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Explore the dramatic world of volcanoes in this 59-minute lecture from The Royal Institution's 1995 Christmas Lectures series. Discover how volcanoes serve as visible signs that Earth is a living planet, with most volcanic activity occurring underwater where approximately twenty cubic kilometers of liquid rock are added to the seafloor annually. Learn about the fundamental paradox of how Earth's solid outer layer can produce such vast quantities of molten rock, and understand how different types of plate boundaries create distinct volcanic behaviors. Journey to mid-ocean ridges where submersible exploration reveals seafloor chimneys belching superheated black water in environments teeming with life that never sees sunlight. Compare the runny magma that flows great distances at divergent plate boundaries with the sticky magma that creates catastrophic explosive eruptions at convergent boundaries. Examine hot spot volcanoes that occur above rising currents in the deep Earth, and understand how these phenomena occasionally coincide with plate separation to produce massive lava flows capable of burying entire continents. Gain insight into how volcanic catastrophes, while devastating to human populations, represent natural Earth processes that scientists use as tools to understand the planet's internal structure and dynamic behavior.
