Latest news with #volcaniceruptions
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Mysterious ‘blobs' deep inside the Earth may cause deadly volcanic eruptions that wipe out life
Explosive volcanic eruptions don't just damage property or cancel flights; they can kill hundreds or even thousands of people with lethal 'pyroclastic' flows. Now, scientists in Australia have identified mysterious 'blobs' about 1,200 miles under the surface that could cause massive eruptions. Blobs are three-dimensional regions that span the length of continents and can be 100 time the height of Mount Everest. They sit at the bottom of Earth's rocky mantle above the molten outer core, a place so deep that Earth's elements are squeezed beyond recognition. The blobs are also the starting point for plumes of hot molten rock which flow up towards the Earth's surface. There they erupt as lava, gases and rock fragments with the capability of wiping out life as we know it. The scientists warn that giant, large-scale eruptions can have serious impacts, such as sudden climate change and mass extinction events. Volcanic eruptions can intensify global warming by adding greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Giant volcanoes also triggered events that led to the largest mass dying on Earth, the Permian-Triassic extinction 252 million years ago. 'These blobs have possibly existed for hundreds of millions of years,' say the researchers from the University of Wollongong, near Sydney. Earth is made up of three layers – the crust, the mantle and the core, which was recently separated into 'inner' and 'outer'. According to the team, blobs are at the bottom of Earth's mantle, betwee 1,200 miles and 1,800 miles below our feet. The mantle, the planet's thickest layer, is predominantly a solid rock, but blobs may be different compared with the surrounding mantle rocks. Blobs are made of rock just like the rest of the mantle, but they're thought to be hotter and heavier. For their study, the team used computer modeling to simulate 'mantle convection' – the movement of material in Earth's mantle powered by heat – over one billion years. Blobs, which are some 1,200 miles below Earth's surface, move over time and are connected to Earth's surface by 'mantle plumes' that create giant eruptions Their findings suggest that mantle plumes – columns of hot molten rock in the mantle – rise up from the continent-sized blobs. Mantle plumes are shaped a bit like a lollipop sticking upwards, with the 'stick' the plume tail and the 'candy' nearer Earth's surface the plume head. The researchers found that locations of volcanic eruption fall either onto, or close to, the location of blobs, as predicted by their models. This suggests that blobs, an acronym for Big LOwer-mantle Basal Structures, are essentially the deep-Earth origin of volcanic eruptions. Typically, deep Earth motions are in the order of 0.4-inch per year, so they only become significant over tens of millions of years. Blobs probably shift in a year at roughly the rate at which human hair grows each month, the team say. Although they have possibly existed for hundreds of millions of years, it's unclear what causes their movement. Mantle plumes rise very slowly from blobs through the mantle because they transport hot solid rock, not melt or lava. At lower pressures in the uppermost 125 miles of Earth's mantle, the solid rock melts, leading to volcanic eruptions. 'We used statistics to show that the locations of past giant volcanic eruptions are significantly related to the mantle plumes predicted by our models,' explain the authors in a piece for The Conversation. 'This is encouraging, as it suggests that the simulations predict mantle plumes in places and at times generally consistent with the geologic record.' The new findings, published in Communications Earth and Environment, suggest that the deep Earth is even more dynamic than we realized. Future research aims to explore the chemical nature of blobs, which might be possible with simulations that track the evolution of their composition.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Bloomberg
Why Do Iceland's Volcanoes Keep Erupting, and How Dangerous Are They?
Repeated volcanic eruptions have rocked southwestern Iceland since December 2023, and the island's inhabitants are getting used to the sight of lava spewing near populated areas. For the wider world, the eruptions have rekindled memories of the Eyjafjallajokull explosion of 2010, when vast volcanic ash clouds grounded air traffic across Europe for weeks. Scientists say the recent bout of heightened volcanic activity in the country known as 'the land of fire and ice' may go on for centuries. Yes and no. While the country experiences a volcanic eruption every five years on average — of varying nature, size and scope — the current series of eruptions is something even Icelanders aren't used to. The ground has ripped open 12 times since 2021 in the Reykjanes Peninsula. Hardly any of the previous eruptions had taken place in or near inhabited areas. This time around, the fishing community of Grindavik, which was home to almost 3,700 people, has been devastated. The glow in the sky from lava gushing out of the ground is now sometimes visible to residents of the capital, Reykjavik.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Mysterious blobs deep inside Earth may fuel deadly volcanic eruptions - with the capability of wiping out life as we know it
Explosive volcanic eruptions don't just damage property and cancel flights. They can kill hundreds or even thousands of people, burying them under lethal 'pyroclastic' flows. Now, scientists in Australia have identified a possible cause of gigantic volcanic eruptions – mysterious 'blobs' about 1,200 miles under our feet. Blobs are three-dimensional regions that span the length of continents and stretch 100 times higher than Mount Everest. They sit at the bottom of Earth's rocky mantle above the molten outer core – a place so deep that Earth's elements are squeezed beyond recognition. And they're a starting point for plumes of hot molten rock which flow upwards towards the Earth's surface. There they erupt as lava, gases and rock fragments – with the capability of wiping out life as we know it. The authors warn that giant, large-scale eruptions can have serious impacts, such as sudden climate change and mass extinction events. Volcanic eruptions can intensify global warming by adding greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Giant volcanoes also triggered events that led to the largest mass dying on Earth, the Permian-Triassic extinction 252 million years ago. 'These blobs have possibly existed for hundreds of millions of years,' say the researchers from the University of Wollongong near Sydney. Earth is made up of three layers – the crust, the mantle and the core, which was recently separated into 'inner' and 'outer'. According to the team, blobs are at the bottom of Earth's mantle, about 1,200 miles and 1,800 miles (2,000km and 3,000km) below our feet. The mantle, the planet's thickest layer, is predominantly a solid rock – but blobs may be different compared with the surrounding mantle rocks. Blobs are made of rock just like the rest of the mantle, but they're thought to be hotter and heavier. For their study, the team used computer modeling to simulate 'mantle convection' – the movement of material in Earth's mantle powered by heat – over one billion years. Blobs, which are some 1,200 miles below Earth's surface, move over time and are connected to Earth's surface by 'mantle plumes' that create giant eruptions How do scientists know about Earth's interior? No one can see inside the Earth, nor can drill deep enough to take rock samples from the mantle, the layer between Earth's core and crust. So geophysicists use indirect methods to see what's going on deep beneath our feet. For example, they use seismograms, or earthquake recordings, to determine the speed at which earthquake waves propagate. They then use this information to calculate the internal structure of the Earth - similar to how doctors use ultrasound to see inside the body. Their findings suggest that mantle plumes – columns of hot molten rock in the mantle – rise up from the continent-sized blobs. Mantle plumes are shaped a bit like a lollipop sticking upwards – with the 'stick' the plume tail and the 'candy' nearer Earth's surface the plume head. The researchers found that locations of volcanic eruption fall either onto (or close to) the location of blobs, as predicted by their models. This suggests that blobs – an acronym standing for Big LOwer-mantle Basal Structures – are essentially the deep-Earth origin of volcanic eruptions. Typically, deep Earth motions are in the order of 0.4-inch (1 cm) per year, so they only become significant over tens of millions of years. Blobs probably shift in a year at roughly the rate at which human hair grows each month, the team say. Although they have possibly existed for hundreds of millions of years, it's unclear what causes their movement. Mantle plumes rise very slowly from blobs through the mantle because they transport hot solid rock, not melt or lava. Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcano in the world, stands at 19,347 feet (5,897 metres). Historically, its activity started in 1534 when the Spanish conquistadors began to venture into the territories that are now Ecuador At lower pressures in the uppermost 125 miles (200 km) of Earth's mantle, the solid rock melts, leading to volcanic eruptions. 'We used statistics to show that the locations of past giant volcanic eruptions are significantly related to the mantle plumes predicted by our models,' explain the authors in a piece for The Conversation. 'This is encouraging, as it suggests that the simulations predict mantle plumes in places and at times generally consistent with the geologic record.' The new findings, published in Communications Earth and Environment, suggest that the deep Earth is even more dynamic than we realised. Future research aims to explore the chemical nature of blobs, which might be possible with simulations that track the evolution of their composition. HOW CAN RESEARCHERS PREDICT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS? According to Eric Dunham, an associate professor of Stanford University's School of Earth, energy and Environmental Sciences, 'Volcanoes are complicated and there is currently no universally applicable means of predicting eruption. In all likelihood, there never will be.' However, there are indicators of increased volcanic activity, which researchers can use to help predict volcanic eruptions. Researchers can track indicators such as: Volcanic infrasound: When the lava lake rises up in the crater of an open vent volcano, a sign of a potential eruption, the pitch or frequency of the sounds generated by the magma tends to increase. Seismic activity: Ahead of an eruption, seismic activity in the form of small earthquakes and tremors almost always increases as magma moves through the volcano's 'plumbing system'. Gas emissions: As magma nears the surface and pressure decreases, gases escape. Sulfur dioxide is one of the main components of volcanic gases, and increasing amounts of it are a sign of increasing amounts of magma near the surface of a volcano. Ground deformation: Changes to a volcano's ground surface (volcano deformation) appear as swelling, sinking, or cracking, which can be caused by magma, gas, or other fluids (usually water) moving underground or by movements in the Earth's crust due to motion along fault lines. Swelling of a volcano cans signal that magma has accumulated near the surface.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mysterious Blobs Deep Inside Earth May Fuel Deadly Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanic eruptions can destroy essential infrastructure, ground air traffic for days, wipe out entire cities, disrupt the climate for years, and even wipe out life on Earth, so it's important to know what causes them to blow. New research has revealed that specific features deep within Earth can be linked directly to such cataclysmic eruptions. Thousands of kilometers below Earth's surface, there is a solid layer of hot rock called the lower mantle. Textbook diagrams would have you believe this is a smooth layer, but the lower mantle actually contains a mountainous topography, with two continent-sized structures, possibly made of different materials than their surrounds. Related: These hidden structures feature craggy ranges that shift and buckle much like the tectonic plates far above them. Volcanologist Annalise Cucchiaro from the University of Wollongong in Australia and her colleagues have found these big lower-mantle basal structures – termed 'BLOBS' by the research team – have a direct influence on volcanic activity at Earth's surface. When scorching columns of rock, known as deep mantle plumes, first rise from depths of nearly 3,000 kilometers (almost 2,000 miles), we get the kinds of Earth-shattering volcanoes that wiped out most of life on Earth, and had a hand in the extinction of the dinosaurs. The BLOBS seemed a likely source of these subterranean plumes, and Cucchiaro's team has now confirmed this connection using three different datasets that provide extensive detail on large volcanic eruptions that happened around 300 million years ago. "This work highlights the importance of mantle plumes in acting as 'magma highways' to the surface, creating these giant eruptions," Cucchiaro says. "It also shows that these plumes move along with their source, the BLOBS." There are two BLOBS within the lower mantle. One is below the African hemisphere, and the other, under the Pacific. We still don't know if the BLOBS are ever fixed in place, or if they're always moving around via convection, but the new research suggests it's a dynamic system with direct repercussions for us surface dwellers. By simulating the movements of BLOBS 1 billion years ago, the team showed that they produced mantle plumes that were sometimes slightly tilted as they rose. This meant eruptions occurred either directly above the BLOBS, or close to it – and these locations matched that of known eruptions. "We used statistics to show that the locations of past giant volcanic eruptions are significantly related to the mantle plumes predicted by our models," Cucchiaro and her colleague, geoscientist Nicholas Flament, explained in The Conversation. "This is encouraging, as it suggests that the simulations predict mantle plumes in places and at times generally consistent with the geologic record." As much as they destroy, large eruptions also have the power to create, and knowing where they may occur – either historically or in the future – could also help us to find magmatic treasures like kimberlite and diamonds, and minerals that could be used in harnessing renewable energy. "This research cracks open one of the questions that has long plagued scientists – are the BLOBS stationary or mobile and how do they relate to giant volcanic explosions – so it is a thrill to finally [be able] to unravel these mysteries," says Flament. This research was published in Communications Earth & Environment. Atlantic Ocean's Nanoplastic Problem Revealed in Shocking New Study Scientists Discovered This Amazing Practical Use For Leftover Coffee Grounds Antarctica's Ocean Is Mysteriously Getting Saltier, Spelling End to Sea Ice
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Horrifying Research Finds Melting Glaciers Could Activate Deadly Volcanoes
Scientists are warning that glaciers melting due to global warming could trigger explosive — and potentially deadly — volcanic eruptions around the world. As detailed in a new study presented at the Goldschmidt international geochemistry conference this week and due to be peer-reviewed later this year, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison analyzed six volcanoes in southern Chile to study how retreating ice sheets may have influenced past volcanic behavior. Using advanced argon dating and crystal analysis methods, they found that around the peak of the last ice age, around 20,000 years ago, a thick ice cover subdued volcanic activity, allowing a huge reservoir of magma to accumulate six to nine miles below the surface. However, the end of the ice age led the ice sheets to retreat rapidly. The sudden loss of ice weight allowed gases in the magma to expand, setting the stage for explosive eruptions from newly formed volcanoes. Now, scientists are warning that a similar scenario could unfold thanks to global warming. "Glaciers tend to suppress the volume of eruptions from the volcanoes beneath them," said University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student and lead author Pablo Moreno-Yaeger in a statement. "But as glaciers retreat due to climate change, our findings suggest these volcanoes go on to erupt more frequently and more explosively." Scientists previously found that melting glaciers could increase volcanic activity by observing the phenomenon in Iceland. However, other places in the world could also be at risk. "Our study suggests this phenomenon isn't limited to Iceland, where increased volcanicity has been observed, but could also occur in Antarctica," Moreno-Yaeger explained. "The key requirement for increased explosivity is initially having a very thick glacial coverage over a magma chamber, and the trigger point is when these glaciers start to retreat, releasing pressure — which is currently happening in places like Antarctica." "Other continental regions, like parts of North America, New Zealand and Russia, also now warrant closer scientific attention," he added. Worse, in the long term eruptions themselves could contribute to "long-term global warming because of a buildup of greenhouse gases," as Moreno-Yaeger explained. "This creates a positive feedback loop, where melting glaciers trigger eruptions, and the eruptions in turn could contribute to further warming and melting," he said. More on volcanoes: Scientists Say Something Is Corking the Yellowstone Supervolcano
