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Scientists Find Something Totally Unexpected Hidden Under Six North American Volcanoes
The Debrief ^ | January 30, 2025 | Christopher Plain

Posted on 01/30/2025 9:22:00 AM PST by Red Badger

Scientists studying six North American volcanoes situated along the continent’s Cascade Range have found active magma underneath both active and dormant volcanic sites.

Previous research has suggested that volcanoes lose significant magma volume when they erupt, and any remaining magma dissipates over time.

The scientists behind the discovery argue that a better understanding of the conditions underneath volcanoes could answer several enduring questions about their lifecycles, including whether or not all dormant volcanoes contain pools of magma underneath. The researchers also believe a better understanding of these magma-filled chambers could help inform efforts to prepare for potential volcanic eruptions.

Even North American Volcanoes Dormant for Millenia Had Magma Underneath

Although there are volcanoes on every continent, including Antarctica, the Cornell University researchers behind this latest study focused on a series of six volcanoes of varying size and dormancy situated along the Cascade Range. That massive mountain range, which extends from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon before terminating in Northern California, includes half of the volcanoes designated as “very high threat” by the U.S Geological Survey.

Because the chambers beneath volcanoes are difficult to access, the Cornell team used seismic waves to create sonic “images” of the volcanic chamber’s size, shape, and dimensions. To their surprise, the researchers found magma beneath all of the volcanoes they studied. This was particularly unexpected in volcanoes like the picturesque Crater Lake, which have been geologically dormant for thousands of years.

A picture of Crater Lake, a dormant volcano, during winter. Image credit: National Park Service.

“Regardless of eruption frequency, we see large magma bodies beneath many volcanoes,” said Guanning Pang, a postdoctoral researcher and the study’s lead author, in a statement. “It appears that these magma bodies exist beneath volcanoes over their whole lifetime, not just during an active state.”

Although the researchers are unsure of the exact dynamics behind the magma chambers, they suspect that a volcanic eruption lets off some of this excess magma and pressure but does not completely drain the chamber. After the eruption, they believe the chamber slowly expands and refills gradually over time due to a gradual melting of the crust.

Understanding Magma Dynamics Could Assist Monitoring for Volcanic Eruptions While the team’s findings are limited to a handful of North American volcanoes, the researchers suspect that most, if not all, of the world’s volcanoes, regardless of dormancy, may have a massive amount of magma underneath them. Pang says this would be particularly significant since researchers used to think that finding magma underneath a volcano meant it might be preparing to erupt.

“We used to think that if we found a large amount of magma, that meant increased likelihood of eruption,” the researcher explained, “but now we are shifting perception that this is the baseline situation.”

In the study’s conclusion, the researchers note that the U.S. Geological Survey has been actively “expanding and upgrading” their network of monitors designed to track volcanic activity within the Cascade Range. They say those same efforts are also expanding to other North American volcanoes, including several volcanoes in Alaska, as part of the National Volcano Early Warning System, “with the aim of detecting signals of an impending eruption as early as possible.”

“If we had a better general understanding of where magma was, we could do a much better job of targeting and optimizing monitoring,” said Geoffrey Abers, professor in geological sciences at Cornell. Such work is critical, Abers said, as the world contains a “great many volcanoes that are sparsely monitored or have not been subject to intensive study.”

The study “Long-lived partial melt beneath Cascade Range volcanoes” was published in Nature Geoscience.


TOPICS: History; Outdoors; Science; Weather
KEYWORDS: britishcolumbia; cacaderangevolcanoes; california; cascaderange; cascaderangevolcano; cascaderangevolcanos; cascades; craterlake; dormant; eruption; eruptions; evnws; hotstuff; magma; magmachambers; mountsainthelens; mtsainthelens; northamerica; northamericavolcano; oregon; volcano; volcanoes; washington
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To: 17th Miss Regt

Making America Geologically Magical Again. Up with magma! Down with subduction zones!


61 posted on 01/30/2025 2:13:39 PM PST by crusty old prospector
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To: GingisK
My first wife used the smoke alarm as a cooking timer.

NOW that is funny. I will have to use that on my daughters one of these days.
62 posted on 01/30/2025 2:36:42 PM PST by wbarmy (Trying to do better.)
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To: GingisK
My first wife used the smoke alarm as a cooking timer.

It works for me, too.

63 posted on 01/30/2025 4:47:14 PM PST by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! 🔭)
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To: Paladin2

I, for one, welcome our new Fire Elemental overlords.

:D


64 posted on 01/30/2025 5:02:14 PM PST by Salamander (Please visit my profile page to help me go home again. https://www.givesendgo.com/GCRRD)
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To: conservative_cyclist; ten18; Twotone; VeryFRank; Clinging Bitterly; Rio; aimhigh; Hieronymus; ...
If you would like more information about what’s happening in Oregon, please FReepmail me. Please send me your name by FReepmail if you want to be on this list.
65 posted on 02/01/2025 12:34:13 PM PST by Twotone ( What's the difference between a politician & a flying pig? The letter "F.")
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To: Red Badger

Here in Washington state, we have several....
Baker
Glacier Peak
Rainier
Adams
and the one everyone’s heard of, St. Helens

If any of them blew, it’d be a disaster. The one past scientists are most afraid of is Rainier, the biggest one. Tons of people live in its shadow and along the rivers that come off of it.


66 posted on 02/01/2025 12:50:08 PM PST by hoagy62 (Hail Trump! Trump won! By a lot!)
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To: doorgunner69

Ah, Hawaii.....Memories, used to live on the Big Island. Went up many times to the Volcano park to hike.


67 posted on 02/01/2025 12:55:26 PM PST by little jeremiah (https://qalerts.app/)
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To: Red Badger

I’ve been to Crater Lake. It is SO gorgeous. Everyone should see it! Really stunning. Would be a shame for her to blow. :(


68 posted on 02/01/2025 1:14:02 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Political Junkie Too

Trump is certainly cracking heads like Godzilla! MAGA! :)


69 posted on 02/01/2025 1:18:05 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Red Badger; SunkenCiv

MAGMA!

Make America Great Muchly Again! :)


70 posted on 02/01/2025 1:19:30 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

LOL


71 posted on 02/01/2025 7:18:45 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: crusty old prospector
Whoop di do. Magma beneath a volcano. Story at the 10. More wasted grant money.

I disagree. Significant magma under long dormant volcanos is a very interesting finding. Either they are not as "dormant" as we thought, or they die very, very slowly.

I have no idea how much grant money was spent on this, but this is how science works. Build one brick at a time and eventually we get an entire new building.

72 posted on 02/02/2025 2:31:27 AM PST by CurlyDave (I helped vote the felon into power.)
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To: CurlyDave

I would suspect that any volcano with seismic activity has an active magma chamber.


73 posted on 02/02/2025 6:29:52 AM PST by crusty old prospector
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To: Red Badger

Seattle and Portland hardest hit


74 posted on 02/02/2025 6:34:28 AM PST by bert ( (KE. NP. +12) Where is ZORRO when California so desperately needs him?)
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