Center for Catholic Education. Michael Graham, S.J., Xavier's President, has committed the University to engaging students intellectually, morally, and spiritually - with rigor and compassion - toward lives of solidarity, service, and success. This is Xavier's Catholic and Jesuit identity and heritage.
On Saturday, Japan's Mount Ontake volcano erupted without warning, surprising several hundred nearby hikers. Plumes of volcanic gas and ash overtook the fleeing hikers and buried nearby lodges and outbuildings. Though most of the people on Mount Ontake that day were able to escape.
A: Volcanoes affect the hydrosphere in many ways, such as promoting rainfall. After a volcano erupts, condensation forms around the dust particles it expells, causing rain. This in turn promotes growth of plants in the biosphere. An eruption can cause glaciers to melt, which flow into rivers and feed the biosphere. Another volcanic effect occurs when sulfuric acid from the eruption combines with rain in the hydrosphere. When this acid rain reaches the surface of the Earth, it pulls minerals from the soil, which not only deprives the soil of valuable nutrients but increases the acidity of the water and affects those animals that can live in it.