Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
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Melted rock, or magma, flows to the surface at volcanos and becomes lava. But where does magma come from? Plate tectonic explains how crust is buried at subduction zones, melts, and erupts explosively, as in 1980 at Mount Saint Helens. Shield volcanos erupt more quietly, but they are formed from hot spots deep within the Earth.
On the Big Island of Hawaii, Volcanologist Dave Sherrod treads on the newest rock on the planet to show how quickly lava hardens when it emerges at the surface. View Video
A demonstration of viscosity and gas content of different types of magmas using chocolate syrup, mayonnaise, and seltzer water. View Video
The hot spot below Hawaii provides evidence for plate movement: as the Pacific Plate moves over the hot spot, it creates a string of islands. View Video
The opening of the Atlantic Ocean between two tectonic plates at a spreading ridge separated the two continents. View Video
Spreading ridge volcanoes form in the deep sea where two plates are moving apart. View Video
Subduction zones are where rock slides under less-dense rock. Magma, enriched with highly pressurized steam and CO2, rises to the surface under subduction boundaries, making volcanoes. View Video
Scientists Chuck Blay and Dave Sherrod compare Hawaiian volcanoes to Mt. Saint Helens. View Video
The gases that make up our atmosphere were released during volcanic eruptions in both the past and present. View Video
Scientists describe how mantle rock melts into magma and how the more buoyant, liquid magma floats toward the Earth's surface. View Video