Shaun Eaves, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Jamey Stutz, The Ohio State University; Kevin Norton, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Pedro Doll, University of Canterbury
When landslides or glaciers bring rocks to the surface, cosmic rays bombard them, smashing common atoms into rarer forms and acting as a chronometer of the changing Earth.
The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains look peaceful today - but 3.5 billion years ago the earth there was roiled by volcanoes.
Instinctively RDH/Shutterstock
Millions of years ago, widespread volcano eruptions in eastern Australia buried entire forests. Today, these time capsules reveal stunningly fossilised plants.
Lava erupts from a fissure in Iceland on Dec. 19, 2023.
AP Photo/Marco Di Marco
For some people, it’s a choice based on cultural beliefs or economic opportunities provided by the volcano. Other times it’s less a choice than the only option.
It’s very important for tourists to understand the risks of visiting volcanic sites and properly prepare themselves for excursions to see volcanic eruptions.
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.
An overhead shot of a volcano crater in east Java, Indonesia.
(Shutterstock)
Drones can be used to collect gas samples from active volcanoes, where it is too dangerous for researchers. This data can be then used to predict the frequency and severity of eruptions.
Tsunamis can be generated by underwater volcanic explosions thousands of miles away. The Jan. 15 explosion in Tonga resulted in tsunami advisories for British Columbia and all along the U.S. west coast.
A submarine eruption 34 nautical miles off the coast of Tonga’s capital, Nuku'alofa. March 18 2009.
EPA/Lothar Slabon
Shane Cronin, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The eruption is akin to a weapons-grade chemical explosion, and there could be several weeks or even years of major volcanic unrest to follow.
Lava flows from a fissure in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island, May 22, 2018.
Andrew Richard Hara/Ena Media Hawaii via Getty Images
Volcanoes might seem like nature’s incinerators, but using them to burn up trash would be dangerous and disrespectful to indigenous people who view them as sacred.
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.