Future space missions will further our knowledge of tidal heating and orbital resonances, processes thought to create spectacular volcanism and oceans of magma or water on other worlds.
lava & magma
Posted inNews
Explosive Volcanic Eruption Powered by Water-Saturated Magma
Little seismic unrest preceded the 2014 eruption of a stratovolcano in Indonesia, which suggests that the eruption was kick-started internally by volatile-triggered overpressure.
Posted inNews
Crystal Clocks Serve as Stopwatch for Magma Storage and Travel Times
Magma stored for 1,000 years in an Icelandic volcano journeyed to the surface in just 4 days.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Lower Mantle May Have a Wet Bottom
Molecular dynamics calculations suggest that molten hydrogen-bearing iron peroxide (FeO2Hx) may produce the ultra-low velocity zones that occur at the core-mantle boundary.
Posted inNews
Alexander R. “Mac” McBirney (1924–2019)
This former West Point graduate and coffee grower transformed igneous petrology and volcanology.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Age and Speed Matter in the Formation of New Oceanic Crust
A synthesis of data from studies in different ocean basins reveals that the characteristics of oceanic crust are shaped by age and spreading rate.
Posted inScience Updates
Planning an International Magma Observatory
A planned project will drill into a magma reservoir in Iceland that has never erupted to the surface, giving scientists a fresh look at Earth’s underground “plumbing.”
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Crystals Connect Bubbles in Explosive Magmas
Hydrous silica-rich magmas can degas through connected bubble pathways when as little as 20% crystals are present, influencing transitions from explosive, Vulcanian-style eruptions to lava effusion.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
On the Prospect of Ancient Metallic Volcanism on Asteroids
There is a possibility of ancient volcanism on metallic asteroids, a new type of volcanism that is not yet observed, though the Psyche mission to the asteroid Psyche may change that soon.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
No Underground Magma Ocean on Jupiter’s Fiery Moon?
A new study suggests alternative explanations for Io’s unusual magnetic field.