants to eat. But we don’t need to tell the world where we are at all times. Sometimes, people can keep a track of your profile – the places you visit, with whom, why – and use it against you. So, avoid checking-in everything.

Keep privacy settings at maximum

All social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram let you set the privacy settings of your profile to protect your information. Use this and ensure you safeguard all that you post by allowing only your friends’ circle to access the information you post.

Do not post personal pictures

While it is okay to share pictures on social media, avoid sharing personal pictures, or turn on the privacy settings to allow only people you know to access your pictures. There are several cases of images being morphed and used for illegal purposes. So, think before you post a picture online.

Don’t start conversations with strangers

Social media is a thriving ground for cyber criminals. When we join a social media platform, it is normal for us to get friend requests from different people, we may or may not know. However, avoid adding strangers as much as possible since you cannot establish their authenticity or profile. If you do add, remember to never share your personal details with them.

When in doubt, report abuse

If a social media account is posting things that are harassing someone, or posting something illegal, report abuse immediately. Even if you don’t have the proof, you can still report the profile if you feel something doesn’t seem right. You may end up saving yourself or someone else from a crime.

 

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How snake pretending to be dead?

Snakes are really good at playing dead. The West Indian wood snake does a star turn. It is a small boa that when attacked curls itself up tightly. It then releases a liquid from special glands that gives out a rotting smell. To enhance the appearance of decay, it next releases blood into its eyes, turning them a dull, red colour.

The climax of the performance is the blood that the snake lets trickle from its apparently lifeless jaws. This it achieves by breaking open small capillaries in its mouth – called auto-haemorrhaging!

When threatened, a hognose snake will flatten its neck and raise its heads off the ground, cobra0like, and hiss. It may also pretend to strike. If this doesn’t impress the predator, it rolls onto its back and plays dead. The snake emits a foul odour and defecates. It lets its tongue hang out the mouth, sometimes dripping with blood. If rolled the right side up, it will promptly roll back as if to say, “Hey, I am really dead!”

All this time, the snake keeps an eye on the predator waiting for it to look away so that it can escape.

Even newly-hatched hognose snakes instinctively play dead when rats try to eat them.

 

Picture Credit : Google

How an American opossum pretending to be dead?

The animal which has given rise to the idiom is the American opossum. It is renowned for rolling over and collapsing to the ground, drooling. It then remains stock still, with its mouth open and teeth bared, a putrid, corpse-like smell wafts from its anal glands.

From his anal glands, the opossum’s body emits green mucus that will discourage most predators from feeding on him while he’s in his comatose state. This smell leads the predator to believe that the opossum’s body is a rotting carcass. Unfortunately, being run over by vehicles is now the most common way in which opossums are killed — the smell does nothing to help them in this situation.

While the ability to play dead has probably saved many an opossum’s life, it also comes with its own set of risks. If an opossum goes into shock in the middle of the road, it’s unlikely drivers will swerve to avoid hitting him because it appears he’s already passed on. There are also many opossums who have been buried by people who didn’t realize the little marsupial wasn’t actually dead. 

 

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How a fire-bellied toad pretending to be dead?

Leaf litter frogs of southern Brazil play dead by turning belly-up, shutting their eyes, and throwing back their arms and legs. The frogs stay in their exaggerated death pose for about two minutes.

Fire-bellied toads from Asia and Europe also fake death in dramatic fashion. They arch their backs and contort their limbs to display yellow or orange markings on the soles of their feet. They also flip onto their backs to show similar streaks on their stomachs. It’s a warning to stay away because they are toxic.

It’s thought that the lack of movement caused by thanatosis may focus a predator’s attention on such warning markings, or on foul-smelling odors.

 

Picture Credit : Google