All members of the HKU community and the general public are welcome to join!
Speaker: Professor Z.Q. Yue Quentin, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, HKU
Moderator: Dr. S.H. Li, Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, HKU
Date: 27th January 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 2:30pm
Mode: Online via ZOOM
Language: English
The conventional understanding of active volcanoes is based on the theory of hot magma (molten rock) from mantle. Although this magma theory has been widely believed in Earth Science, the prediction of volcano eruption can be incorrect. For example, the recent massive eruption of the Tonga Hunga volcano was not predicted. The devastating eruption of the Mount Ontake volcano in Japan on Sept. 27, 2014 was also not predicted and/or warned at all, consequently caused 55 fatalities, 9 missing and more than 60 injured.
In this Tech Talk, Professor Yue will present his re-understanding of active volcanoes using his methane gas theory. This methane gas theory of active volcanoes is original and can interpret all the observed phenomena associated with active volcanoes. It can be used to correctly predict and effectively reduce the occurrence of damaging volcano eruptions. It can be further used to obtain the huge amount of natural gas resources from gas chambers of active volcanoes at several kilometers below the ground rocks.
The natural gases, generated in the liquid out core of the Earth, migrate upward and outward and further is trapped in the gas chambers in upper crustal rock mass. They make chemical and physical reactions with the surrounding rocks of the chamber. The chemical reactions release heat and produce lava, steam water H2O and other gases such as CO2, H2S and SO2. The oxygen O for the chemical reactions comes from the surrounding rocks. The lava has a less amount of oxygen than the surrounding rocks. The gas expansion and penetration power and the heat further break, weaken and soften the surrounding rock and make them into lavas, fragments, ashes and bombs. The pyroclastic deposits are carried out of the chamber by the gas expansion and uplift power and gradually form the cone-shape mountain after many small eruption events. The surrounding crust loses its rocks, the gas-rock reaction chamber becomes larger and larger, and the cone-shape mountain also becomes larger and larger. Eventually, the last eruption occurs and can breaks the upper crustal rocks and the cone-shaped mountain. The pyroclastic rocks forming the cone-shaped mountain collapse into the chamber space, where a basin or lake can be formed. Subsequently, a caldera is appeared at the former large cone-shaped mountain site.
