Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-14
VOLCANIC PHENOMENA
FLOW OF WATER INTO THE HEAT
ED PARTS OF EARTH.
Steam Generated in Terrestrial Depths
and, Exploding, Blows Open
Mountains.

From the New York Herald
Now that measures have been organized
to relieve Martinique and St. Vincent sur
vivors of the most fearful and fatal seis-
mic catastrophe of our times, it is we'll
that an American scientific expedition Will
leave New York for ST. Pierre today for
the purpose of studying the mysterious
phenomena which have spread desoiation
over these sister islands. The great phys
icaI problem to be attacked by these scien-
fists is the cause of the seismic convul-
sions which preceded the awful volcanic
eruptions of Mont Pelee and La Soufriere.
having. of course. in view the all important
practical question of discovering means of
forrwarniug endangered districts of SINH
lar disasters.
1t has been well said by Prof Bonney
that kettle boiling over reproduces,
though in water instead of more solid ma
teriais. the phenomena of volcanic erup-
ton Every explosion of the volcano. every
discharge of projecties from its crater, is
accompanied by jets of steam, and usually
enormous volumes of water are elected.
This familiar fact conclusively proves that
the immediate cause Of eruptiouS is the
penetration of water in large quantities to
the deep-seated and intensely heated
fused rocks beneath the volcanic cone.
Pressure of Steam.
When this occurs the rapid generation OF
steam defies all repression in it's subter-
ranean chambers, and, combining with
other heated gases. the steam forces it's
upward way through the chimney of the
crater. carrying before it immense masses
of lava and other matter to be hurled with
indescribable fury above the summit and
over the sides of the mountain. All that is
needed to initiate the gigantic eruption is a
sufficient disturbance or diSlocation of the
cooler strata near the surface to allow
water TO rush into the overheated area
below.
In view Of these facts, upon which geolo-
gists are generally agreed. the problem of
the immediate cause of the volcanic out
burts is narrowed to the determination of
the agency which so disturbs the crust of
the earth to permit its watery masses
to percoate into the lower overheated re-
Gion. where the aqueous mass becomes a
violent explosive. charging itself through
! the chimney of the volcano crater precisely
as # it We're. to Bonney's words. "a
monster gun" An artificial gun is dis
charged by very slight touch of the trig-
ger Science has yet TO tell by what
agency the trigger of the great volcanic gun
Is moved But 1T is worth while to inquire
whether this agency Is not found in the
seasonal huctua tons of the earth's ponder
GUS atmosphere and the resulting effects
upon the earths solid crust.
Record of Earthquakes.
Toward the close of the last century
Alexis Percy of Dion, the celebrated
French seismologist, who had compiled and
carefully studied the records of all known
earthquakes. formulated the theory that
there is preponderance of earthquake
shocks over the globe generally at the equi-
nOXes and selstices, which he called ''criti-
cal epochs' Other high authorities among
seismolOgIStS have recognized the possibility
that changes of atmospheric pressure in and
near volcanic regions may have at times a
sufficient disturbing effect upon the earth's
elastic crust to initiate volcanic activity.
In this connection 1t IS very interesting to
note that the terrible Venezuela earthquake
which destroyed the city Of Caracas on
March Is, 1872 came in one of Perrey's
critical periods and was followed on April
81 of the same year by the historic eruption
of the volcano Soufriere in st. Vincent. At
ter the vernal equinox the Atlantic belt of
doldrumS is moving northward, and with it
zone of low barometer. while the atmOS-
pheriC pressure is very much higher over
the ocean from the Azores to the tropic of
Cancer.
May Foretell Eruptions.
As the recent and unprecedented erup-
lions on Martinique and St. Vincent have
occurred in the season when the the great
est variations OF atmospheric pressure are
progressing over the entire region within
and north of the Caribbean sea, it seems
eminently desirable that our scientists
should carefully investigate the inter-rela-
lions between these meteorological and the
chronological phenomena.
If the outgoing expedition finds itself I'M
able to fully solve the occult problem Of the
origin of volcanic eruptions and to estab-
lish at once solid scientific basis for their
timely prediction in future. its work will
doubtless contribute much to this longed-
for and unSpeakably desirable end. The
difficulties of foreseeiRg disastrous tremors
and changes in the earth's rocky crust may
now seem unsurmOuntable. But ii is per
haps not too much to hope that progress in
this direction will ere long be so marked
as to Justify the yOlcanologist in the great
tropical CenterS of volcanic violence 10 fore
warn imperiled cities of impending erup-
tions as they are cautioned against the
approach of hurricanes and typhoonS.