Volcanism

Photo: ALMANNAVARNADEILD / HANDOUT (Getty Images)This view offers a unique vantage point of the lava flows. On one side, the lava is more diffuse, and on the other side of the eruption, the molten rock forms fewer, but thicker, bands across the landscape. Photo: ALMANNAVARNADEILD / HANDOUT (Getty Images)This view offers a unique vantage point of the lava flows. On one side, the lava is more diffuse, and on the other side of the eruption, the molten rock forms fewer, but thicker, bands across the landscape. FOLLOW US…

An SwRI-led team compared the early impact history of Venus and Earth, determining that Venus experienced higher-energy impacts creating a superheated core. Models show these conditions could create Venus’ extended volcanism and younger surface. Credit: Southwest Research InstituteModels show Venus’ superheated core could produce extended volcanism and long-lived resurfacing.A Southwest Research Institute-led team has modeled the early impact history of Venus to explain how Earth’s sister planet has maintained a youthful…

A massive blob of ancient granite has been found lurking beneath the Moon's surface, evidence of a type of volcanism we've never seen there before.Analysis suggests it's a deeply buried giant mass of solidified magma, or batholith, deposited some 3.5 billion years ago. We see this on Earth fairly frequently, but planetary scientists are excited to observe it on the Moon."Any big body of granite that we find on Earth used to feed a big bunch of volcanoes, much like a large system is feeding the Cascade volcanoes in the…

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…

Maat Mons is displayed in this computer-generated, three-dimensional perspective of the surface of Venus. The viewpoint is located 634 kilometers (393 miles) north of Maat Mons at an elevation of 3 kilometers (2 miles) above the terrain. Lava flows extend for hundreds of kilometers across the fractured plains shown in the foreground, to the base of Maat Mons. NASA Magellan mission synthetic aperture radar data is combined with radar altimetry to develop a three-dimensional map of the surface. The vertical scale in this…

Warrumbungle national park. Credit: colinslack/Shutterstock Our new study published in Nature Geoscience on an ancient chain of Australian volcanoes is helping to change our understanding of "hotspot" volcanism. You may be surprised to learn eastern Australia hosts the longest chain of continental hotspot volcanoes on Earth. These…

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 artist’s concept of active volcanos on Venus, depicting a subduction zone where the foreground crust plunges into the planet’s interior at the topographic trench. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Peter Rubin<span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Venus</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Venus, the second planet from the sun, is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the moon, it is the second-brightest natural…