Physical Processes
Plinian Eruption
Tectonics and Volcanism
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
A Plinian eruption is a violent, sustained explosive eruption driven by highly viscous, gas-rich magma that fragments almost completely on reaching the surface, throwing an eruption column of ash and pumice tens of kilometres into the stratosphere, often for hours, before the column can partially collapse into fast-moving pyroclastic flows. It is named for Pliny the Younger, whose eyewitness letters describing the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompeii and killed his uncle Pliny the Elder remain the earliest detailed account of the eruption style geologists later named after him.
Facts
Process Type TimescaleHours to about a day per eruptive episode. 1 First Proposed YearThe eruption style was named by geologist Alfred Lacroix after Pliny the Younger's account of Vesuvius in 79 AD; the naming is a classification event, not the first occurrence of the phenomenon itself. Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.