What causes an eruption? Why do some volcanoes erupt regularly, while others remain dormant for thousands of years?
What causes an eruption? Why do some volcanoes erupt regularly, while others remain dormant for thousands of years? A team of geologists and geophysicists, led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has reviewed the literature on the internal and external mechanisms that lead to a volcanic eruption. Analyzing the thermo-mechanics of deep volcanic processes and magma propagation to the surface, together with magma chemistry, the geologists determined that most of the magma rising from depth actually does not cause a volcanic eruption. They also show that older volcanoes tend to produce less frequent, but larger and more dangerous eruptions. Their findings, published in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, will help refine models of volcanic processes to reduce the impact of volcanic eruptions on the more than 800 million people living near active volcanoes.
Volcanic activity remains difficult to predict even when it is closely monitored. Why didn’t Mount Fuji erupt after the strong earthquake in Tohoku, Japan? Why did the eruption of Eyjafjallajökul generate such a large amount of volcanic ash? In order to determine the causes of volcanic eruptions, geologists and geophysicists led by Luca Caricchi, professor at the Department of Earth Sciences of the Faculty of Science of the UNIGE, have taken up the existing literature and analysed all the stages that precede an eruption.
Read more at Université de Genève
Image: One of the strombolian explosions that have occurred at Stromboli about every 10 minutes for at least 2000 years. (Credit: © UNIGE, Luca Caricchi)
