Strombolian eruptions, wherein lava fountaining and lava effusion can be observed, are minor eruptions compared with explosive Vulcanian, Pelean and
Plinian eruptions.
Pinatubo's Ultra
Plinian eruption was the second largest after Novarupta's eruption in Alaska in 1912.
The youngest lava dome complex within the Guagua Pichincha volcanic edifice has been active since the Early Holocene, evidenced by a series of eruptive phases within the last 3,000 years, where domes have been formed and collapsed, while eruptions have been from phreatic, vulcanian, and subplinian up to
plinian [2].
Darwin presented his ideas at the
Plinian Society, a fraternity at the University of Edinburgh dedicated to the discussion of nature, science, and unorthodox views.
Writing in Earth System Dynamics, UA researchers Christopher Colose and Mathias Vuille, along with Allegra LeGrande of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, document the influence of large, explosive (
Plinian) volcanic eruptions during the last millennium.
Researchers utilized two different state-of-the-art general circulation models for the period 850-1850 to study how large and powerful volcanic explosions known as
Plinian eruptions affected the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)--the narrow band of convective rain clouds near the equator where the northeast and southeast trade winds converge and which has a significant influence on precipitation across the tropical world.
Masse, 'Myth and Catastrophic Reality: Using Myth to Identify Cosmic Impacts and Massive
Plinian Eruptions in Holocene South America', in L.