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Pyroclastic flows sweep down the flanks of Mayon Volcano, Philippines, in 2018. A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) [1] is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of 100 km/h (30 m/s; 60 mph) but is capable of reaching speeds up to ...
The most important characteristic of a Peléan eruption is the presence of a glowing avalanche of hot volcanic ash, called a pyroclastic flow. Formation of lava domes is another characteristic. Short flows of ash or creation of pumice cones may be observed as well. The initial phases of eruption are characterized by pyroclastic flows.
Tephra is a generalized word for the various bits of debris launched out of a volcano during an eruption, regardless of their size. [4] Pyroclastic materials are generally categorized according to size: dust measures at <1/8 mm, ash is 1/8–2 mm, cinders are 2–64 mm, and bombs and blocks are both >64 mm. [5] Different hazards are associated with the different kinds of pyroclastic materials.
Earthly pyroclastic flows can travel at up to 80 km (50 mi) per hour and reach temperatures of 200 to 700 °C (392 to 1,292 °F). The high temperatures can burn flammable materials in the flow's path, including wood, vegetation, and buildings.
Tephra may become lithified to a pyroclastic rock by cementation or chemical reactions as the result of the passage of hot gases (fumarolic alteration) or groundwater (e.g. hydrothermal alteration and diagenesis) and burial, or, if it is emplaced at temperatures so hot that the soft glassy pyroclasts stick together at point contacts, and deform ...
If it does happen, then material reaching the bottom of the convective thrust region can no longer be adequately supported by convection and will fall under gravity, forming a pyroclastic flow or surge which can travel down the slopes of a volcano at speeds of over 100–200 km/h (62–124 mph). Column collapse is one of the most common and ...
The CHIME telescopes in British Columbia detected the unusual fast radio burst, dubbed FRB 20240209A, in February 2024.
By the time this pyroclastic flow hit its first human victims, it was still as hot as 680 °F (360 °C) and filled with suffocating gas and flying debris. [36] Most of the 57 people known to have died in that day's eruption succumbed to asphyxiation, while several died from burns. [9]