petrology
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See Newly Discovered Deep Sea ‘Chimneys’ Teeming With Life
A multidisciplinary team of scientists say they have discovered three new hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor along an underwater mountain range — the first of these kinds of vents discovered in decades.
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Photos Show Eruption at Mauna Loa, World’s Largest Volcano
Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began erupting earlier this week after nearly 40 years of no activity — the longest quiet period for the volcano in recorded history. I’ve been fascinated by the eruption since it began on Sunday and realised I had a lot of questions, including some that seemed pretty elementary,…
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Humanity Is ‘Woefully Unprepared’ for a Major Volcanic Eruption
When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted in Tonga on January 15, the result was devastation. The eruption literally blew up an island, caused mass flooding in the surrounding areas, coated whole communities in a thick layer of ash, and took out telecommunications for weeks. Yet in that eruption, we got lucky, according to a…
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Why Can’t We Predict When a Volcano Will Stop Erupting?
On September 19, Cumbre Vieja — a volcanic ridge covered in the rocky scars of past paroxysms — erupted for the first time in 50 years. Every single day thereafter, molten rock cooking at nearly 1,093 degrees Celsius has poured from multiple fissures and vents, frequently accompanied by explosions propelling glassy ash skyward. Around 2,500…