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27 April 2020
New Mexico badlands help researchers understand past Martian lava flows (video)
Planetary scientists are using a volcanic flow field in New Mexico to puzzle out how long past volcanic eruptions on Mars might have lasted, a finding that could help researchers determine if Mars was ever hospitable to life. People don’t usually think of New Mexico as a volcanically active place, but it has some of the youngest (geologically speaking) large lava flows in the continental United States.
26 December 2019
Forces from Earth’s spin may spark earthquakes and volcanic eruptions at Mount Etna
A new study suggests that polar motion and subsequent shifts in Earth’s crust may increase volcanic activity. “I find it quite exciting to know that while climate drives Earth’s spin, its rotation can also drive volcanoes and seismicity,” said Sébastien Lambert, a geophysicist at Paris Observatory in France and lead author of the study. The new findings, however, don’t allow scientists to forecast volcanic activity.
19 December 2019
Survey reveals low awareness of volcanic hazards in Australia
On December 9, several Australians were among the dozens of tourists who were killed, injured, or went missing after a deadly eruption on Whakaari/White Island in New Zealand. Whakaari/White Island has seen more volcanic activity in the past 10 years than neighboring Australia has seen for 5,000, but according to volcanologists, the country is not free from the risks of a potential eruption. And according to a new survey, Australian citizens are mostly unaware of their country’s potential volcanic hazards.
3 October 2019
Shape of volcanic ash influences contamination of water sources in volcanically active regions
Contaminants from volcanic eruptions leach into water at different rates depending on the shape of the volcanic ash particles, according to new research that could enhancing scientists’ ability to predict water quality risk in volcanically active regions.
28 November 2018
New automated volcano warning system forecasts imminent eruptions
Scientists have developed an automated early warning system for volcanic eruptions, according to a new study. The new system helped government officials warn the public of impending eruptions in Italy and could potentially do the same around the globe, according to the study’s authors. The new research details the new system that monitors volcanic noises and automatically alerts officials if an eruption is imminent. The study’s authors tested this system over a period of eight years on Mount Etna, a volcano on the island of Sicily. Using the new system, the Italian government activated an emergency plan about one hour prior to an eruption for the first time in late 2015.
1 August 2017
Threat to the ozone layer by future volcanic eruptions greater than previously thought
As the CFCs slowly degrade over the coming decades, so too should the volcano’s ozone-destroying power. However, new research shows that the volcanic risk to the ozone layer will persist for decades longer than previously believed.
16 November 2016
Global warming could reduce volcanic cooling effects on climate
New research finds that as the climate warms, Earth’s atmosphere could trap more volcanic and plumes in the troposphere, the lower part of the atmosphere where weather happens. Volcanic aerosols that stay in the troposphere get washed out by precipitation in days or weeks.
12 July 2016
Dormant volcano near Rome is waking up
A long-dormant volcano outside Italy’s capital is entering a new eruptive cycle, a recently published study finds. Scientists previously assumed Colli Albani, a 15-kilometer (9-mile) semicircle of hills outside Rome, was an extinct volcano. But in recent years, scientists have observed new steam vents, earthquakes and a rise in ground level in the hills and surrounding area.
17 December 2015
Music of the Earth
Stanford University’s Miles Traer, once again, is cartooning from the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco.
Volcano pressure guns show how rocks spew and eruptions ensue
The vinegar volcano is a stale science experiment. But Italian geologist Valeria Cigala takes the tired demonstration to a violent new level…
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.