Editing Eruption column (section)

{{Short description|Cloud of hot ash and volcanic gases emitted during an explosive volcanic eruption}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Tonga Volcano Eruption 2022-01-15 0320Z to 0610Z Himawari-8 visible.gif|thumb|Satellite animation of the initial eruption column and shockwave from [[Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai]] on 15 January 2022]]

An '''eruption column''' or '''eruption plume''' is a cloud of super-heated [[Volcanic ash|ash]] and [[tephra]] suspended in [[volcanic gas|gases]] emitted during an [[explosive eruption|explosive volcanic eruption]]. The volcanic materials form a vertical column or [[Plume (fluid dynamics)|plume]] that may rise many kilometers into the air above the vent of the volcano. In the most explosive eruptions, the eruption column may rise over {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}}, penetrating the [[stratosphere]]. Injection of [[Particulate|aerosols]] into the stratosphere by volcanoes is a major cause of short-term [[Volcanic winter|climate change]].

A common occurrence in explosive eruptions is ''column collapse'' when the eruption column is or becomes too dense to be lifted high into the sky by air convection, and instead falls down the slopes of the volcano to form [[pyroclastic flow]]s or [[pyroclastic surge|surge]]s (although the latter is less dense). On some occasions, if the material is not dense enough to fall, it may create [[pyrocumulonimbus]] clouds.