Active
A popular way of classifying magmatic volcanoes is by their frequency of
eruption, with those that erupt regularly called
active, those that have erupted in historical
times but are now quiet called
dormant or
inactive, and those that have not erupted in historical times called
extinct. However, these popular classifications—extinct in particular—are practically meaningless to scientists. They use classifications which refer to a particular volcano's formative and eruptive processes and resulting shapes, which was explained above.
There is no real consensus among volcanologists on how to define an "active" volcano. The lifespan of a volcano can vary from months to several million years, making such a distinction sometimes meaningless when compared to the lifespans of humans or even civilizations. For example, many of Earth's volcanoes have erupted dozens of times in the past few thousand years but are not currently showing signs of eruption. Given the long lifespan of such volcanoes, they are very active. By human lifespans, however, they are not.
Scientists usually consider a volcano to be
erupting or
likely to erupt if it is currently erupting, or showing signs of unrest such as unusual earthquake activity or significant new gas emissions. Most scientists consider a volcano
active if it has erupted in
holocene times.
Historic times is another timeframe for
active.
[4] But it is important to note that the span of recorded history differs from region to region. In
China and the
Mediterranean, recorded history reaches back more than 3,000 years but in the Pacific Northwest of the
United States and
Canada, it reaches back less than 300 years, and in
Hawaii and
New Zealand, only around 200 years.
[5] The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program's definition of
active is having erupted within the last 10,000 years (the 'holocene' period).
Presently there are about 500 active volcanoes in the world – the majority following along the Pacific '
Ring of Fire' – and around 50 of these erupt each year.
[6] The United States is home to 50 active volcanoes.
[7] There are more than 1,500 potentially active volcanoes.
[8] An estimated 500 million people live near active volcanoes.
[9]
Extinct
Extinct volcanoes are those that scientists consider unlikely to erupt again, because the volcano no longer has a lava supply. Examples of extinct volcanoes are many volcanoes on the
Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain in the
Pacific Ocean,
Hohentwiel,
Shiprock and the
Zuidwal volcano in the
Netherlands.
Edinburgh Castle in
Scotland is famously located atop an extinct volcano. Otherwise, whether a volcano is truly extinct is often difficult to determine. Since "supervolcano"
calderas can have eruptive lifespans sometimes measured in millions of years, a caldera that has not produced an eruption in tens of thousands of years is likely to be considered dormant instead of extinct. Some volcanologists refer to extinct volcanoes as inactive, though the term is now more commonly used for dorment volcanoes once thought to be extinct.
Dormant
It is difficult to distinguish an extinct volcano from a
dormant (inactive) one. Volcanoes are often considered to be extinct if there are no written records of its activity. Nevertheless, volcanoes may remain dormant for a long period of time. For example,
Yellowstone has a repose/recharge period of around 700
ka, and
Toba of around 380 ka.
[10] Vesuvius was described by Roman writers as having been covered with gardens and vineyards before its famous eruption of AD 79, which destroyed the towns of
Herculaneumand
Pompeii. Before its catastrophic eruption of 1991,
Pinatubo was an inconspicuous volcano, unknown to most people in the surrounding areas. Two other examples are the long-dormant
Soufrière Hills volcano on the island of
Montserrat, thought to be extinct before activity resumed in 1995 and
Fourpeaked Mountain in
Alaska, which, before its September 2006 eruption, had not erupted since before 8000 BC and had long been thought to be extinct.
Source :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano#Popular_classification_of_volcanoes
