Nova: Mt. St. Helens- Back From the Dead
Name: _________________________________________________
1: When did Mt. St. Helens erupt last?
-It lastly erupted in 1980 and three years after
2: Where is Mt. St. Helens located?
-It is located in Washington
3: How much magma is released during the eruption?
-6 to 11 mi (10-18 km) into the air, and was visible in Seattle, Washington (100 mi/160 km north).
4: What is a pyroclastic flow?
-a dense, destructive mass of very hot ash, lava fragments, and gases ejected explosively from a volcano and typically flowing down slope at great speed.
5: How far from the summit is Spirit Lake located?
-4 miles
6: How many people were killed by the eruption?
-57
7: How far away was the furthest victim?
-15 miles away
8: How many birds disappeared during this disaster? How many insects?
-100 species of birds and billions of insects
9: What happens to Spirit Lake? Explain.
-lifted it dbed by more than 200 feet
-surface smothered in dead trees
-no form of life
10: Explain what the landscape in this region looks like after the eruption.
- A lot of rock and ash every where no form of life
(End of Part I)
11: What is the “Pacific Ring of Fire”?
-The Ring of Fire is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
12: Explain what has caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens.
-It was after a large earthquake, increasing pressure beneath the mountain and magma
13: What did the ecologist find when he first came to the mountain after the eruption?
-they found nothing but rocks and cooled magma a whole bunch of dust and nothing
14: What were the first signs of life at the mountain? What did they see happening?
-The first signs of life on the mountain were a little coquette gofer that he saw was digging from under the ground
15: Why were ecologists so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption?
-It was the first sign of life in an area that was diminished
(End of
Part II)
16: How has the plant managed to grow in such a barren area? Explain.
-It has a special root structure which provides its own fertilizer
17: What is a pioneering species? How do they help out in a nutrient poor environment?
Explain. -Pioneering species are species that can adapt on their own and help such as the flower who provides it own food and the gofer who by digging makes ways for other animals to go underground and by digging it brings up nutrients from the soil
18: What is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens?
-The amount of lava going through the ground and pushing its way thought rocks and anything in its way
19: Explain how the pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape.
-They are spreading and they are taking over land areas which provides help for other animals to come
20: What were scientists finding in Spirit Lake? Why was the dissolved oxygen levels so low?
What was this causing? -They were finding bacteria that took all the oxygen and caused to no help for animals to live there
21: Explain how life in the lake is able to come back. What species is first (pioneering species)?
How were they brought to the lake?
-The first species or pioneer species were the phytoplankton that convert sunlight into oxygen, they were brought in by birds or by the wind
(End of Part III)
22: How are the salamanders able to survive in the harsh environment?
-The gofers actually helped because they create kilometers of underground systems that provide them to go underground to these cool areas
23: How was the rate of recovery on the mountain? Was it was scientists expected?
-It was just under one decade that life returned and it was far faster than anybody expected
(End of Part
IV)
24: Where does all of the explosive force in volcanoes come from? Where does the gas come
from?
-The explosive comes from these bubbles/ water which is a component of the magma, the magma changes in pressure and turns into gas and its what gives the volcanoes the explosive force
(End of Part V)
Discuss the miraculous return of nature to Mt. St. Helens years after the eruption. In your
discussion, use the following terms in your answer: succession, pioneer species, symbiosis
(mutualism), and nutrient cycling
The fact that the volcano erupted the environment is part of a succession. The succession can be confused with primary succession due to the volcanic eruption but it actually is secondary because the soil was still there. The soil is rich with nutrients and the only way for the areas that were affected be put back on pace naturally is with the pioneer species which are really important. The pioneer species for this area were the certain plants because they produce their won nutrients they have their own way and the can grow in places with rocks and hard areas. Another specie that is a pioneer specie is the phytoplankton which were growing in the lake after all the animals had died. They produce oxygen with sunlight through photosynthesis which is very important because it means that other animals cold return to the lake. The last one is the gofer who can survive underground and make tunnels for other animals to go through and survive as well. This process is called symbiosis which is interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both. That is exactly how the gofers acted toward other animals such as the salamanders. They provide help. The gofers help through bringing the soil and nutrient on the surface for other animals and the benefit of other plants to grow.
Name: _________________________________________________
1: When did Mt. St. Helens erupt last?
-It lastly erupted in 1980 and three years after
2: Where is Mt. St. Helens located?
-It is located in Washington
3: How much magma is released during the eruption?
-6 to 11 mi (10-18 km) into the air, and was visible in Seattle, Washington (100 mi/160 km north).
4: What is a pyroclastic flow?
-a dense, destructive mass of very hot ash, lava fragments, and gases ejected explosively from a volcano and typically flowing down slope at great speed.
5: How far from the summit is Spirit Lake located?
-4 miles
6: How many people were killed by the eruption?
-57
7: How far away was the furthest victim?
-15 miles away
8: How many birds disappeared during this disaster? How many insects?
-100 species of birds and billions of insects
9: What happens to Spirit Lake? Explain.
-lifted it dbed by more than 200 feet
-surface smothered in dead trees
-no form of life
10: Explain what the landscape in this region looks like after the eruption.
- A lot of rock and ash every where no form of life
(End of Part I)
11: What is the “Pacific Ring of Fire”?
-The Ring of Fire is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
12: Explain what has caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens.
-It was after a large earthquake, increasing pressure beneath the mountain and magma
13: What did the ecologist find when he first came to the mountain after the eruption?
-they found nothing but rocks and cooled magma a whole bunch of dust and nothing
14: What were the first signs of life at the mountain? What did they see happening?
-The first signs of life on the mountain were a little coquette gofer that he saw was digging from under the ground
15: Why were ecologists so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption?
-It was the first sign of life in an area that was diminished
(End of
Part II)
16: How has the plant managed to grow in such a barren area? Explain.
-It has a special root structure which provides its own fertilizer
17: What is a pioneering species? How do they help out in a nutrient poor environment?
Explain. -Pioneering species are species that can adapt on their own and help such as the flower who provides it own food and the gofer who by digging makes ways for other animals to go underground and by digging it brings up nutrients from the soil
18: What is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens?
-The amount of lava going through the ground and pushing its way thought rocks and anything in its way
19: Explain how the pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape.
-They are spreading and they are taking over land areas which provides help for other animals to come
20: What were scientists finding in Spirit Lake? Why was the dissolved oxygen levels so low?
What was this causing? -They were finding bacteria that took all the oxygen and caused to no help for animals to live there
21: Explain how life in the lake is able to come back. What species is first (pioneering species)?
How were they brought to the lake?
-The first species or pioneer species were the phytoplankton that convert sunlight into oxygen, they were brought in by birds or by the wind
(End of Part III)
22: How are the salamanders able to survive in the harsh environment?
-The gofers actually helped because they create kilometers of underground systems that provide them to go underground to these cool areas
23: How was the rate of recovery on the mountain? Was it was scientists expected?
-It was just under one decade that life returned and it was far faster than anybody expected
(End of Part
IV)
24: Where does all of the explosive force in volcanoes come from? Where does the gas come
from?
-The explosive comes from these bubbles/ water which is a component of the magma, the magma changes in pressure and turns into gas and its what gives the volcanoes the explosive force
(End of Part V)
Discuss the miraculous return of nature to Mt. St. Helens years after the eruption. In your
discussion, use the following terms in your answer: succession, pioneer species, symbiosis
(mutualism), and nutrient cycling
The fact that the volcano erupted the environment is part of a succession. The succession can be confused with primary succession due to the volcanic eruption but it actually is secondary because the soil was still there. The soil is rich with nutrients and the only way for the areas that were affected be put back on pace naturally is with the pioneer species which are really important. The pioneer species for this area were the certain plants because they produce their won nutrients they have their own way and the can grow in places with rocks and hard areas. Another specie that is a pioneer specie is the phytoplankton which were growing in the lake after all the animals had died. They produce oxygen with sunlight through photosynthesis which is very important because it means that other animals cold return to the lake. The last one is the gofer who can survive underground and make tunnels for other animals to go through and survive as well. This process is called symbiosis which is interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both. That is exactly how the gofers acted toward other animals such as the salamanders. They provide help. The gofers help through bringing the soil and nutrient on the surface for other animals and the benefit of other plants to grow.