This is a rework of a previous post with full calcs.
Every volcano disaster movie from Volcano (1997) with Tommy Lee Jones to Dante’s Peak (1997) with Pierce Brosnan someone somewhere tries to out run a lava flow. Is this possible?
The answer is maybe. You will find everything you want to know about lava flowshere.
On January 10,1977, at Nyiragongo lava sprang from the sides of the volcano moving at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. About 70 people were killed.
Measuring the temperature of lava. Photograph by R.L. Christiansen, U.S. Geological Survey, January 9, 1973.
The fastest Lava flows recorded were in Hawaiiin 1950 when Mauna Loa erupted. The lava traveled at 6 miles per hour through thick forest. But once the lava flows became established and good channels developed, the lava in the channels was flowing at up to 60 mph.
Every volcano disaster movie from Volcano (1997) with Tommy Lee Jones to Dante’s Peak (1997) withPierce Brosnan someone somewhere tries to out run a lava flow. Is this possible?
The answer is maybe. You will find everything you want to know about lava flows here.
On January 10,1977, at Nyiragongolava sprang from the sides of the volcano moving at speeds up to 40 miles per hour (60 km/hr). About 70 people were killed.
Measuring the temperature of lava. Photograph by R.L. Christiansen, U.S. Geological Survey, January 9, 1973. The fastest Lava flows recorded were in Hawaiiin 1950 when Mauna Loa erupted. The lava traveled at 10 kilometers per hour through thick forest. But once the lava flows became established and good channels developed, the lava in the channels was flowing at up to 97 kph.
Once lava flows are established new RIVERLETS can run on top of the original lava flow at great speed.
The fastest Lava flows recorded were in Hawaii in 1950 when Mauna Loa erupted. The lava traveled at 6 miles (10 kilometers) per hour through thick forest. But once the lava flows became established and good channels developed, the lava in the channels was flowing at up to 60 miles/hour (97 kph)
Can you out run a lava flow?
You are 2 km from the volcano rim and start running.
One of the greatest dangers in a volcano eruption is not the lava flow OR being hit by a lump of flying lava or rock, but by being choked by the fast moving scorching hot pyroclastic cloud.
In 1991 pyroclastic cloud blew out of the side of Mount Unzen in Japan. NASA has an excellent diagrams for such an event here.
According to the NASA website:
Highly mobile, these flows reach velocities of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) per hour and can spread as far as 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the eruption point.
Can you out run a pyroclastic cloud?
Here is what happened in 1991 when the pyroclastic cloud blew out of the side of Mount Unzen in Japan.
One of the greatest dangers in a volcano eruption is not the lava flow, being hit by a lump of flying lava or rock, but by being choked by the fast moving scorching hot pyroclastic cloud.
In 1991 pyroclastic cloud blew out of the side of Mount Unzen in Japan. NASA has an excellent diagrams for such an event here.
According to the NASA website:
Highly mobile, these flows reach velocities of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) per hour and can spread as far as 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the eruption point.
Can you out run a pyroclastic cloud?
Here is what happened in 1991 when the pyroclastic cloud blew out of the side of Mount Unzen in Japan.
Every volcano disaster movie from Volcano (1997) with Tommy Lee Jones to Dante’s Peak (1997) with Pierce Brosnan someone somewhere tries to out run a lava flow. Is this possible?
On January 10,1977, at Nyiragongo lava sprang from the sides of the volcano moving at speeds up to 40 miles per hour (60 km/hr). About 70 people were killed.
Measuring the temperature of lava. Photograph by R.L. Christiansen, U.S. Geological Survey, January 9, 1973.
The fastest Lava flows recorded were in Hawaiiin 1950 when Mauna Loa erupted. The lava traveled at 6 miles (10 kilometers) per hour through thick forest. But once the lava flows became established and good channels developed, the lava in the channels was flowing at up to 60 km/hour (97 kph).
Speed of average sprinter = 19 – 24 kph
Can you out run lava?
Work it out mathspigs. You are 600m ahead of the lava flow and you need to get up a hill to escape, which is 1000m away. The lava is flowing at 30 kph and you are running at 18 kph.
This is a rework of a previous post with full calcs.
Every volcano disaster movie from Volcano (1997) with Tommy Lee Jones to Dante’s Peak (1997) with Pierce Brosnan someone somewhere tries to out run a lava flow. Is this possible?
Measuring the temperature of lava. Photograph by R.L. Christiansen, U.S. Geological Survey, January 9, 1973.
Mathspig Blog 