Geoscientists have long thought that water – along with shallow magma stored in Earth’s crust – drives volcanoes to erupt. Now, thanks to newly developed research tools at Cornell, scientists have learned that gaseous carbon dioxide can trigger explosive eruptions.
A new model suggests that basaltic volcanoes, typically located on the interior of tectonic plates, are fed by a deep magma within the mantle, stored about 20 to 30 kilometers below Earth’s surface.
The research, which offers a clearer picture of our planet’s deep internal dynamics and composition, with implications for improving volcanic-hazards planning, was published Aug. 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read more at Cornell University
Image: Explosive lava spews from the latest eruption of the Fogo volcano located on the Cape Verde islands in November 2014. Science now knows that carbon dioxide – instead of water – triggered it. (Credit: Ricardo Ramalho/Cardiff University via Cornell University)