Igneous petrology

A webcam image provided by the U.S. Geological Survey of the Kilauea volcano erupting on June 7, 2023.Image: U.S. Geological Survey (AP)The Kilauea volcano began erupting on Wednesday morning in Hawaii, with the early glow of its burning hot lava captured on webcam by an observatory.Iceland’s Hottest Tourist DestinationThe Hawaiian Volcano Observatory first detected a glow in the Kilauea summit webcam images at 10:44 a.m. ET (4:44 a.m. local time) on June 7, which indicated the volcanic eruption. “The opening phases of…

Popocatepetl volcano spews incandescent material as seen from Paso de Cortés on May 23, 2023 in Amecameca, Mexico. Photo: Cristopher Rogel Blanquet (Getty Images)After a week of rumbling eruptions, Popocatépetl volcano is finally slowing down. The central Mexican volcano has been showing signs of activity, releasing smoke and a lot more since May 15. But the eruptions are finally stopping, and the volcano is emitting less ash this week, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said during a Tuesday press conference,…

Footage taken from the Falkor(too) expedition shows a “chimney” at a hydrothermal vent thousands of feet under the ocean.Gif: Gizmodo / Schmidt Ocean InstituteA multidisciplinary team of scientists say they have discovered three new hydrothermal ventson the ocean floor along an underwater mountain range—the first of these kinds of vents discovered in decades.Hydrothermal vents are some of the weirdest places under the sea. The vents are created when hot magma rises from between tectonic plates, then cools and creates new…

A new analysis of 30-year-old images taken by the Magellan spacecraft suggests that a volcanic eruption happened on the planet between 1990 and 1992. In other words, Venus is a living planet.The discovery—published today in Science—seems to resolve a longstanding question about the scorching hot, craggy world: whether volcanoes are still active on the Venusian surface. If volcanic activity is responsible for the surface change seen in the images, Venus will be the third body in the solar system to host active magma…

A woman watches the eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano on December 04, 2022 near Hilo, Hawaii.Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began erupting in Hawaii in late November for the first time since 1984. Eruptions have continued for nearly two weeks, creating spectacular, slow-moving lava flows that so far have not threatened any local communities. Earlier this week, officials worried that one of the lava flows would reach the Daniel K. Inouye Highway. But as ofThursday, the…

The false idea that volcanoes release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide has been a popular meme among climate deniers for years. It’s true that volcanic activity causes an increase in atmospheric CO2 levels. But this contribution is absolutely minuscule compared to what we’re doing to the planet: NASA estimates that human activity creates the equivalent amount of CO2 as a Mount St. Helens-size eruption once every two and a half hours (!).“Volcanoes erupt all the time,” Phoenix said. “There’s about 45 volcanoes erupting…

A view of the eruption taken by a research camera on the northern rim of the caldera on Monday, November 28.Photo: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (AP)The world’s largest active volcano is erupting for the first time in almost 40 years. The Mauna Loa volcano, which is located on the Big Island in Hawaii, started erupting on Sunday night, breaking its longest quiet streak in recorded history.The U.S. Geological Survey said in an advisory that the eruption began at 11:30 p.m.HST on Sunday in Moku‘āweoweo, the summit…

An animated height map of the Tongan eruption in January 2022, generated with data from three weather satellites. Gif: Simeon Schmauß / Japan Meteorological Agency / Korea Meteorological Administration / National Oceanographic and Atmospheric AdministrationVolcanic eruptions can create serious impacts on human activity and climatic behavior, as ash, gases, and water are lofted high into the sky. While most eruptions are relatively shallow in the atmosphere, the plume generated by the incredibly powerful January 2022…

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo on June 15, 1991 in the Philippines was the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Photo: ARLAN NAEG/AFP (Getty Images)When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted in Tonga on January 15, the result was devastation. The eruption literally blew up an island, caused mass flooding in the surrounding areas, coated whole communities in a thick layer of ash, and took out telecommunications for weeks. Yet in that eruption, we got lucky, according to a new commentary article…

A tourist visits Fagradalsfjall on August 4.Image: Jeremie Richard (Getty Images)A volcano in Iceland has been spewinglava for the past few days, and as spectators angled their phones for the perfect shot, three tourists have been injured in an attempt to visit.Fagradalsfjall is a volcano in Iceland that is currently erupting approximately 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of the country’s capital, Reykjavik. Eruptions in Iceland are not uncommon, given the country’s geology, and as Fagradalsfjall began erupting on…