Magma is a high-temperature, silicate-dominated molten or partially molten substance generated within Earth’s crust and mantle by decompression melting, flux melting, or heat transfer. It consists of a continuous liquid phase containing dissolved volatiles (e.g., H₂O, CO₂, SO₂), suspended crystals, and sometimes entrained xenoliths. Its physicochemical properties—temperature, viscosity, density, and volatile content—are governed by bulk composition (mafic to felsic), pressure, and crystallinity. Magma behaves as a complex multiphase fluid, undergoing differentiation by fractional crystallization, assimilation, and mixing, and on ascent can evolve into eruptible magma that degasses and solidifies to form igneous rocks.
Episodic lava fountaining is a rare volcanic behavior in which repeated, hours-long bursts of molten lava and gas are spewed from volcanic vents, with quiet pauses lasting days to weeks between episodes. These lava fountains ...
Masaya volcano in Nicaragua sits within 13 miles (21 kilometers) of 2 million people and is a popular tourist destination due to its lava lake. Penn State researchers recently found evidence of two new magma sources under ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 2, 2026
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When we think of a volcanic eruption, rivers of glowing lava or giant columns of ash come to mind. But beneath Earth's surface, a more complex story is unfolding. Magma deep within volcanoes is more than molten rock. It is ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 27, 2026
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In the search for extraterrestrial life, it makes sense to first look for rocky planets with an atmosphere, like Earth. Without an atmosphere, a planet can't have surface water. But of the more than 6,300 exoplanets cataloged ...
Astrobiology
Sep 24, 2026
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When NASA's Perseverance rover reached the inner edge of Mars' Jezero Crater in September 2023, mission scientists were surprised by what they found. The geologic area, called the "Margin Unit," stretches along the shoreline ...
Astrobiology
Sep 21, 2026
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98
In 2024, D. Sarah Stamps' team detected and tracked a short-lived bulge in the land around a volcano in Tanzania. In a paper published Sep. 18, Stamps identified the cause of the uplift: 1 million cubic meters of magma pouring ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 20, 2026
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Explosive volcanic eruptions can be as destructive as they are difficult to predict, launching pyroclasts—the fragments of magma and rock blasted from a volcano—into the air and surrounding areas. These particles can have ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 14, 2026
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65
Geochemical studies of volcanic rocks from Baffin Island, Canada, and Iceland suggest that some of the water dating back to Earth's formation may still be preserved deep within the planet. However, it has remained unclear ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 8, 2026
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14
As the BepiColombo mission prepares to enter the final phase of its journey to Mercury, a series of studies conducted by researchers at the University of Liège and KU Leuven sheds new light on the early stages of the evolution ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 4, 2026
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64
The evolutionary histories of Earth and Mercury differ fundamentally. The smallest planet, closest to the sun, likely began cooling early on, much like a setting pudding: As early as about 1 billion years after its formation, ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 28, 2026
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