Mt. St. Helens- Back From the Dead
1: When did Mt. St. Helens erupt last?
Mt. St. Helens last erupted on October 2004
2: Where is Mt. St. Helens located?
Mt. St. Helens is located in Washington State.
3: How much magma is released during the eruption?
Millions of tons of magma is released
4: What is a pyroclastic flow?
A cloud of searing gas and rock
5: How far from the summit is Spirit Lake located?
4 miles
6: How many people were killed by the eruption?
57 people were killed
7: How far away was the furthest victim?
The furthest victims were 13 miles away
8: How many birds disappeared during this disaster? How many insects?
Thousands of birds and billion of insects disappeared
9: What happens to Spirit Lake? Explain.
Spirit Lake becomes murky because the Surface is smothered in dead trees. Hundred of species of aquatic life are dead
10: Explain what the landscape in this region looks like after the eruption. (End of Part I)
A mile wide crater and is 2000 feet deep
11: What is the “Pacific Ring of Fire”?
A large arc of volcanoes for thousands of miles.
12: Explain what has caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens.
The plates of the earth's crust are being pushed together
13: What did the ecologist find when he first came to the mountain after the eruption?
Nothing at first, but then over time they found sign of brown earth over the volcanic ash and dead trees
14: What were the first signs of life at the mountain? What did they see happening?
A gopher that was seen digging out from underneath the ground
15: Why were ecologists so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption? (End of Part II)
Because the plant was flourishing in an area where every other form of life was extinguished
16: How has the plant managed to grow in such a barren area? Explain.
The plant has a special root structure that provides 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.
A pioneering species is one that paves the way for other life to thrive in an area. They help out a nutrient poor environment, because when they die, the release nutrients in the soil.
18: What is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens?
Lava breaking through rocks across the volcano's floor.
19: Explain how the pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape.
Pioneering species of the lake are spreading across the landscape changing and modifying the land as they go.
20: What were scientists finding in Spirit Lake? Why was the dissolved oxygen levels so low? What was this causing?
A boom in bacteria. The dissolved oxygen levels were so low because the bacteria were consuming all of the oxygen. This was causing the lake to be unable to support any other forms of life that required oxygen
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 phytoplankton which turns sunlight to oxygen. The phytoplankton is the pioneer species. They were brought to the lake by birds or blown in by the winds.
22: How are the salamanders able to survive in the harsh environment?
Salamanders are able to survive in this harsh environment because gophers build tunnels of very long lengths which are cool and moist
23: How was the rate of recovery on the mountain? Was it was scientists expected? (End of Part IV)
The recovery rate of the mountain was much faster than what scientists expected
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 within the volcanoes come from the magma which is pressurized by a gas. The gas comes from water
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 eruption of Mt. St. Helens destroyed all life near it and people miles away from it. Although the miraculous return of nature to Mt. St. Helens years after the eruption showed that it was secondary succession. Secondary succession is when the environment of an area is disturbed, but later recovers. Mt. St. Helens was an example of secondary succession because the gophers who dug deep down the soil to protect themselves from the eruption later dug up the soil to the surface. With the soil now present plants which are the pioneer species were able to grow and colonize the ecosystem. These plants were able to grow and flourish due to a symbiosis relationship between it and a type of a bacteria. Plants were able to survive, because of its special root structure that provides its own fertilizer. When these plants die it leads to the enrichment of soil of nutrients, which is called nutrient cycling.
Mt. St. Helens last erupted on October 2004
2: Where is Mt. St. Helens located?
Mt. St. Helens is located in Washington State.
3: How much magma is released during the eruption?
Millions of tons of magma is released
4: What is a pyroclastic flow?
A cloud of searing gas and rock
5: How far from the summit is Spirit Lake located?
4 miles
6: How many people were killed by the eruption?
57 people were killed
7: How far away was the furthest victim?
The furthest victims were 13 miles away
8: How many birds disappeared during this disaster? How many insects?
Thousands of birds and billion of insects disappeared
9: What happens to Spirit Lake? Explain.
Spirit Lake becomes murky because the Surface is smothered in dead trees. Hundred of species of aquatic life are dead
10: Explain what the landscape in this region looks like after the eruption. (End of Part I)
A mile wide crater and is 2000 feet deep
11: What is the “Pacific Ring of Fire”?
A large arc of volcanoes for thousands of miles.
12: Explain what has caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens.
The plates of the earth's crust are being pushed together
13: What did the ecologist find when he first came to the mountain after the eruption?
Nothing at first, but then over time they found sign of brown earth over the volcanic ash and dead trees
14: What were the first signs of life at the mountain? What did they see happening?
A gopher that was seen digging out from underneath the ground
15: Why were ecologists so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption? (End of Part II)
Because the plant was flourishing in an area where every other form of life was extinguished
16: How has the plant managed to grow in such a barren area? Explain.
The plant has a special root structure that provides 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.
A pioneering species is one that paves the way for other life to thrive in an area. They help out a nutrient poor environment, because when they die, the release nutrients in the soil.
18: What is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens?
Lava breaking through rocks across the volcano's floor.
19: Explain how the pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape.
Pioneering species of the lake are spreading across the landscape changing and modifying the land as they go.
20: What were scientists finding in Spirit Lake? Why was the dissolved oxygen levels so low? What was this causing?
A boom in bacteria. The dissolved oxygen levels were so low because the bacteria were consuming all of the oxygen. This was causing the lake to be unable to support any other forms of life that required oxygen
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 phytoplankton which turns sunlight to oxygen. The phytoplankton is the pioneer species. They were brought to the lake by birds or blown in by the winds.
22: How are the salamanders able to survive in the harsh environment?
Salamanders are able to survive in this harsh environment because gophers build tunnels of very long lengths which are cool and moist
23: How was the rate of recovery on the mountain? Was it was scientists expected? (End of Part IV)
The recovery rate of the mountain was much faster than what scientists expected
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 within the volcanoes come from the magma which is pressurized by a gas. The gas comes from water
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 eruption of Mt. St. Helens destroyed all life near it and people miles away from it. Although the miraculous return of nature to Mt. St. Helens years after the eruption showed that it was secondary succession. Secondary succession is when the environment of an area is disturbed, but later recovers. Mt. St. Helens was an example of secondary succession because the gophers who dug deep down the soil to protect themselves from the eruption later dug up the soil to the surface. With the soil now present plants which are the pioneer species were able to grow and colonize the ecosystem. These plants were able to grow and flourish due to a symbiosis relationship between it and a type of a bacteria. Plants were able to survive, because of its special root structure that provides its own fertilizer. When these plants die it leads to the enrichment of soil of nutrients, which is called nutrient cycling.