Trashcano : Developing a quantitative teaching tool to understand ballistics accelerated by explosive volcanic eruptions

Wadsworth, Fabian and Unwin, Holly and Vasseur, Jérémie and Kennedy, Ben and Holzmueller, Julia and Scheu, Bettina and Witcher, Taylor and Adolf, Janina and Cáceres, Francisco and Casas, Ana and Cigala, Valeria and Clement, Alexandra and Colombier, Mathieu and Cronin, Shane and Cronin, Marcel and Dingwell, Donald and Guimarães, Leticia and Höltgen, Laura and Kueppers, Ulrich and Seropian, Gilles and Stern, Sönke and Teissier, Adrien and Vossen, Caron and Weichselgartner, Natalie (2018) Trashcano : Developing a quantitative teaching tool to understand ballistics accelerated by explosive volcanic eruptions. Volcanica, 1 (2). pp. 107-126. ISSN 2610-3540

Abstract

Accurate predictions of volcanological phenomena, such as the trajectory of blocks accelerated by volcanic explo-sions, require quantitative skills training. Large outdoor experiments can be useful to convey concepts of volcanicprocesses to students in an exciting way. Beyond the fun aspects, these experiments provide an opportunity toengage with the physics of projectile flight and help promote mathematical learning within the Earth Sciences.We present a quantitative framework required to interpret ballistic trajectories and the outdoor experiment knowncommonly as “trashcano”, taking a step-by-step approach to the physics of this problem, and deriving a rangeof mathematical solutions involving different levels of complexity. Our solutions are consistent with the predic-tions from established computer programs for volcanic ballistic trajectory modelling, but we additionally providea nested set of simplified solutions, useful for a range of teaching scenarios as well as downloadable simulateddatasets for use where the full experiment may not be possible.