By: Kadish Hagley and Cecil Brooks Jr. Taal Volcano By: Kadish Hagley and Cecil Brooks Jr. Department of Geology, Colby College http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Taal_Volcano_aerial_2013.jpg

Basic Facts and Location Taal is on Luzon Island, Philippines, 14°0′7″N 120°59′34″E Pacific Ring of Fire On the Eurasian Plate 50 km (31 mi) south of the capital city, Manila (pop. 12,000,000) Second most active volcano in the Philippines (33 Historical Eruptions)

Tectonic Setting Taal lies on a subduction zone. The Eurasian Plate is being subducted underneath the Philippine Mobile Belt (which contains the Philippine Sea plate and the Manila Trench).

Taal’s Dimensions Taal is one of the shortest active volcanoes in the world! Highest Elevation: 311 m (1,020 ft.) Area of Caldera: Approximately 15 x 20 square kilometers (115.8 square miles)

Taal’s Form…….is Tricky! Located on an island (Volcano Island), within a caldera/lake (Taal Lake) within an island (Luzon) Relatively young; formed only 500,000 years ago Considered a stratovolcano or a complex volcano of a hydroclastic nature Taal Volcano contains a lake called Crater Lake Crater lake is the largest lake on an island in a lake on an island IN THE WORLD! (Give me a break!) Get info of Crater lake

Eruptive History Has erupted 33 times since being first discovered in 1572 by Augustinian Friars Years of Eruption: 1977, 1976, 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1911, 1904, 1903, 1885?, 1878, 1874, 1873, 1842, 1825, 1808, 1790, 1754, 1749, 1731, 1729, 1716, 1715, 1709, 1707, 1645, 1641, 1635, 1634, 1609, 1591, 1572

Eruption Types 1. Phreatic – steam eruption without lava ejection (e.g. 1878, 1911, 1970) 2. Phreatomagmatic – explosive water-magma interaction (e.g. 1749, 1965, 1966) 3. Strombolian – short-lived, explosive eruptions with relatively viscous lava (e.g. 1968, 1969) 4. Plinian – powerful convecting eruptions filled with ash (e.g. 1754)

Precursors to Eruptions 1. Increase in frequency of quakes with occasional felt events accompanied by rumbling sounds 2. Temperature and level of Main Crater Lake increases 3. New thermal vents develop and/or old ones reactivate 4. Ground swells or inflation and ground fissuring 5. Temperature of ground probe holes at Mt. Tabaro rises 6. Sulfuric odor with acidic fumes 7. Fish die and vegetation dries up

Eruption of 1911 Began on January 30, 1911, this eruption is considered one of the worst volcanic disasters in history The eruption killed about 1400 people in Manila, 702 Cattle, destroyed 543 homes Many deaths were attributed to the ½ inch ashfall VEI= 3.7 (Pinatubo VEI = 6) 75,000,000 cubic meters of solid matter Allowed Taal to be classified as a “decade volcano” to incentivize study to prevent future disaster

Recent Volcanic Activity 2012 Unrest 60 Earthquakes recorded in a 24 hour period; highest intensity earthquake was a III 2011 Unrest Placed on level 2 alert in April of 2011 due to intrusion of magma to surface Sites close to volcano closed off to visitors due to toxic gas (carbon dioxide) scare 2010 Unrest Loud hissing sounds heard by many Large increase in crater lake temperature Magmatic intrusion 2008 Earthquakes 10 earthquakes were recorded at Taal Mention the geopolitics at end of slide

Diverse Range of Volcanic Products Pyroclastic lava flows Toxic gases (Mostly CO2 and Sulphur) Lake tsunamis Lakeshore flooding Lahars Earthquakes Ground fissuring Subsidence Landslides Turbulent ash flows

Diverse Range of Volcanic Products A series of explosive eruptions has created large deposits of ignimbrite, a volcanic product typical of pyroclastic flows. Significant amounts of olivine basalt and andesite can be found on Taal in addition to ignimbrite.

Tourism Tourism is a big part of Taal, especially in its caldera. Tourists can travel to the top of the volcano by horseback or foot. Despite trace amounts sulfuric acid, tourists can bathe in the lake. Well received trip on TripAdvisor: 4/5 stars, 79% of people would recommend. There are a variety of excursions and day trips to Taal from Manila, San Nicolas, and Talisay.

Tourism Wtf is this?

Geothermal Activity The Philippines is currently the world’s second-largest producer of geothermal energy (next to the United States). Six new geothermal power contracts were approved by the Philippines’ Department of Energy in 2011. Despite the presence of a hydrothermal reservoir and natural geothermal activity under Taal, there is currently no human collection of energy from Taal’s volcanic activity.

Monitoring Principal Monitoring done by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology or PHIVOLCS. Monitoring Methods: 1. Seismic monitoring (number of volcanic quakes and tremors) 2. Visual observations 3. Ground deformation (EDM, precise leveling, tilt) 4. Main Crater Lake chemistry, temperature and level

Image Sources http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Taal_Volcano_aerial_2013.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taal_Volcano#mediaviewer/File:Philippines_relief_location_map_(square).svg http://www.malapascua.de/Volcanoe-Map/Taal__Philippines/Taal-Map4-300x327.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4639392140_21dff694cc.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taal_Lake#mediaviewer/File:Taal_lake_vicinity.png http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g1587912-d548158-i115552099-Taal_Volcano-Batangas_Province_Calabarzon_Region_Luzon.html http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/taal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taal_Volcano#mediaviewer/File:Crater_lake_02.jpg

Bibliography Hike Taal Volcano www.taalvolcano.org/information.htm Volcano World – Taal volcano.oregonstate.edu/taal Taal Volcano http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/html/update_VMEPD/Volcano/ VolcanoList/taal.htm Taal Lake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taal_Lake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taal_Volcano http://www.iml.rwth-aachen.de/Petrographie/taal.html#Hazards http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/taal.html http://volcanolive.com/taal.html