The E3 app displays emissions of sulfur dioxide gas (SO 2) from erupting volcanoes, including the mass in kilotons.
What are "SO 2 emissions" and what do the different circle sizes mean? For most eruptions before the 20th century we rely on the geologic record more than historical first-hand accounts - and the geologic record is inherently incomplete (due to erosion) and not fully documented. This E3 app only displays eruptions starting in 1960 because the catalog is much more complete after that date. VEIs range from 1 (small eruption) to 8 (the largest eruptions in Earth's entire history).įor information about volcanic eruptions before 1960, explore the GVP website, where we catalog eruption information going back more than 10,000 years.
Assigning a VEI is not an automated process, but involves assessing factors such as the volume of tephra (volcanic ash or other ejected material) erupted, the height the ash plume reaches above the summit or altitude into the atmosphere, and the type of eruption (Newhall and Self, 1982). VEI is the "Richter Scale" of volcanic eruptions. A citation for the E3 app is given below.Ĭlicking the image will open this web application in a new tab.įrequently Asked Questions What is the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)?
#DOWNLOAD ALAN L. JONES SEISMIC ERUPTION PROGRAM DOWNLOAD#
Please properly credit and cite any use of GVP eruption and volcano data, which are available via a download button within the app, through webservices, or through options under the Database tab above. Sulfur-dioxide emissions data incorporated into the VOTW for use here originate in NASA's Multi-Satellite Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide L4 Long-Term Global Database. The earthquake data are pulled from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Catalog.
The eruption data are drawn from the Volcanoes of the World (VOTW) database maintained by the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program (GVP). It also shows volcanic gas emissions (sulfur dioxide, SO 2) since 1978 - the first year satellites were available to provide global monitoring of SO 2. The Smithsonian's "Eruptions, Earthquakes, & Emissions" web application (or "E3") is a time-lapse animation of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes since 1960.