Pyroclastic flows have their origin in explosive volcanic eruptions, when a violent expansion of gas shreds escaping magma into small particles, creating what are known as pyroclastic fragments. (The term pyroclastic derives from the Greek pyro, meaning “fire,” and clastic, meaning “broken.”) Pyroclastic materials are classified according to their size, measured in millimetres: dust (less than 0.6 mm [0.02 inch]), ash (fragments between 0.6 and 2 mm [0.02 to 0.08 inch]), cinders (fragments between 2 and 64 mm [0.08 and 2.5 inches], also known as lapilli), blocks (angular fragments greater than 64 mm), and bombs (rounded fragments greater than 64 mm). The fluid nature of a pyroclastic flow is maintained by the turbulence of its internal gases. Both the incandescent pyroclastic particles and the rolling clouds of dust that rise above them actively liberate more gas. The expansion of these gases accounts for the nearly frictionless character of the flow as well as its great mobility and destructive power.
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Pyroclastic flows have their origin in explosive volcanic eruptions, when a violent expansion of gas shreds escaping magma into small particles, creating what are known as pyroclastic fragments. (The term pyroclastic derives from the Greek pyro, meaning “fire,” and clastic, meaning “broken.”) Pyroclastic materials are classified according to their size, measured in millimetres: dust (less than 0.6 mm [0.02 inch]), ash (fragments between 0.6 and 2 mm [0.02 to 0.08 inch]), cinders (fragments between 2 and 64 mm [0.08 and 2.5 inches], also known as lapilli), blocks (angular fragments greater than 64 mm), and bombs (rounded fragments greater than 64 mm). The fluid nature of a pyroclastic flow is maintained by the turbulence of its internal gases. Both the incandescent pyroclastic particles and the rolling clouds of dust that rise above them actively liberate more gas. The expansion of these gases accounts for the nearly frictionless character of the flow as well as its great mobility and destructive power.
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