All articles tagged with #magma
A study of La Palma's 2021 Tajogaite eruption shows superheating can dissolve crystal seeds and delay crystallization for hours, keeping magma fluid and rising rapidly to potentially power dramatic lava fountains, with implications for eruption forecasting.
Underwater seismic surveys show a large, magma-rich reservoir beneath Japan’s Kikai caldera, with new magma entering the system over thousands of years and a lava dome forming about 3,900 years ago. This supports a model in which giant calderas gradually rebuild magma after major eruptions and could apply to other systems like Yellowstone and Toba, aiding efforts to monitor and anticipate future giant eruptions.
Seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander indicate a deep, interconnected magma system beneath Mars, formed by molten rock pooling and extending hundreds to thousands of miles. This challenges the idea of isolated magma chambers and implies a chemically active crust capable of recycling elements, potentially supporting atmosphere and ocean formation and offering a habitable window for rocky planets even without plate tectonics.
Seismic data from NASA's InSight reveal a long-lived magma system beneath Mars' crust, with an upper basalt layer and a deep ultramafic region formed by transcrustal magmatism; this process, not requiring plate tectonics, could have helped Mars stay warm and water-rich in the past, hinting at possible habitability.
NASA's InSight seismic data reveal a deep crustal boundary on Mars formed by vast magma pools, suggesting the crust differentiated into mafic and ultramafic layers and implying interconnected, long-lived magmatic systems beneath the planet. This transcrustal magmatism could have reprocessed mantle material, releasing greenhouse gases and thickening the early atmosphere to sustain warmer conditions, potentially making Mars habitable in its past, while also hinting at near-surface mineral wealth.
New research suggests Yellowstone's magma plumbing is heated by tectonics and lithospheric stretching rather than a deep mantle plume, with competing forces under the crust opening pathways from mantle to the caldera. The finding could improve eruption forecasting and help explain other caldera systems.
ETH Zurich researchers mapped Methana volcano over 700,000 years and found a surge of zircon crystals during a long dormancy, indicating massive magma buildup beneath the surface even when eruptions cease. This challenges the idea that long inactivity means extinction and suggests subduction-zone volcanism can quietly reawaken. The team notes that monitoring gas, ground deformation, earthquakes, and gravity changes is crucial to detect reawakening in dormant volcanoes; the findings, published in Science Advances, have broader implications for volcanic hazard assessment.
A new study suggests Mount Etna is fed by a rare petit-spot–style magma source from deep upper-mantle pockets, delivering a slow, steady supply that produces persistent alkaline eruptions and unusual chemistry for a subduction-zone volcano—potentially making Etna a unique case with important implications for hazard assessment near Catania and Messina.
A new Science study argues Yellowstone’s volcanism is driven by a broad, slow-moving flow of hot rock beneath North America, forming a connected magma system rather than a single deep chamber, with eastward mantle motion tied to Farallon Plate remnants—reshaping how scientists understand eruptions, which remain unpredictable and not overdue.
Scientists using seismometers mapped a vast underground magma reservoir beneath Tuscany, Italy—comparable in size to Yellowstone’s magmatic system—yet with no eruptions. The dormant chamber, detected to a depth of 15 kilometers, could inform geothermal development and mineral exploration while raising questions about why it has remained inactive.
Seismic tomography reveals a massive, 8–15 km-deep magma reservoir beneath Tuscany containing more than 5,000 km3 of melt—comparable to Yellowstone’s magma chambers—yet with no eruption history. The system could host supercritical fluids above 500°C, offering insights for geothermal energy and mineral deposits while informing crustal evolution studies.
A new 3D model of Yellowstone and the Eastern Snake River Plain suggests tectonic forces within the lithosphere drive magma generation and migration from the shallow mantle (upper asthenosphere) into a complex plumbing system, rather than a deep mantle plume powering a single giant chamber. This tectonically controlled magma movement could improve eruption forecasting and hazard assessment for the park’s massive caldera, whose last major eruption occurred about 630,000 years ago and is not expected imminently.
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Ground around Yellowstone’s northern caldera has risen about an inch over a 20-mile area since July, a deformation linked to deep magma movement. Scientists say this is normal activity for the hotspot and not a sign of an imminent eruption, noting Yellowstone hasn’t erupted in about 70,000 years. Public reporting and USGS footage emphasize there’s no eruption threat at this time.
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured what scientists describe as the solar system's most energetic eruption observed on Io, with multiple volcanoes lighting up simultaneously from a vast subterranean magma network. The Dec. 27, 2024 event, spotted by JIRAM during a flyby about 74,400 km above Io, released an estimated 140–260 terawatts of power and covered about 40,400 square miles (65,000 sq km). Io harbors around 400 active volcanoes driven by Jupiter's tidal forces. The synchronized eruption suggests interconnected magma reservoirs beneath Io's lava-encrusted surface, and future Io flybys will map new lava flows and ash deposits.