Lava flows from a fissure near Grindavik, Iceland, on Jan. 14, 2024.
Iceland Department of Civil Protection
Iceland, Hawaii and Italy have all tried to control lava to save cities in the past. A volcanologist explains the methods.
Lava erupts from a fissure in Iceland on Dec. 19, 2023.
AP Photo/Marco Di Marco
Iceland is known as ‘the land of fire and ice’ for a reason.
The same region of Iceland saw an eruption in July 2023.
Kristinn Magnusson/AFP via Getty Images
Iceland’s volcanic activity is generally tame compared with explosive eruptions along the Pacific’s Ring of Fire. This time, it’s shaking up a town.
A volcanic eruption at Litli Hrutur on the Reykjanes peninsula, some 30km south of the capital Reykjavik, Iceland in July 2023.
EPA-EFE/Anton Brink
Evidence suggests magma is close to the surface in south-west Iceland, prompting evacuations.
Bjoern Wylezich / Shutterstock
Scientists were not previously certain how the precious stones arrived at the Earth’s surface.
An aerial view of the Mauna Loa volcano, which erupted on the island of Hawaii in December 2022.
Andrew Richard Hara/Getty Images News
As they shape the Earth, volcanoes inspire and terrify humans.
Magma fountains through a fissure on Mauna Loa, becoming lava, on Nov. 30, 2022.
K. Mulliken/USGS
A scientist who led one of the first projects to map the Hawaiian Islands’ deep volcanic plumbing explains what’s going on under the surface as Mauna Loa erupts.
New Line Cinema
In the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Rings of Power, the dark realm of Mordor is created by diverting a river into a dormant volcano, setting off a huge eruption – but is this scientifically viable?
Artwork by Katrina Kenny © 2022
Research has found evidence in NSW for one the most devastating series of volcanic eruptions known.
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The eruption in East Java that claimed 22 lives on Saturday was likely triggered by weather conditions rather than by internal unrest inside Mount Semeru, which would have been easier to monitor.
An area on the summit of the West Mata Volcano erupting in 2009.
NOAA / NSF / WHOI
Volcanic eruptions on the seafloor are mysterious, but new research provides fresh clues.
The Reykjanes Peninsula.
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The last time south-west Iceland experienced a turbulent period of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions was in the 1300s.
Volcano eruption in 2011.
EGILL ADALSTEINSSON/EPA
Icelandic authorities have recently raised the threat level of the Grímsvötn volcano.
Airlines will not fly when there is volcanic ash in the air above Bali’s Mt Agung.
Joe Le Merou/flickr
Volcanic ash is made of tiny crystal and rock fragments that during an eruption can reach as high as the cruising altitude of commercial aircraft, and that’s a concern for airlines.
The 2018 eruption of Kilauea volcano was preceded by damage of the magma plumbing system at the summit.
Courtesy of Grace Tobin, 60 Minutes
Scientists say they’ve found a new method to help predict when volcanoes will erupt, based on data crunched from an eruption last year in Hawaii.
An eruption of Anak Krakatau caused an underwater landslide and tsunami that struck Java and Sumatra.
Nurul Hidayat/Bisnis Indonesia via AP
Research into volcanic activity in the waters off Indonesia shows how active this region is and how destructive landslide-caused tsunamis can be.
The active Erta Ale volcano in the northern Afar region of Ethiopia.
Mikhail Cheremkin/Shutterstock
To be better prepared for future eruptions there’s a need to understand and monitor poorly known volcanoes, even in remote places.
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Gravity, not magma, is forcing Etna to move, increasing the chances of collapse.
Earth experiences constant volcanic activity - here’s Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatoa) photographed in July 2018.
EPA/AAP
Compared to Earth, more “oomph” is required to bring magma to the surface of Mars, and this is probably why we haven’t seen any recent eruptions on the red planet.
Some explosive volcanoes can send ash high up into the sky and it can travel around the world over different countries.
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When magma rises towards the surface gas bubbles start to form. Whether or not they can escape as the magma is rising affects how explosive the eruption will be.