Breaking News: Volcanoes

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Released: 15-Mar-2018 6:05 PM EDT
Professor Discovers Answers About Seismic Shifts Deep in the Earth
New Mexico State University (NMSU)

The largest and most-devastating earthquakes and volcano eruptions occur where one tectonic plate is shifted underneath another one. A New Mexico State University researcher authored a paper published recently in “Nature Communications” that looks at the so-called subduction zones where the plates become “slabs” and sink into the Earth's mantle.

Released: 15-Mar-2018 4:05 PM EDT
Garnet Reveals Source of Water to Fuel Powerful Volcanoes and Earthquakes
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

By applying a new spectroscopy technique to garnet containing fragments of quartz, metamorphic petrologist Frank Spear of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute thinks he’s found the source of water that fuels earthquakes in volcanoes in subduction zones.

Released: 14-Mar-2018 12:05 PM EDT
Humans Flourished Through Super Volcano 74,000 Years Ago
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

Humans not only survived a massive volcanic eruption 74,000 years ago, they flourished during the resulting climate change that occurred, a new study by UNLV geoscientist Eugene Smith and colleagues found.

Released: 16-Feb-2018 3:45 PM EST
New Study Shows Promise Turning Volcanic Sound Into Warning Signal for Eruptions
Boise State University

A new study led by Boise State associate professor of geophysics Jeffrey Johnson has proven the potential for using volcanic infrasound – inaudible sounds produced by active volcanoes – to help forecast future catastrophic eruptions.

Released: 20-Dec-2017 8:05 AM EST
Easter Island Had a Cooperative Community, Analysis of Giant Hats Reveals
Binghamton University, State University of New York

Analysis of giant stone hats found on Rapa Nui, Chile (Easter Island) provides evidence contrary to the widely held belief that the ancient civilization had a warrior culture. According to a new study conducted by a team of researchers, including a professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York, these stone hats suggest that the people of Rapa Nui were part of a supportive and inclusive community.

28-Nov-2017 8:05 AM EST
Submarine Volcanoes Add to Ocean Soundscape
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)

Most volcanoes erupt beneath the ocean, but scientists know little about them compared to what they know about volcanoes that eject their lava on dry land. Researchers think that with improved monitoring, they can learn more about these submarine eruptions, which threaten travel and alter the ocean soundscape. During the 174th ASA meeting, held Dec. 4-8, 2017, in New Orleans, Gabrielle Tepp of the USGS will discuss the challenges and benefits of remote monitoring and what it can teach about submarine volcanoes.

Released: 29-Nov-2017 4:45 PM EST
Mass of Warm Rock Rising Beneath New England, Rutgers Study Suggests
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Slowly but steadily, an enormous mass of warm rock is rising beneath part of New England, although a major volcanic eruption isn’t likely for millions of years, a Rutgers University-led study suggests. The research is unprecedented in its scope and challenges textbook concepts of geology.

Released: 29-Nov-2017 10:05 AM EST
Eruption Clues: UNH Researchers Create Snapshot of Volcano Plumbing
University of New Hampshire

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire are using scientific sleuthing to better understand the journey of magma in Mount Etna, to create a more accurate picture of the volcano’s plumbing system and determine how quickly the magma rises to the top to cause an eruption. Their findings contribute to our understanding of how and when volcanoes erupt.

24-Nov-2017 11:00 AM EST
A Series of Fortunate Events
Michigan Technological University

Volcanism is sometimes like food poisoning, where the Earth spews forth unstable material. New research from Michigan Technological University, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and ETH Zurich shows that a significant pulse of volatile carbon was released from the Earth’s mantle around 500 million years ago. But why?

Released: 20-Nov-2017 10:05 AM EST
Save the Date: Acoustical Society of America Fall Meeting in New Orleans, Dec. 4-8
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)

Acoustical waves and vibrations allow us to hear and experience the world with fuller sensory stimulation. Acoustics has applications that cover a broad spectrum of topics including anthropogenic noise in marine environments, the dangers of hospital noise, and auditory sensitivity after drinking. The Acoustical Society of America’s fall meeting this year will showcase the diversity of sound and its applications, held Dec. 4-8, 2017, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

8-Nov-2017 8:55 AM EST
Closing the Rural Health Gap: Media Update from RWJF and Partners on Rural Health Disparities
Newswise

Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.

       
2-Nov-2017 11:05 AM EDT
Cool Idea: Magma Held in ‘Cold Storage’ Before Giant Volcano Eruption
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Long Valley, California, has long defined the “super-eruption.” About 765,000 years ago, a pool of molten rock exploded into the sky. Within one nightmarish week, 760 cubic kilometers of lava and ash spewed out in the kind of volcanic cataclysm we hope never to witness. A new study shows that the giant body of magma — molten rock — at Long Valley was much cooler before the eruption than previously thought.

23-Oct-2017 5:00 AM EDT
Formation of Magma Oceans on Exoplanets
University of Vienna

Induction heating can completely change the energy budget of an exoplanet and even melt its interior. In a study published by Nature Astronomy an international team led by the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences with participation of the University of Vienna explains how magma oceans can form under the surface of exoplanets as a result of induction heating.

Released: 12-Oct-2017 4:40 PM EDT
Is It Gonna Blow? Measuring Volcanic Emissions From Space
Michigan Technological University

Carbon dioxide measured by a NASA satellite pinpoints sources of the gas from human and volcanic activities, which may help monitor greenhouse gases responsible for climate change.

Released: 3-Oct-2017 10:45 AM EDT
Large Volcanic Eruptions in Tropics Can Trigger El Niño Events
Rutgers University

Explosive volcanic eruptions in the tropics can lead to El Niño events, those notorious warming periods in the Pacific Ocean with dramatic global impacts on the climate, according to a new study.

Released: 2-Oct-2017 7:05 AM EDT
Scientists Find Evidence that Siberian Volcanic Eruptions Caused Extinction 250 Million Years Ago
New York University

A team of scientists has found new evidence that the Great Permian Extinction, which occurred approximately 250 million years ago, was caused by massive volcanic eruptions that led to significant environmental changes.

Released: 13-Sep-2017 3:40 PM EDT
Measuring a Crucial Mineral in the Mantle
University of Delaware

New research led by the University of Delaware resolves debate over the strength of olivine, the most abundant mineral in the Earth's mantle. Measuring olivine’s strength is critical to understanding how strong tectonic plates are, which matters to how plates break and create subduction zones.

Released: 12-Sep-2017 4:25 PM EDT
Tulane Student Hopes Research Will Lead to Protection From Volcanos, Earthquakes
Tulane University

East Africa may be a long way from the Crescent City but it is top of mind for Tulane PhD student Sarah Oliva, who is studying data from volcanoes and earthquakes in that region. Her goal is a better understanding of how a 3,000-kilometer long deep valley– the East African rift system— formed. Ultimately, she hopes her research will enable her to work with scientists and help governments protect residents living near the rift.

Released: 31-Aug-2017 4:05 AM EDT
Volcanic Carbon Dioxide Drove Ancient Global Warming Event
University of Southampton

New research, led by the University of Southampton and involving a team of international scientists, suggests that an extreme global warming event 56 million years ago was driven by massive CO2 emissions from volcanoes, during the formation of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Released: 10-Aug-2017 11:05 AM EDT
Innovative Way to Understand Nature of an Entire Tiny Particle
University of New Hampshire

New research from the University of New Hampshire has led to the development of a novel technique to determine the surface area and volume of small particles, the size of a grain of sand or smaller. Due to their tiny size, irregular shape and limited viewing angle, commonly used microscopic imaging techniques cannot always capture the whole object’s shape often leaving out valuable information that can be important in numerous areas of science, engineering and medicine.

30-Jun-2017 12:05 PM EDT
New Studies of Ancient Concrete Could Teach Us to Do as the Romans Did
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A new look inside 2,000-year-old Roman concrete has provided new clues to the evolving chemistry and mineral cements that allow ancient harbor structures to withstand the test of time.

Released: 16-Jun-2017 5:05 PM EDT
Heat Pulses in Magma Change How Scientists View the Inner Workings of Volcanoes
Arizona State University (ASU)

ASU scientists develop technique to trace volcano heat pulses; may help better predict risk

13-Jun-2017 7:00 AM EDT
Forget the Red Hot Blob: Volcanic Zircon Crystals Give a New View of Magma
Michigan Technological University

The classic red teardrop of magma underneath a volcano peak is too simplistic. Magma chambers are chemically and physically complex structures that new evidence, published this week in Science, suggests may be cooler and more solid than expected.

Released: 29-May-2017 3:05 PM EDT
Death by Volcano?
Washington University in St. Louis

The discovery of anomalously high levels of mercury in rocks from the Ordivician geological period has led to a new interpretation of the ensuing mass extinction. A sequence of disturbances may have led to catastrophic cooling by reflective sulfate aerosols injected into the atmosphere by massive volcanism. The finding is important since aerosol cooling is under consideration as a way to temper global warming.

Released: 23-May-2017 2:05 PM EDT
How X-Rays Helped to Solve Mystery of Floating Rocks
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Experiments at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source have helped scientists to solve a mystery of why some rocks can float for years in the ocean, traveling thousands of miles before sinking.

18-May-2017 5:05 PM EDT
Researchers Discover Hottest Lavas That Erupted in Past 2.5 Billion Years From Earth’s Core-Mantle Boundary
Virginia Tech

Researchers led by the Virginia Tech College of Science discovered that deep portions of Earth’s mantle might be as hot as it was more than 2.5 billion years ago.

Released: 19-Apr-2017 3:05 PM EDT
Eruptions Examiner
University of Iowa

University of Iowa volcanologist Ingrid Ukstins spent two weeks collecting samples from Yasur, a continuously erupting volcano on Tanna, an island in the remote South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, to study its chemical composition and determine how the gasses it produces may be affecting people who live nearby.

Released: 15-Mar-2017 8:05 AM EDT
Volcano Breath: Measuring Sulfur Dioxide From Space
Michigan Technological University

A number of volcanoes around the world continuously exhale gases. Of these, sulfur dioxide is the easiest to detect from space and now researchers have created the first global map of SO2 plumes from volcanoes.

Released: 12-Jan-2017 2:05 PM EST
National Geographic Supports Volcano Research in Chile
Boise State University

As planning continues for humanity’s first visit to Mars, scientists still have much to learn about the planet’s physical makeup. By comparing current satellite images to similar shots of Earth, they are coming to understand how volcanic activity shaped the Red Planet, and extrapolating lessons learned to address concerns closer to home.

Released: 3-Jan-2017 10:05 AM EST
New Study Estimates Frequency of Flight-Disrupting Volcanic Eruptions
University of Leeds

Holidaymakers concerned about fresh volcanic eruptions causing flight-disrupting ash clouds across Northern Europe might be reassured by a study setting out the first reliable estimates of their frequency

Released: 28-Nov-2016 12:05 PM EST
What's Up with Madagascar?
Washington University in St. Louis

The island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa was largely unexplored seismically until recently. The first broadband seismic images of the island help solve a longstanding mystery: why are there volcanoes far from any tectonic boundary?

Released: 16-Nov-2016 12:05 PM EST
Climate Change May Prevent Volcanoes From Cooling the Planet
University of British Columbia

New UBC research shows that climate change may impede the cooling effect of volcanic eruptions.

Released: 15-Nov-2016 10:05 AM EST
Researchers Explore Gigantic Volcanic Eruptions That Caused Worldwide Mass Extinctions
Virginia Tech

A paper in Nature Communications confirms a major feature in the formation of large igneous provinces — massive worldwide volcanic eruptions that created incredibly high volumes of lava and triggered environmental catastrophes and mass extinctions from 170 to 90 million years ago.

28-Sep-2016 9:00 AM EDT
New Technique for Finding Weakness in Earth’s Crust
University of Adelaide

Scientists have developed a method to estimate weakness in the Earth’s outer layers which will help explain and predict volcanic activity and earthquakes.

Released: 2-Sep-2016 3:05 PM EDT
Ceres: The Tiny World Where Volcanoes Erupt Ice
Arizona State University (ASU)

Ahuna Mons is a volcano that rises 13,000 feet high and spreads 11 miles wide at its base. This would be impressive for a volcano on Earth. But Ahuna Mons stands on Ceres, a dwarf planet less than 600 miles wide that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Even stranger, Ahuna Mons isn't built from lava the way terrestrial volcanoes are -- it's built from ice.

Released: 28-Jul-2016 8:05 AM EDT
As Hazard Warnings Increase, Experts Urge Better Decisions on Who and When to Warn
Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)

Effective warnings are a growing need as expanding global populations confront a wide range of hazards, such as a hurricane, wildfire, toxic chemical spill or any other environmental hazard threatens safety.

       
Released: 6-Jul-2016 3:05 PM EDT
New Study Upends a Theory of How Earth's Mantle Flows
Earth Institute at Columbia University

A new study carried out on the floor of Pacific Ocean provides the most detailed view yet of how the earth's mantle flows beneath the ocean's tectonic plates. The findings, published in the journal Nature, appear to upend a common belief that the strongest deformation in the mantle is controlled by large-scale movement of the plates. Instead, the highest resolution imaging yet reveals smaller-scale processes at work that have more powerful effects.

Released: 23-Jun-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Geologists Make Their Own Lava to Prep for Explosive Experiments (Video Available)
University at Buffalo

The lava-making operation — one of the largest in the world — will provide a rare, close-up view of the interplay between molten rock and water, an interaction that can enhance the explosive potential of volcanoes.

Released: 2-Jun-2016 3:05 PM EDT
Scientists Gain Supervolcano Insights From Wyoming Granite
University of Wyoming

Geophysical monitoring of the ground above active supervolcanoes shows that it rises and falls as magma moves beneath the surface of the Earth. Silica-rich magmas like those in the Yellowstone region and along the western margin of North and South America can erupt violently and explosively, throwing vast quantities of ash into the air, followed by slower flows of glassy, viscous magma.

Released: 2-Jun-2016 3:05 PM EDT
How Southeastern Mayan People Overcame the Catastrophic Eruption of Ilopango?
Nagoya University

A Nagoya University researcher and his leading international research group discovered a Great Platform built with different kinds of stone at the archeological site of San Andrés, El Salvador, and challenged the prevailing theory regarding the sociocultural development of Southeastern Maya frontier.

Released: 14-Apr-2016 8:05 AM EDT
The Cozier the Better for Bubbles Inside Powerful Volcanoes
Georgia Institute of Technology

Study suggests that powerful volcanic blasts occur due in part to how light vapor bubbles migrate and accumulate in some parts of shallow volcanic chambers. Researchers say these bubbles maneuver their way through crystal filled magma until they settle in these open-spaced reservoirs – areas without many crystals – and build up the necessary energy for an impending eruption.

Released: 21-Mar-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Making Magma Helps Researchers Understand Volcanoes
University of Alaska Fairbanks

The best way to figure out how something is made is to take it apart and put it back together again. That is what Jessica Larsen and her students do at the Geophysical Institute’s Petrology Lab in order to understand active volcanoes in Alaska.

3-Mar-2016 6:05 AM EST
How Rivers of Hot Ash and Gas Move When a Supervolcano Erupts
University at Buffalo

New research in Nature Communications sheds light on what happens when a supervolcano erupts. The study combines recent lab tests with vintage field data — some of it captured in colorful Kodachrome slides — to provide insight on how rivers of hot ash and gas travel huge distances in supereruptions.

Released: 15-Feb-2016 3:05 PM EST
Study Challenges Widely Accepted Theory of Yellowstone Formation
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Understanding the complex geological processes that form supervolcanoes could ultimately help geologists determine what triggers their eruptions. A new study using an advanced computer model casts doubt on previously held theories about the Yellowstone supervolcano’s origins, adding to the mystery of Yellowstone’s formation.

15-Jan-2016 5:05 AM EST
Explosive Underwater Volcanoes Were a Major Feature of ‘Snowball Earth’
University of Southampton

Around 720-640 million years ago, much of the Earth’s surface was covered in ice during a glaciation that lasted millions of years. Explosive underwater volcanoes were a major feature of this ‘Snowball Earth’, according to new research led by the University of Southampton.

Released: 14-Jan-2016 5:05 AM EST
Evidence of Large Volcanic Activity in the Caribbean Uncovered
University of Southampton

Scientists from the University of Southampton have uncovered evidence of a previously unknown large volcanic eruption in the Caribbean Sea.


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