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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Volcanoes

Volcanic ash

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

nounCommon term

In geology & earth sciences, volcanic ash means: Tiny fragments of rock, minerals and volcanic glass, less than 2 mm across, blasted into the air by explosive eruptions.

In Turkish: volkanik kül

How it is used

A major hazard: ash clouds damage aircraft engines, and ash falls can collapse roofs and harm crops and lungs. In 2010, ash from Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland closed much of European airspace. Compacted ash forms a rock called tuff.

Example sentences

  1. Volcanic ash covered the town in a grey layer several centimetres thick.

  2. Pilots must avoid volcanic ash clouds because the ash can stop jet engines.

Common collocations

  • volcanic ash cloud
  • ash fall
  • ash layer
  • fine volcanic ash
  • eruptTo send out lava, ash and gas, either in a violent explosion or as a quieter flow of lava. Said of volcanoes, and also of geysers.
  • pyroclastic flowA fast-moving, ground-hugging cloud of hot gas, ash and rock fragments that rushes down the side of a volcano during an explosive eruption.
  • volcanoAn opening in the Earth's crust where magma, gas and ash come out, and the mountain or hill built around it by repeated eruptions.
  • atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the Earth, held in place by gravity. It is mostly nitrogen and oxygen, and weather happens in its lowest layer, the troposphere.

More terms: Volcanoes

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