A thick portion of Earth’s crust may have capped the Samoan plume and suppressed volcanism for 30 million years, explaining a curious gap along the Samoan chain.
lava & magma
Posted inNews
Hot Spot Lavas Around the World May Have Something in Common
A global study of lavas from volcanic hot spots suggests that contrary to accepted wisdom, Earth’s deep mantle may have the same composition throughout. Not everyone is convinced, however.
Posted inNews
Here’s Why Resolution Copper Wants to Mine Oak Flat
Southeastern Arizona’s “Copper Triangle” is a hot spot for high-grade deposits, thanks to ancient magmatic activity.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Timing the Global Expansion on the Moon
A new analysis of the relation between randomly oriented linear gravity anomalies and two large craters on the Moon implies that the gravity anomalies formed over a long period of time.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Did Magma Oceans Evolve on Early Earth and Mars?
New insights into the early timelines of rocky planets are emerging, thanks to clues from iron chemistry and primordial atmospheres.
Posted inNews
Iron-Rich Volcanoes Hold Hidden Rare Earth Element Reserves
Experiments show how concentrations of rare earth elements, critical to the green energy transition, might be hiding in plain sight in iron-rich deposits around the world.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Moon’s Tides Hint at a Melty Lunar Layer
New lunar gravity measurements support the idea that a partially molten mantle layer is sandwiched between the rest of the Moon’s mantle and its core.
Posted inScience Updates
Volcanic Anatomy, Mapped as It Erupts
Testing during the 2021 Tajogaite eruption on La Palma demonstrated the value of near-real-time petrological analyses as a supplement to seismic and geochemical data for eruption monitoring.
Posted inScience Updates
An Unprecedented Experiment to Map Kīlauea’s Summit Magma System
Dozens of researchers deployed nearly 2,000 seismic stations—and a T-Rex—to better illuminate subsurface structure and magma storage below the summit of the highly active volcano.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
En una rara oportunidad, investigadores observan la formación de los valles islandeses
Durante el período previo a las recientes erupciones volcánicas cerca de la ciudad de Grindavík, científicos documentaron la formación de grabens en tiempo real.