Posted on 11/16/2016 8:01:44 AM PST by JimSEA
Scientists analyzing a volcanic eruption at a mid-ocean ridge under the Pacific have come up with a somewhat contrarian explanation for what initiated it. Many scientists say undersea volcanism is triggered mainly by upwelling magma that reaches a critical pressure and forces its way up. The new study says the dominant force, at least in this case, was the seafloor itself -- basically that it ripped itself open, allowing the lava to spill out. The eruption took place on the East Pacific Rise, some 700 miles off Mexico.
"Mid-ocean ridges are commonly viewed as seafloor volcanoes, operating like volcanoes on land," said the study's lead author, Yen Joe Tan, a graduate student at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "We're saying they should actually be viewed as tears in the crust, where magma oozes out." The study appears in the journal Nature this week.
The mid-ocean ridges are mountain chains that run continuously for more than 40,000 miles along the planet's seafloors, like stitching on a baseball. From their centers, they pour out lava. This pushes the seafloor out in opposite directions from the ridges toward the continents.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Is it push from the ocean floor ridges or is it pull from the subduction of water heavy plate edges under the continents. Or is it both??
My wife has the same problem when she makes berry pies.
Guess where high concentrations of methane comes from......
The Russians are right. The thinning of Arctic ice is due to underwater volcano “smoker” activity. Numerous sites and increased venting of core heat.
WOW , that Global Warming runs deep
Did that star Rip Torn?
Kaiju alert!
This is Science? There is a rip in the crust because the eart’s crust ripped.
“Guess where high concentrations of methane comes from... “
my guess cowboys and beans:)
Even more ominous - is something very big pushing its way out?
You know, I have wondered whether undersea volcanoes are linked to warming events like El Nino and The Blob (the warm water off Pacific NW Coast for the last two years that has finally dissipated). It could be that El Ninos are triggered by warmth from the planet’s core.
Mongo just a pawn in the game of life.
A serious discussion about to go down the tubes- chuckling
Mmmmm...rip in crust...pepperoni...
Interesting stuff. Geology is one of the sciences working with really new theories, the way tectonic plates work was only figured out in the 60’s and 70’s. That’s why they are still finding out new information.
I wish I could find my geology book, it must be buried in a box under a bunch of other boxes...haven’t seen it since I moved back to Texas.
I tend to agree with the theory in the last paragraph, it’s probably both the tearing of the crust and the pressure of the plate itself moving working in conjunction. It makes sense, the plates are all always moving but very slowly. I think I read a while back the San Andreas fault in California is moving something like 2 inches a year, one of the fastest. Some only move 1/4 inch a year.
One thing I’m worried about though, as we move into the new solar cycle, geological activity will be increasing and several spots are overdue for major eruptions or earthquakes. San Andreas is one of them, also Yellowstone. If those two are close enough together, it’s very possible that sudden activity at one will trigger activity in the other and that would be a worldwide disaster.
A major earthquake would very likely destroy a large part of California, and a Yellowstone eruption would cover half the US in ash several feet thick, and could produce an ash cloud capable of blocking enough sunlight to stunt plant growth for a long time.
If both happened at the same time, it would be a disaster unlike anything we’ve ever even imagined. I think if we’re observant, we’ll see early warning signs. Animals seems to have a 6th sense. In a heavy winter squirrels will grow thicker tails, in a dry summer ants will build higher nests, lower in a wet summer...ahead of time. Most animals in fall grow a winter coat, almost always thicker in heavy winters, again ahead of time.
So will we see a mass migration of animals away from these problem areas before a major event? And will we interpret it correctly?
Watching it now on youtube...with pepperoni. James Mason.
Headline - lava comes out of holes torn in the earth......
Rip in crust drives undersea volcanism
Headline - lava comes out of holes torn in the earth......
Women and children effected the most.
That’s opposed to “volcanos are caused by hot lava pushing it way through the intact crust”. Two approaches leading the similar end results.
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