The 4.5-billion-year record contained in Earth’s continental crust reveals a seven-phase evolution, from an initial magma ocean to the present-day environment in which we live.
lava & magma
Posted inFeatures
Baked Contacts Focus a Lens on Ancient Lava Flows
Two studies, conducted 40 years apart, show how combining field observations and thermal modeling can reconstruct the history of massive lava flows and how they altered the surrounding landscape.
Posted inNews
Martian Meteorites Offer a Tantalizing Glimpse of the Red Planet
By studying these literal chunks of Mars, scientists are learning more about the Red Planet’s deep interior and impact history.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Tracing Oxidizing Slab Fluids in Cold Volcanic Arcs
Elevated copper isotope ratios in arc magmas from fluid-rich cold subduction zones support the role of oxidizing fluids from the subducted lithospheric serpentinite in the oxidization of arc magmas.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Better Operational Lava Flow Model
By segmenting the vertical structure of a lava flow, the Lava2d model provides more realism to operational lava forecasts.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Feedbacks Between Deformation and Magmatism as Shear Zones Grow
New research reveals how the presence and absence of magmatism governs how shear zones initiate, grow, and reactivate to connect lower and upper crustal deformation.
Posted inNews
Supervolcanoes Linger a While, Then Rush to Erupt
Geologists examined crystals in rock from four massive eruptions in the Chilean Andes.
Posted inNews
Unraveling the Mystery of a Rare Mineral on Mars
The discovery of tridymite in Mars’s Gale Crater triggered debate about the rare mineral’s origins. A research team recently suggested a scenario with explosive implications.
Posted inNews
This One Simple Trick Helps Us Understand How Much Water Is in Martian Lavas
Understanding how much water is in Martian magma is vital for understanding whether the Red Planet had seas in its early history.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Why Do Arc Volcanoes Deform Less Than Ocean Island Volcanoes?
Volcanic ground deformation is not simply correlated with erupted volume. Researchers propose that high concentrations of magmatic volatiles make systems more compressible and suppress deformation.