All Articles Tagged As: volcanoes

Electronic heat trap grips deep Earth (11/16/2008)

The key to understanding Earth's evolution, including our atmosphere and how volcanoes and earthquakes form, is to look into the lower mantle, a region some 400 to 1,800 miles below the surface. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory simulated conditions at these depths and discovered that the concentration of highly oxidized iron in the two major mantle minerals is key to moving heat in that region and affects material movement throughout the planet. ...> Full Article

Conclusive vote on cause of Indonesian mud volcano (11/1/2008)

World scientists conclude drilling, not earthquake, was the cause of east Java mud volcano at international debate ...> Full Article

Scientists Map Soils on an Extinct American Volcano (10/21/2008)

Thousands of years after the lava cooled, soil scientists conduct sophisticated mapping of the resulting soil landscape. ...> Full Article

Volcanic eruption signals simulated in lab for first time (10/11/2008)

For the first time, seismic signals that precede a volcanic eruption have been simulated and visualized in 3-D under controlled pressure conditions in a laboratory. ...> Full Article

Lava flows reveal clues to magnetic field reversals (9/29/2008)

Ancient lava flows are guiding a better understanding of what generates and controls the Earth's magnetic field - and what may drive it to occasionally reverse direction. ...> Full Article

Ocean floor geysers warm flowing sea water (9/23/2008)

An international team of earth scientists report movement of warmed sea water through the flat, Pacific Ocean floor off Costa Rica ...> Full Article

Meteorites 'behind volcanic eruptions' say scientists (9/13/2008)

Gases that cause volcanoes to erupt may have spewed from meteorites that smashed into the earth billions of years ago ...> Full Article

Crystals improve understanding of volcanic eruptions (8/30/2008)

Scientists have exploited crystals from lavas to unravel the records of volcanic eruptions ...> Full Article

Yellowstone's Ancient Supervolcano: Only Lukewarm? (8/29/2008)

Molten plume of material beneath Yellowstone cooler than expected ...> Full Article

Researcher Uncovering Secrets of Ancient Eruptions and the Atmosphere (8/27/2008)

Researcher is uncovering ancient secrets about global climate by studying the chemical composition of volcanic ash in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. ...> Full Article

Up, Up and Away: Studying Volcanoes With Balloons (8/15/2008)

Geologists using meteorological balloons to make the first on-location measurements of volcanic gases as they actually spew from the mouth of the volcano ...> Full Article

Mud pots signal possible extension of San Andreas Fault (7/30/2008)

A linear string of mud pots and mud volcanoes suggest surface evidence for a southern extension of the San Andreas Fault that runs through the Salton Sea ...> Full Article

Scientists break record by finding northernmost hydrothermal vent field (7/25/2008)

Well inside the Arctic Circle, scientists have found black smoker vents farther north than anyone has ever seen before ...> Full Article

Undersea volcanoes triggered marine extinction, says study (7/20/2008)

Undersea volcanic activity triggered a mass extinction of marine life and buried a thick mat of organic matter on the sea floor about 93 million years ago, which became a major source of oil ...> Full Article

Icelandic Volcanoes Help Researchers Understand Potential Effects Of Eruptions (7/15/2008)

For the first time, researchers have taken a detailed look at what lies beneath all of Iceland's volcanoes – and found a world far more complex than they ever imagined. ...> Full Article

Volcano 'pollution' solves mercury mystery (6/29/2008)

Scientists have discovered how volatile metals from volcanoes end up in polar ice cores. ...> Full Article

Fire under the ice (6/26/2008)

International expedition discovers gigantic volcanic eruption in the Arctic Ocean ...> Full Article

Iron Isotope Composition in Lava Lake Points to Possible Ways to Trace Planetary Origins (6/21/2008)

Scientists have found differences in the iron isotope composition of basalts from a lava lake in Hawaii that point to new ways of studying the origins of the earth and other planets. ...> Full Article

Active submarine volcanoes found near Fiji (6/20/2008)

Several huge active submarine volcanoes, spreading ridges and rift zones have been discovered northeast of Fiji ...> Full Article

Report confirms drilling, not earthquake, caused Java mud volcano (6/10/2008)

A mud volcano which has caused millions of dollars worth of damage was caused by the drilling of a gas exploration well ...> Full Article

Volcano taming (6/8/2008)

Could geochemistry save lives during volcanic eruptions? ...> Full Article

Researchers Uncover 'Stirring' Secrets of Deadly Supervolcanoes (6/2/2008)

Researchers have simulated in the lab the process that can turn ordinary volcanic eruptions into so-called "supervolcanoes." ...> Full Article

World's fastest-growing mud volcano is collapsing, says new research (5/29/2008)

The world's fastest-growing mud volcano is collapsing and could subside to depths of more than 140 metres with consequences for the surrounding environment ...> Full Article

Scientists aim to unlock deep-sea 'secrets' of Earth's crust (5/15/2008)

Scientists to use robots to explore the depths of the Atlantic Ocean to study the growth of underwater volcanoes that build the Earth's crust. ...> Full Article

Chilean volcano captured blasting ash (5/12/2008)

Chile's Chaiten Volcano is shown spewing ash and smoke into the air for hundreds of km over Argentina's Patagonia Plateau ...> Full Article

Chile's Erupting Chaiten Volcano One Of Scores Of Active Volcanoes In Region (5/7/2008)

The Chaiten volcano now erupting in southern Chile is one of 200 to 300 volcanoes in the "Andean Arc" region of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia considered active by volcanologists, some of which lie in much more densely populated areas ...> Full Article

Twenty years of the Alaska Volcano Observatory (4/28/2008)

Volcanologists keep track of 30 volcanoes in Alaska ...> Full Article

1600 Eruption Caused Global Disruption (4/25/2008)

The 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru had a global impact on human society ...> Full Article

Continents loss to oceans boosts staying power (4/2/2008)

Study measures effects of chemical weathering on the composition of continents ...> Full Article

Dramatic developments at Kilauea Volcano: Scientists work to keep public safe and informed (3/30/2008)

Explosive eruptions and noxious gas emissions at Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii this week have prompted scientists to work around the clock to understand what will happen next and how to keep the public out of harm's way. ...> Full Article

Under the sea (3/29/2008)

Scientists explore huge volume of molten rock now frozen into the crust under the ocean's floor. ...> Full Article

How Iron Gets into the North Pacific (3/21/2008)

Is the Dust-Storm Theory Overblown? ...> Full Article

Tiny pieces of 'deep time' brought to the surface (3/4/2008)

New discovery of 'old growth' crystals provides new record of planetary evolution ...> Full Article

Surprise On Journey To Center Of The Earth: Light Tectonic Plates Lead The Way (2/25/2008)

The first direct evidence of how and when tectonic plates move into the deepest reaches of the Earth has been detailed in Nature. Scientists hope their description of how plates collide with one sliding below the other into the rocky mantle could potentially improve their ability to assess earthquake risks. ...> Full Article

Magma And Volcanoes: Physicists Explain Dance Marathon Of Wispy Feature In Roiling Fluids (2/7/2008)

Theoretical physicists at the University of Chicago are suggesting how thin spouts of magma in the Earth's mantle can persist long enough to form hotspot volcanism of the type that might have created the Hawaiian Islands. ...> Full Article

Baffin Island Ice Caps Shrink By 50 Percent Since 1950s (2/3/2008)

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study has shown that ice caps on the northern plateau of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic have shrunk by more than 50 percent in the last half century as a result of warming, and are expected to disappear by the middle of the century. ...> Full Article

For geoscientist Simons, Earth's deepest secrets may come from the sea (1/29/2008)

Princeton Earth scientist Frederik Simons believes the answers to questions about such unpredictable and destructive acts of nature as earthquakes and volcanoes might best be found floating in the ocean. ...> Full Article

First evidence of under-ice volcanic eruption in Antarctica (1/25/2008)

The first evidence of a volcanic eruption from beneath Antarctica's most rapidly changing ice sheet ...> Full Article

Quakes Under Pacific Floor Reveal Unexpected Circulatory System (1/16/2008)

Study upsets long-held image of volcanism-driven hydrothermal vents ...> Full Article

Searching for 'Martians' in ancient rocks (12/23/2007)

Researchers are investigating whether it is possible to find signs of life in rocks that are 3.5 billion years old. If they succeed, it may become easier to search for life on Mars. ...> Full Article

Tracking Earth Changes with Satellite Images (12/22/2007)

For the past two decades, radar images from satellites have dominated the field of geophysical monitoring for natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, or landslides. These images reveal small perturbations precisely, but large changes from events like big earthquake ruptures or fast-moving glaciers remained difficult to assess from afar, until now. ...> Full Article

Rising tides intensify non-volcanic tremor in Earth's crust (11/28/2007)

For more than a decade geoscientists have detected what amount to ultra-slow-motion earthquakes under Western Washington and British Columbia on a regular basis, about every 14 months. Such episodic tremor-and-slip events typically last two to three weeks and can release as much energy as a large earthquake, though they are not felt and cause no damage. ...> Full Article

Earth Observation essential for geohazard mitigation (11/14/2007)

Every year geohazards - such as volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis - claim thousands of lives, devastate homes and destroy livelihoods. ...> Full Article

Measurements link magma melting rate to tectonic plate subduction rate (11/13/2007)

Determining the origin and rate of magma production in subduction zone volcanoes is essential to understanding the formation of continental crust and the recycling of subducted materials back into Earth's mantle. ...> Full Article

Yellowstone Rising (11/9/2007)

Volcano Inflating with Molten Rock at Record Rate ...> Full Article

Volcanic Eruptions, Not Meteor, May Have Killed The Dinosaurs (10/31/2007)

A series of monumental volcanic eruptions in India may have killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, not a meteor impact in the Gulf of Mexico. The eruptions, which created the gigantic Deccan Traps lava beds of India, are now the prime suspect in the most famous and persistent paleontological murder mystery, say scientists who have conducted a slew of new investigations honing down eruption timing. ...> Full Article

Seismologists See Earth's Dynamic Interior as Interplay of Temperature, Pressure, Chemistry (10/26/2007)

Seismologists have recast their understanding of the inner workings of Earth from a relatively homogeneous environment to one that is highly dynamic and chemically diverse. ...> Full Article

Eruption debris may extend snow seasons (10/6/2007)

Skiers and snowboarders in New Zealand may have the recent eruption to thank for an extended ski season. ...> Full Article

Ruapehu eruption like 'Groundhog Day' (9/30/2007)

Volcanologist says the latest eruption and lahar on Mt Ruapehu, in New Zealand, is just like the September 1995 eruption. ...> Full Article

Researchers Reassess Theories on Formation of Earth's Atmosphere (9/20/2007)

Geochemists at are challenging commonly held ideas about how gases are expelled from the Earth. Their theory could change the way scientists view the formation of Earth's atmosphere and those of our distant neighbors, Mars and Venus. Their data throw into doubt the timing and mechanism of atmospheric formation on terrestrial plants. ...> Full Article

Researchers find volcanoes helped create life of earth (9/5/2007)

Geoscientists at The University of Western Australia and Pennsylvania State University have found that the origins of complex life on Earth were significantly affected by volcanic activity more than two billion years ago. ...> Full Article

Volcanic Activity Key to Oxygen-rich Atmosphere (8/30/2007)

Activity contributed to rise of complex biological forms ...> Full Article

Physicists aim to predict volcano eruption (8/30/2007)

University of St Andrews scientists have been awarded a three year grant to create an on-site life-saving device to help predict volcano eruption. ...> Full Article

Research challenges theory on New Zealand prehistory (8/19/2007)

A combination of geological and biological findings are lending weight to the possibility that the Chatham Islands were under water until three million years ago, and that New Zealand's flora and fauna may have evolved in another large island near New Zealand. ...> Full Article

Geologists Witness Unique Volcanic Mudflow in Action in New Zealand (7/13/2007)

Volcanologist Sarah Fagents from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa had an amazing opportunity to study volcanic hazards first hand, when a volcanic mudflow broke through the banks of a volcanic lake at Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand. ...> Full Article