http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/volcanoes/ Volcano News and Research. Latest scientific research on how volcanoes work, predicting volcanic eruptions, climate change due to volcanic eruption and more. en-us Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:05:01 EST Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/volcanoes/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104123027.htm Scientists have used images compiled over a decade to study volcanic activity in the African Rift. A new article focuses on the section of the rift in Kenya. Surface deformation of four active volcanoes underscore possibility for human hazard, as well as the potential of geothermal resources. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104123027.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030095513.htm In October, the hydraulic benthic interactive sampler HyBIS made 10 dives over the Casablanca Seamount, a four-kilometer high seamount located some 300 miles west of Morocco. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030095513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026093728.htm There is a likely chance of tsunami waves reaching the shores of Israel, says one researcher, following geoarchaeological research at the port of Caesarea. Tsunami events in the Mediterranean occur less frequently than in the Pacific Ocean, but recent findings reveal a moderate rate of recurrence. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026093728.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008113259.htm Plinian eruptions are rare but highly explosive volcanic eruptions, which are often preceded by quite short periods of tectonic activity. Researchers in Germany have now been able experimentally to determine the speed at which the molten rock in the magma chamber rises to the surface. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008113259.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921093600.htm Scientists have found the "Rosetta Stone" of supervolcanoes. A fossil supervolcano has been revealed in a rare uplift of the Earth's crust in the Sesia Valley of the Italian Alps. The discovery will advance scientific understanding of active supervolcanoes, such as Yellowstone, which is the second-largest supervolcano in the world and which last erupted 630,000 years ago. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921093600.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909124129.htm A biologist has discovered a new species of giant rat on a filmmaking expedition to a remote rainforest in New Guinea. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909124129.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810033921.htm Scientists have placed high-tech "spiders" inside and around the mouth of Mount St. Helens, one of the most active volcanoes in the United States. Networks such as these could one day be used to respond rapidly to an impending eruption. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810033921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806170721.htm When Alaska's Kasatochi Volcano erupted on Aug. 7, 2008, it virtually sterilized Kasatochi Island, covering the small Aleutian island with a layer of ash and other volcanic material several meters thick. The eruption also provided a rare research opportunity: the chance to see how an ecosystem develops from the very first species to colonize the island. Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806170721.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616133940.htm Archeologists have uncovered an ancient and previously unknown Maya agricultural system -- a large manioc field intensively cultivated as a staple crop that was buried and exquisitely preserved under a blanket of ash by a volcanic eruption in present-day El Salvador 1,400 years ago. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616133940.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528142827.htm A previously unknown giant volcanic eruption that led to global mass extinction 260 million years ago has been uncovered. Sat, 30 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528142827.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507195208.htm A study into ash fallout from the biggest volcanic eruption in almost 20 years has shown that the impact of past eruptions is likely to have been significantly underestimated as so much of the evidence quickly disappears. Sun, 10 May 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507195208.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090506144317.htm Scientists studying the world's most unusual volcano have discovered the reason behind its unique carbon-based lavas. The new geochemical analyses reveals that an extremely small degree of partial melting of typical minerals in the earth's upper mantle is the source of the rare carbon-derived lava erupting from Tanzania's Oldoinyo Lengai volcano. Thu, 07 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090506144317.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505111702.htm Scientists who have just returned from an expedition to an erupting undersea volcano near the Island of Guam report that the volcano appears to be continuously active, has grown considerably in size during the past three years, and its activity supports a unique biological community thriving despite the eruptions. Tue, 05 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505111702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421080357.htm Up to 30,000 residents and tourists could be under threat from a newly discovered tsunami risk in the Caribbean, according to experts in disaster risk management. The heavily populated coast of Guadeloupe will have little warning if a tsunami is triggered by the collapse of a volcano on the nearby island of Dominica. Geologists have discovered that a flank of the volcano Morne aux Diables ("Devils' Peak") shows signs of collapse and if so, a million-ton chunk of rock could crash into the sea, producing tsunami waves up to almost 3 metres (10 feet) high. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421080357.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409134747.htm Analysis of the recent swarm suggests epicenters migrated north over the 12-day period and maximum hypocenter depths abruptly shallowed from 12 km to 3 km depth at the time of rapid cessation of activity on Jan. 7. Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409134747.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090408145551.htm A new study of low-frequency sound from Mount St. Helens and Tungurahua volcanoes provides explanation for how the large-amplitude signals from eruptions are produced. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090408145551.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090326141553.htm The recent warming trend in the Atlantic Ocean is largely due to reductions in airborne dust and volcanic emissions during the past 30 years, according to a new study. Sat, 28 Mar 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090326141553.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323140433.htm Alaska's Mount Redoubt Volcano has erupted, spewing ash thousands of feet into the air. Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323140433.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090313110733.htm Nyiragongo, an active African volcano, possesses lava unlike any other in the world, which may point toward its source being a new mantle plume says a geochemist. The lava composition indicates that a mantle plume -- an upwelling of intense heat from near the core of the Earth -- may be bubbling to life beneath the soil of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090313110733.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312093704.htm Seventeen of the world's most active volcanoes have been supplied with monitoring equipment to measure their emission of sulfur dioxide. Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312093704.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225132343.htm Using data from the satellite-based MIPAS and GOME-2 instruments, scientists have for the first time detected important bromine species in the atmosphere. These new measurements will help scientists to better understand sources of ozone-depleting species and to improve simulations of stratospheric ozone chemistry. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225132343.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303112437.htm Gases rising from deep within the Earth are fueling the world's highest-known microbial ecosystems, which have been detected near the rim of the 19,850-foot-high Socompa volcano in the Andes. Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303112437.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225161422.htm Scientists have presented the first-ever evaluation of the impact of the 1816 eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia on the Iberian Peninsula. Historical documents and observations by Spanish and Portuguese stations have shown that emissions of gas and particulates from the volcano limited the effect of solar radiation in Spain, where temperatures that summer did not rise above 15ºC. Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225161422.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203175343.htm The immense Olympus Mons volcano on Mars (about 23 km tall and 600 km wide) exhibits a somewhat lopsided structure: elongated to the northwest, shortened to the southeast, with corresponding types of faulting (extensional and compressional, respectively) prevalent in each sector. Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203175343.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090121155316.htm When volcanoes erupt, pinpointing the regions at high risk for lethal hazards and deciding whether or not to evacuate a resistant population comprise the most difficult problems faced by hazards managers. Now a team of volcanologists has a program that maps potential problem areas quickly, taking much of the guesswork out of decision making and evacuations. Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090121155316.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090110084653.htm New evidence shows that very large earthquakes can trigger an increase in activity at nearby volcanoes. An analysis of records in southern Chile has shown that up to four times as many volcanic eruptions occur during the year following very large earthquakes than in other years. This 'volcanic surge' can affect volcanoes up to at least 500 km away from an earthquake's epicentre. Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090110084653.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090105175356.htm Climate researchers have shown that big volcanic eruptions over the past 450 years have temporarily cooled weather in the tropics but suggest that such effects may have been masked in the 20th century by rising global temperatures. Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090105175356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090104091329.htm A notable swarm of earthquakes has been underway since December 26, 2008 beneath Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, three to six miles south-southeast of Fishing Bridge, Wyoming. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090104091329.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081219092044.htm On the ground and in the water, researchers have been collecting imaging data on the Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat to understand the internal structure of the volcano and how and when it erupts. Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081219092044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081217101442.htm Three Alaska volcanoes erupted in midsummer 2008. Cleveland, Okmok and Kasatochi volcanoes, all located in Alaska's Aleutian Chain, made for a hectic 20th anniversary for the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081217101442.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081203133823.htm Researchers in France have found that the high conductivity of the Earth's upper mantle is due to molten carbonates. They have demonstrated the very high conductivity of this form of carbon. Their work has revealed the high carbon content of the interior of the upper mantle. This composition can be directly linked to the quantity of carbon dioxide produced by 80% of volcanoes. Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081203133823.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081130205327.htm 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. The ability to conduct such simulations will better equip municipal authorities in volcanic hot spots around the world in knowing when to alert people who live near volcanoes of an impending eruption. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081130205327.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030144628.htm Two years' of global public debate over the cause of the Java mud volcano, Lusi, has concluded. World scientists conclude that drilling, not an earthquake, was the cause of east Java mud volcano at recent international debate on issue. Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030144628.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081020120056.htm A new article details an unprecedented sampling of soils taken from the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field in Union County New Mexico, detailing the dynamic conditions of the soil that was a result of lava flow. The study provides the park with practical knowledge of its soils for the future management of its natural resources. Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081020120056.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081009144101.htm Volcanoes function in a far more complex way than previously thought, making future eruptions even harder to predict. Although the Soufrière Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat exhibits cycles of eruption and quiet, magma is continuously supplied from deep in the crust but that a valve acts below a shallower magma chamber, releasing lava to the surface periodically. Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081009144101.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080923091341.htm Yale scientists report that genetic traces of extinct species of Galapagos tortoises exist in descendants now living in the wild, a finding that could spur breeding programs to restore the species. Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080923091341.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924185324.htm A line of massive boulders on the western shore of Tonga may be evidence of the most powerful volcano-triggered tsunami found to date. Up to 9 meters (30 feet) high and weighing up to 1.6 million kilograms (3.5 million pounds), the seven coral boulders are located 100 to 400 meters (300 to 1,300 feet) from the coast. Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924185324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828162558.htm Scientists have exploited crystals from lavas to unravel the records of volcanic eruptions. Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828162558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080829104947.htm From June 17-19, 2007, Kilauea experienced a new dike intrusion, where magma rapidly moved from a storage reservoir beneath the summit into the east rift zone and extended the rift zone by as much as 1 meter. Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080829104947.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080827164142.htm The geysers of Yellowstone National Park owe their existence to the "Yellowstone hotspot" -- a region of molten rock buried deep beneath Yellowstone, geologists have found. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080827164142.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814154435.htm People do all kinds of crazy things in Hawaii, but flying balloons over a volcano usually isn’t one of them. Unless you’re Adam Durant, that is. Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814154435.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806154804.htm A WiMAX-based connection to the Internet will enable real-time monitoring of potentially dangerous active volcanoes. For effective monitoring of volcanic activity, scientists want to know what is happening in real time, not the pattern of events last week. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806154804.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080720093810.htm Okmok Volcano in Alaska continues to produce explosions and ash plumes through a newly created vent and poses hazards to air travel in the area. Scientists are using a combination of seismic and GPS instruments on the ground and weather and radar satellites in space to track the progress of the eruption. Human visual observations are limited because airborne ash obscures a view of what is happening inside the volcano's 6-mile-diameter caldera and the area is too hazardous to enter. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080720093810.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714103556.htm 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. They mapped an elaborate maze of magma chambers -- work that could one day help scientists better understand how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in Iceland and elsewhere in the world. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714103556.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714112734.htm Scientists say the nearly three and a half years of eruption at Mount St. Helens is over for now and have lowered the volcano alert level from Advisory to Normal and the aviation color code from Yellow to Green. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714112734.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708191822.htm Through an autopsy of an ancient Scandinavian mountain chain, a team geologists found that carbon dioxide can create explosive eruptions when magma encounters calcium carbonate-based rocks. This discovery overturns a longtime belief by geologists, who thought that carbon dioxide was incapable of dissolving in magma. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708191822.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080629081932.htm Scientists have discovered how volatile metals from volcanoes end up in polar ice cores. Researchers had suspected that mercury boils out of hot magma, the big surprise was just how much mercury escapes from volcanoes. Measurements made on just one part of the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua have shown that about 7 tons of natural volcanic mercury escapes into the atmosphere from this vent each year. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080629081932.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625140649.htm Researchers have uncovered evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions deep beneath the ice-covered surface of the Arctic Ocean. Such violent eruptions of splintered, fragmented rock -- known as pyroclastic deposits -- were not thought possible at great ocean depths because of the intense weight and pressure of water and because of the composition of seafloor magma and rock. The evidence of violent eruptions on Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic defies assumptions about seafloor pressure and volcanism. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625140649.htm