Articles on magma

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Mount Ngauruhoe, in the foreground, and Mount Ruapehu are two of the active volcanoes in the Taupo volcanic zone. Guillaume Piolle/Wikimedia Commons

July 5, 2017

Satellites reveal melting of rocks under volcanic zone, deep in Earth’s mantle

Simon Lamb, Victoria University of Wellington and Timothy Stern, Victoria University of Wellington

New research shows that satellite measurements of tiny movements of the Earth's surface can tell scientists what is happening in the deeper layers of our planet.

May 30, 2017

Venus has very few volcanoes – weirdly, this might be why it’s as hot as hell

Sami Mikhail, University of St Andrews

The planet is more similar to Earth than any other – except when it comes to supporting life.

Magma is molten rock below the Earth’s surface. Once erupted, it becomes lava (pictured). Benjamin van der Spek / shutterstock

October 27, 2016

Magma power: how superheated molten rock could provide renewable energy

Pete Rowley, University of Portsmouth

In Iceland, an audacious project to tap into magma deep below the surface may usher in a new era of geothermal power.

The incredible Blue Lake at Mount Gambier fills one of the craters from the last volcanic eruption just 5,000 years ago. ian woolcock from www.shutterstock.com

May 24, 2016

Australia’s volcanic history is a lot more recent than you think

Jozua van Otterloo, Monash University

What can we expect Australia's next volcanic eruption to be like? That depends where and when it happens, and it could be sooner than you think.

February 1, 2016

Why can’t we predict when a volcano will erupt?

David Pyle, University of Oxford

Scientists have found a way to narrow down the best signs that a specific volcano is about to blow.

Piton de la Fournaise or “Peak of the Furnace” on Reunion Island is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, shown erupting in August 2015. AAP/NewZulu/Vincent Dunogué

August 5, 2015

Explainer: why volcanoes erupt

Mirzam Abdurrachman, Bandung Institute of Technology

What happens beneath the surface before a volcano erupts? Can we predict when one will blow? And how can typhoons and melting glaciers contribute to big eruptions?

Top contributors

Mirzam Abdurrachman
Lecturer at Department of Geology, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology, Bandung Institute of Technology
Pete Rowley
Senior Scientific Officer, Earth Science, University of Portsmouth
David Pyle
Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford
Jozua van Otterloo
Assistant Lecturer in Volcanology, Monash University
Sami Mikhail
Lecturer in Earth Sciences and Environmental Sciences & the Center for Exoplanet Science, University of St Andrews
Simon Lamb
Associate Professor in Geophysics, Victoria University of Wellington
Timothy Stern
Professor of Geophysics, Victoria University of Wellington