Week 4_Michael Bluett_Volcano

Taal Volcano southwest of Manila
Getty Images

This week I decided to look into the Taal

Volcano which erupted in Manila, the capitol 

city of the Philippines, on January 12, 2020. 

This eruption was most likely caused by 

some sort of slippage from another plate 

subducting beneath the Philippine Sea Plate.

This plate is very unusual, when compared 

to other tectonic plates, due to the fact that

most of the boundaries are convergent. Due

to this, the plates that border the Philippine

Sea Plate, cause magma to be pushed out of

the Taal Volcano, similar to the way water 

would come rushing out when you put an

object in an already full glass of water. This 

particular volcano sits on a fault line. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported 2,2484 tectonic earthquakes near the Taal Volcano. As seen in the image above, this volcano had an explosive eruption, sending ash as high as 1km  in the air. The number one hazard with this kind of eruption is the toxicity of the air. The toxicity of the city is only moderately higher than before. Luckily, as of January 17, the air quality is back to normal. With the location of this volcano, and the subduction that is at constant work under the Philippine Sea Plate, I believe their will be another eruption of this volcano in the future.

Taal Volcano
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