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* Yellowstone’s upper magma chamber is just 2.3 miles deep, closer than previously thought, raising new questions about eruption risks. * Scientists used advanced seismic imaging to map the magma system, revealing a silica-rich upper chamber and a larger basalt reservoir below. * Volatile gases venting naturally reduce pressure but don’t eliminate the long-term threat of a catastrophic eruption. * Past supereruptions reshaped landscapes and altered global climates — the last one was 640,000 years ago. * NASA’s controversial plan to cool the magma via drilling carries risks and would take millennia to show effects. ********************************************************************** Yellowstone National Park, home...

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...

Here, in the country's northeast, a team of international researchers is preparing to drill two kilometres (1.2 miles) into the heart of the volcano, a Jules Verne-like project aimed at creating the world's first underground magma observatory. Unlike the lava spewed above ground, the molten rock beneath the surface remains a mystery. "We have never observed underground magma, apart from fortuitous encounters while drilling" in volcanoes in Hawaii and Kenya, and at Krafla in 2009, he says. "Knowing where the magma is located... is vital" in order to be prepared for an eruption. "Without that, we are nearly blind," says...

Philippine authorities have begun to evacuate thousands of people Thursday after the alert status for Taal volcano, located near capital Manila, was raised following a “magmatic intrusion.” “At 3:16 p.m., the Taal volcano’s main crater generated a short-lived dark phreatomagmatic plume 1 km-high with no accompanying volcanic earthquake,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement. LOOK: Phreatomagmatic eruption of #Taal Volcano from 3:16 PM to 3:21 PM today (July 1, 2021), as viewed from the Main Crater station. | Courtesy of @phivolcs_dost This afternoon, the agency raised Taal’s Alert Level to 3 (magmatic unrest). Stay safe...

A group of University of Wyoming professors and students has identified an unusual belt of igneous rocks that stretches for over 2,000 miles from British Columbia, Canada, through Idaho, Montana, Nevada, southeast California and Arizona to Sonora, Mexico. “Geoscientists usually associate long belts of igneous rocks with chains of volcanoes at subduction zones, like Mount Shasta, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainer,” says Jay Chapman, an assistant professor in UW’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. “What makes this finding so interesting and mysterious is that this belt of igneous rocks is located much farther inland, away from the...

Traces of Earth’s early magma ocean identified in Greenland rocks New research led by the University of Cambridge has found rare evidence – preserved in the chemistry of ancient rocks from Greenland - which tells of a time when Earth was almost entirely molten.It’s astonishing that we can even hold these rocks in our hands – let alone get so much detail about the early history of our planetHelen WilliamsThe study, published in the journal Science Advances, yields information on an important period in our planet’s formation, when a deep sea of incandescent magma stretched across Earth’s surface and extended...

International research led by geologists from Curtin University has found that a volcanic province in the Indian Ocean was the world's most continuously active—erupting for 30 million years—fuelled by a constantly moving conveyor belt of magma. It's believed this magma conveyor belt, created by shifts in the seabed, continuously made space available for the molten rock to flow for millions of years, beginning around 120 million years ago. Research lead Qiang Jiang, a Ph.D. candidate from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the studied volcanoes were in the Kerguelen Plateau, located in the Indian Ocean, about 3,000 kilometers...

Analysing microscopic crystals in the basalt and ejected material of two volcanoes in the Galápagos, the researchers discovered hidden systems of magma that are not so simple or predictable after all. Even though the Wolf and Fernandina volcanoes in the Galápagos have seemingly spewed the same basaltic lava for their entire existence, the new findings suggest they are sitting on a chemically diverse system of molten rocks, some of which have the potential to set into motion explosive activity. Just because these volcanoes appear boring on the surface doesn't mean the monotony will continue forever, the researchers say. While the...

An area at the center of the Norris Geyser Basin was found to inflate and deflateExperts have determined a intrusion of magma under the surface is to blameMagma became trapped at the top and pushed the rocks up above itThe magma has since receded, putting the pulsating on pause for now  An area the size of Chicago in Yellowstone National Park has been inflating and deflating by several inches over the past decadeThe Norris Geyser Basin, the oldest, hottest and most dynamic thermal area in the park, was observed to rise 5.9 inches each year from 2013 to 2015...

Research reveals that plate tectonics started on Earth 600 million years before what was believed earlier... Where it was previously thought that plate tectonics started about 2.7 billion years ago, a team of international scientists used the microscopic leftovers of a drop of water that was transported into the Earth's deep mantle - through plate tectonics - to show that this process started 600 million years before that. An article on their research that proves plate tectonics started on Earth 3.3 billion years ago was published in the high impact academic journal, Nature, on 16 July... For their research, the...

YELLOWSTONE volcano could be about to erupt and challenge humanity’s existence as a spate of mini-quakes have been felt around the fearsome caldera. During the month of April, a total of 63 earthquakes struck around the Wyoming based supervolcano. All of the tremors were relatively small, with the largest registering at 2.6 on the Richter scale, hitting on April 29. But experts have warned that it is not necessarily about the strength of an earthquake around a volcano, but more the quantity of them. Some scientists believe that tremors around a volcano could be a sign that it might blow....

There are a number of theories about where the moon came from. Our best guess is that it was formed when the Earth was hit by a large object known as Theia. The impact threw up huge amounts of debris into orbit, which eventually coalesced to form the moon. There’s a problem with this theory. The mathematical models show that most of the material that makes up the moon should come from Theia. But samples from the Apollo missions show that most of the material on the moon came from Earth. A paper out earlier this week in Nature Geoscience...

Today is the anniversary of a singular event that actually did change the earth’s climate for a couple of years (after which Nature’s mighty equilibrating power returned things to normal): the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano. Grantee Kleza writes: Krakatoa blew apart on this day in 1883 and the shockwaves resulted in terrifying natural phenomena and dramatic climate change. (snip) Krakatoa had been steaming, rumbling and bubbling since May 1883 when explosions could be heard in what is now Jakarta, 160km away. Ash was blown 6km into the sky. The Earth’s violence subsided for a while but the volcanic fury...

Why are “giant fountains of lava” suddenly pouring out of some of the most dangerous volcanoes on the entire planet, and why are so many long dormant volcanoes suddenly roaring back to life? The spectacular eruption of Mt. Etna in Italy is making headlines all over the world, but it is far from alone. According to Volcano Discovery, 35 major volcanoes either are erupting right now or have just recently erupted, and dozens of others are stirring. So what is causing this upsurge in volcanic activity? Is something strange happening inside the Earth? According to the USGS, magma is “molten...

A new analysis of the topography of the central Andes shows the uplifting of Earth's second highest continental plateau was driven in part by a huge zone of melted rock in the crust, known as a magma body. The Altiplano-Puna plateau is a high, dry region in the central Andes that includes parts of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, with vast plains punctuated by spectacular volcanoes. In a study published October 25 in Nature Communications, researchers used remote sensing data and topographic modeling techniques to reveal an enormous dome in the plateau. About 1 kilometer (3,300 feet) high and hundreds of...

Shaft #10 at the Resolution Copper mine in Superior reached its final depth of 6,943 feet (2,116 m). The 28-foot diameter shaft is the deepest single lift shaft in North America, according to the company. [Right top, bottom of shaft #10. Photo credit, Resolution Copper] The Resolution mine would produce an estimated 25% of the nation's copper for the next 40 years once it's completed. [Right bottom, headframe for shaft #10. Photo credit, Nyal Niemuth] "The completion of this 1.3 mile deep vertical shaft is truly unprecedented in North America,” said Tom Goodell, General Manager of Shaft Development for the...

A flurry of small earthquakes rumbling near the Mammoth Mountain Volcano, have been categorized as "volcanic unrest" by the United States Geological Survey. Nearly three dozen earthquakes ranging from magnitude 2.6 to 3.8 have swarmed the area, northeast of Fresno, California, over the last two days. Earthquake swarms in this region are not uncommon. David Shelly, a seismologist with California Volcano Observatory, said this swarm is "bigger than we've seen recently, but normal in the area." He adds they are keeping a close eye on the movement, "but in the larger scheme of things, it's within in the range of...

BRITAIN could freeze in YEARS of super-cold winters and miserable summers if the Baroabunga volcano erupts, experts have warned. Depending on the force of the explosion, minute particles thrust beyond the earth’s atmosphere can trigger DECADES of chaotic weather patterns. Tiny pieces of debris act as billions of shields reflecting the sun’s light away from earth meaning winter temperatures could plunge LOWER THAN EVER before while summer will be devoid of sunshine. The first effect could be a bitterly cold winter to arrive in weeks with thermometers plunging into minus figures and not rising long before next summer. The Icelandic...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Magma levels are slowly rebuilding inside Mount St. Helens, a volcano in Washington state that erupted in 1980 and killed 57 people, although there was no sign of an impending eruption, U.S. scientists said. ... "The magma reservoir beneath Mount St. Helens has been slowly re-pressurizing since 2008," the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement on Wednesday. "It is likely that re-pressurization is caused by (the) arrival of a small amount of additional magma 4 to 8 km (2.5 to 5 miles) beneath the surface." The USGS said this is to be expected with an active...

The Afar Rift in Ethiopia is marked by enormous gashes that signal the breakup of the African continent and the beginnings of a new ocean basin, scientists think. The fractures appear eerily similar to seafloor spreading centers, the volcanic ridges that mark the boundaries between two pieces of oceanic crust. Along the ridges, lava bubbles up and new crust is created, slowly widening the ocean basin. But a look deep beneath the Afar Rift reveals the birth announcements may be premature. "It's not as close to fully formed seafloor spreading as we thought," said Kathy Whaler, a geophysicist at the...