Showing 20 articles starting at article 221

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Geoscience: Volcanoes

Return to the site home page

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Describing the devastating eruption in Tonga      (via sciencedaily.com) 

On January 15, the volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai devastated the nation of Tonga. The eruption triggered tsunamis as far afield as the Caribbean and generated atmospheric waves that travelled around the globe several times. Meanwhile, the volcano's plume shot gas and ash through the stratosphere into the lower mesosphere.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

The oxidation of volcanoes -- a magma opus      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study unlocks the science behind a key ingredient -- namely oxygen -- in some of the world's most violent volcanoes. The research offers a new model for understanding the oxidation state of arc magmas, the lavas that form some volcanoes, such as the one that erupted dramatically in Tonga earlier this year. The plume from Tonga's underwater volcanic eruption on Jan. 15 rose 36 miles into the air. Ash from the volcano reached the mesosphere, Earth's third layer of atmosphere.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Water determines magma depth, a key to accurate models of volcanic activity, eruption      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Around the world, between 40 and 50 volcanoes are currently erupting or in states of unrest, and hundreds of millions of people are at risk of hazards posed by these potentially active volcanos. Yet, despite the profound hazards posed to human life and property by volcanic eruptions, humanity still cannot reliably and accurately predict them, and even when forecasts are accurately made by experts, they may not afford ample time for people to evacuate and make emergency preparations.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Nealtican lava flow field, Popocatépetl volcano: A window to the past and future hazards      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Popocatépetl volcano, located southeast of Mexico City, stands as the second highest peak in Mexico and is considered to be one of the potentially most dangerous volcanoes in the world, given its record of highly explosive eruptions over the last 23,000 years.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Hidden weaknesses within volcanoes may cause volcano collapse      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Lava domes form at the top of many volcanoes when viscous lava erupts. When they become unstable, they can collapse and cause a hazard. An international team of researchers has analyzed summit dome instabilities at Merapi Volcano, Indonesia. The researchers hope that by understanding the inner processes, volcano collapses can be better forecasted.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Pink pumice key to revealing explosive power of underwater volcanic eruptions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The presence of pink pumice in the giant pumice raft of the 2012 Havre that drifted across the southwest Pacific Ocean has led researchers to recognize the immense power of underwater volcanic eruptions.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Is Vesuvius taking an extended siesta?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Located near Naples, Italy, Vesuvius last had a violent eruption in 1944, towards the end of the Second World War. It could be a few hundred years before another dangerous, explosive eruption occurs, suggests a new study by volcano experts.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Mount Etna’s exceptional CO2 emissions are triggered by deep carbon dioxide reservoirs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Magma transports carbon dioxide stored in the Earth's mantle to volcanoes, where it is released into the atmosphere. A research team now presents results obtained using a new methodology to clarify the contribution of volcanoes to natural CO2 emissions.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

2020 volcanic eruption leads to hours-long thunderstorm      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A study discusses how advances in global lightning detection have provided novel ways to characterize explosive volcanism.

Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Powerful volcanic blast not the cause for 2018 Indonesian island collapse      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The dramatic collapse of Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano in December 2018 resulted from long-term destabilising processes, and was not triggered by any distinct changes in the magmatic system that could have been detected by current monitoring techniques, new research has found.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

'Volcanic winter' likely contributed to ecological catastrophe 250 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of scientists has identified an additional force that likely contributed to a mass extinction event 250 million years ago. Its analysis of minerals in southern China indicate that volcano eruptions produced a 'volcanic winter' that drastically lowered earth's temperatures -- a change that added to the environmental effects resulting from other phenomena at the time.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Let’s talk about the 1,800-plus 'young' volcanoes in the US Southwest      (via sciencedaily.com) 

They're born. They live once, erupting for a period that might last for days, years or decades. Then, they go dark and die. This narrative describes the life of a monogenetic volcano, a type of volcanic hazard that can pose important dangers despite an ephemeral existence. The landscape of the southwestern U.S. is heavily scarred by past eruptions of such volcanoes, and a new study marks a step toward understanding future risks for the region.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

The silent build-up to a super-eruption      (via sciencedaily.com) 

It is estimated that about 5-10 volcanoes worldwide are capable of producing a super-eruption that could catastrophically affect global climate. One of these volcanoes hides below the waters of Lake Toba in Sumatra and has caused two super-eruptions in the last one million years. But when will the next one be? Will there be any warning signs? To answer these questions, an international team of geologists developed an analysis of the levels of uranium and lead in zircons -- a mineral typically found in explosive volcanic eruptions -- to determine how long it took the volcano to prepare for its super-eruptions.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

How to better identify dangerous volcanoes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The more water is dissolved in the magma, the greater the risk that a volcano will explode. A new study now shows that this simple rule is only partially true. Paradoxically, high water content significantly reduces the risk of explosion.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

What lies beneath: Volcanic secrets revealed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Lava samples have revealed a new truth about the geological make-up of the Earth's crust and could have implications for volcanic eruption early warning systems, a new study has found.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Threat of catastrophic supervolcano eruptions is ever-present      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have studied an ancient supervolcano in Indonesia and found such volcanoes remain active and hazardous for thousands of years after a super-eruption, prompting the need for a rethink of how these potentially catastrophic events are predicted.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Climate change will transform cooling effects of volcanic eruptions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have shown that human-caused climate change will have important consequences for how volcanic gases interact with the atmosphere.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Minor volcanic eruptions could ‘cascade’ into global catastrophe      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers call for a shift in focus away from risks of 'super-volcanic' eruptions and towards likelier scenarios of smaller eruptions in key global 'pinch points' creating devastating domino effects.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic island      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The rise and fall of sea levels influence the likelihood of volcanic eruptions on the Greek island of Santorini, new research has discovered. Analyzing the timings of eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years, the researchers found that a 40 meter fall in sea level is a crucial point beyond which eruptions are more likely to occur. The findings could have implications for millions of people living on volcanic islands around the world.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Giant friction experiment at Kilauea volcano      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new analysis of the 2018 collapse of Kilauea volcano's caldera helps to confirm the reigning scientific paradigm for how friction works on earthquake faults. The model quantifies the conditions necessary to initiate the kind of caldera collapse that sustains big, damaging eruptions of basaltic volcanoes like Kilauea and could help to inform forecasting and mitigation.