Ring of Fire is ACTIVE, warns United Nations
- 6 years ago
THE PACIFIC — Recent volcanic and seismic activity in various Pacific Ocean nations prompted the UN to warn that the "Ring of Fire" is active.
The warning, posted to the official UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction Twitter feed, comes after eruptions and earthquakes hit areas in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Alaska this week.
As the naming implies, it is a ring of hundred of volcanoes spanning 25,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. Much of it was created through the subduction of tectonic plates.
This is where oceanic crust of the earth clashes with heavier continental plates, and is forced underneath them due to the weight, reports DW. The resulting pressure is explosive and results in magma eruptions and earthquakes.
Because of these subduction zones, the Ring of Fire is home to 452 volcanoes and around 90 percent of the world's earthquakes.
The warning, posted to the official UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction Twitter feed, comes after eruptions and earthquakes hit areas in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Alaska this week.
As the naming implies, it is a ring of hundred of volcanoes spanning 25,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. Much of it was created through the subduction of tectonic plates.
This is where oceanic crust of the earth clashes with heavier continental plates, and is forced underneath them due to the weight, reports DW. The resulting pressure is explosive and results in magma eruptions and earthquakes.
Because of these subduction zones, the Ring of Fire is home to 452 volcanoes and around 90 percent of the world's earthquakes.