Mt. St. Helens- Back From the Dead
1: When did Mt. St. Helens erupt last?
July 10, 2008
2: Where is Mt. St. Helens located?
Mount St. Helens is located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
3: How much magma is released during the eruption?
Millions of tons of magma was released during the eruption.
4: What is a pyroclastic flow?
A pyroclastic flow is a cloud of searing gas and rock.
5: How far from the summit is Spirit Lake located?
Spirit Lake is 4 miles from the summit.
6: How many people were killed by the eruption?
57 people were killed.
7: How far away was the furthest victim?
The furthest victim was 13 miles away.
8: How many birds disappeared during this disaster? How many insects?
Thousands of birds and billions of insects disappeared during this disaster.
9: What happens to Spirit Lake? Explain.
Spirit Lake became murky after the eruption occurred. Hundreds of aquatic species were dead and the lake was covered in ash and dead trees.
10: Explain what the landscape in this region looks like after the eruption. (End of Part I)
The landscape was covered in ash after the eruption.
11: What is the “Pacific Ring of Fire”?
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a vast arc of volcanoes running for thousands of miles.
12: Explain what has caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens.
What caused the Mt. St. Helens volcano was two plates that converging.
13: What did the ecologist find when he first came to the mountain after the eruption?
The geologist found nothing but dead, uprooted trees. Everything was covered in ash.
14: What were the first signs of life at the mountain? What did they see happening?
They saw a pocket gopher that was hidden under the soil and they thought if the gopher lived through the eruption then there must be more animals and insect that have too. They also saw a plant that was green and the flowers were blooming.
15: Why were ecologists so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption? (End of
Part II)
The ecologists were surprised because it was one of the first signs of life there after the eruption and that soon enough everything would hopefully grow back just like that plant did.
16: How has the plant managed to grow in such a barren area? Explain.
The plant has a special root structure that pervaded its own fertilizer. The bacterium works with the plant which provides nitrogen, and gives the bacterium simple sugar.
17: What is a pioneering species? How do they help out in a nutrient poor environment? Explain.
The pioneering species is the species that first colonize after the ecosystem was disrupted. They help nutrient poor environments by releasing nutrients into the soil.
18: What is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens?
Lava breaking through rocks and flowing through the crater flow is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens.
19: Explain how the pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape.
When pioneer species die they release nutrients into the soil which enriches it. The soil that is now enriched helps plants grow and keep them alive.
20: What were scientists finding in Spirit Lake? Why was the dissolved oxygen levels so low? What was this causing?
Scientist were finding bacteria in the lake and these bacterias were consuming all of the dissolved oxygen; therefore the dissolved oxygen levels were so low.
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? (End of Part III)
Life is able to come back because with the phytoplankton in the lake, they are able to turn sunlight into oxygen. The pioneer species is the phytoplankton. They were brought in by birds or blown in by the wind.
22: How are the salamanders able to survive in the harsh environment?
The salamanders were able to survive in the harsh environment because the went into tunnels which were cold and moist.
23: How was the rate of recovery on the mountain? Was it was scientists expected? (End of Part IV)
The road to recovery was not was scientist expected because it was so fast.
24: Where does all of the explosive force in volcanoes come from? Where does the gas come from? (End of Part V)
The explosive force in the volcanoes came from the gas. The gas comes from water, a component from magma and the gas was also pressurizes the magma., which pressurizes the magma.
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
Years after Mt. St. Helens erupted it was able to recover because of secondary succession. After the eruption occurred, it left everything covered in ash . The soil and dirt that was covered from the ash was able to recover. Within months after the eruption, a gopher and a plant called lupinus was found. This plant was able to survive because the bacterium works with the plant which provides nitrogen, and gives the bacterium simple sugar. The plant is able to survive because it has a symbiosis relationship with bacteria but when these plants die, they give off nutrients to grow bigger plants and trees known as the nutrient cycle. One of the pioneer species that helped get the lake back together after the eruption was phytoplankton. They were brought in by birds and blew in by the wind, they turn sunlight into oxygen and scientist brought in fish and they were able to stay alive because of these plankton.
1: When did Mt. St. Helens erupt last?
July 10, 2008
2: Where is Mt. St. Helens located?
Mount St. Helens is located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
3: How much magma is released during the eruption?
Millions of tons of magma was released during the eruption.
4: What is a pyroclastic flow?
A pyroclastic flow is a cloud of searing gas and rock.
5: How far from the summit is Spirit Lake located?
Spirit Lake is 4 miles from the summit.
6: How many people were killed by the eruption?
57 people were killed.
7: How far away was the furthest victim?
The furthest victim was 13 miles away.
8: How many birds disappeared during this disaster? How many insects?
Thousands of birds and billions of insects disappeared during this disaster.
9: What happens to Spirit Lake? Explain.
Spirit Lake became murky after the eruption occurred. Hundreds of aquatic species were dead and the lake was covered in ash and dead trees.
10: Explain what the landscape in this region looks like after the eruption. (End of Part I)
The landscape was covered in ash after the eruption.
11: What is the “Pacific Ring of Fire”?
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a vast arc of volcanoes running for thousands of miles.
12: Explain what has caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens.
What caused the Mt. St. Helens volcano was two plates that converging.
13: What did the ecologist find when he first came to the mountain after the eruption?
The geologist found nothing but dead, uprooted trees. Everything was covered in ash.
14: What were the first signs of life at the mountain? What did they see happening?
They saw a pocket gopher that was hidden under the soil and they thought if the gopher lived through the eruption then there must be more animals and insect that have too. They also saw a plant that was green and the flowers were blooming.
15: Why were ecologists so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption? (End of
Part II)
The ecologists were surprised because it was one of the first signs of life there after the eruption and that soon enough everything would hopefully grow back just like that plant did.
16: How has the plant managed to grow in such a barren area? Explain.
The plant has a special root structure that pervaded its own fertilizer. The bacterium works with the plant which provides nitrogen, and gives the bacterium simple sugar.
17: What is a pioneering species? How do they help out in a nutrient poor environment? Explain.
The pioneering species is the species that first colonize after the ecosystem was disrupted. They help nutrient poor environments by releasing nutrients into the soil.
18: What is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens?
Lava breaking through rocks and flowing through the crater flow is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens.
19: Explain how the pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape.
When pioneer species die they release nutrients into the soil which enriches it. The soil that is now enriched helps plants grow and keep them alive.
20: What were scientists finding in Spirit Lake? Why was the dissolved oxygen levels so low? What was this causing?
Scientist were finding bacteria in the lake and these bacterias were consuming all of the dissolved oxygen; therefore the dissolved oxygen levels were so low.
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? (End of Part III)
Life is able to come back because with the phytoplankton in the lake, they are able to turn sunlight into oxygen. The pioneer species is the phytoplankton. They were brought in by birds or blown in by the wind.
22: How are the salamanders able to survive in the harsh environment?
The salamanders were able to survive in the harsh environment because the went into tunnels which were cold and moist.
23: How was the rate of recovery on the mountain? Was it was scientists expected? (End of Part IV)
The road to recovery was not was scientist expected because it was so fast.
24: Where does all of the explosive force in volcanoes come from? Where does the gas come from? (End of Part V)
The explosive force in the volcanoes came from the gas. The gas comes from water, a component from magma and the gas was also pressurizes the magma., which pressurizes the magma.
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
Years after Mt. St. Helens erupted it was able to recover because of secondary succession. After the eruption occurred, it left everything covered in ash . The soil and dirt that was covered from the ash was able to recover. Within months after the eruption, a gopher and a plant called lupinus was found. This plant was able to survive because the bacterium works with the plant which provides nitrogen, and gives the bacterium simple sugar. The plant is able to survive because it has a symbiosis relationship with bacteria but when these plants die, they give off nutrients to grow bigger plants and trees known as the nutrient cycle. One of the pioneer species that helped get the lake back together after the eruption was phytoplankton. They were brought in by birds and blew in by the wind, they turn sunlight into oxygen and scientist brought in fish and they were able to stay alive because of these plankton.