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.
A new study from the University of Florida analyzing moon rock samples from a Chinese lunar exploration mission is rewriting our understanding of how the moon is cooled.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 22, 2025
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40
Earth's continents may look fixed on a globe, but they've been drifting, splitting and reforming over billions of years—and they still are. Our new study reveals fresh evidence of rhythmic pulses of molten rock rising beneath ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 20, 2025
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69
When the island of Santorini was rattled by thousands of small earthquakes earlier this year, many people were left mystified about the source of the tremors.
Earth Sciences
Jun 30, 2025
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416
Mercury doesn't give up its secrets easily. The smallest planet in our solar system is also one of the most extreme—a sun-scorched, metal-rich world with a puzzling magnetic field and lavas unlike anything found on Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 18, 2025
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79
When volcanoes are preparing to erupt, scientists rely on typical signs to warn people living nearby: deformation of the ground and earthquakes, caused by underground chambers filling up with magma and volcanic gas. But some ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 10, 2025
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69
A recent study has mathematically clarified how the presence of crystals and gas bubbles in magma affects the propagation of seismic P-waves. The researchers derived a new equation that characterizes the travel of these waves ...
Soft Matter
May 21, 2025
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27
Using advanced technology that analyzes tiny gas bubbles trapped in crystals, a team of scientists led by Cornell University has precisely mapped how magma storage evolves as Hawaiian volcanoes age.
Earth Sciences
May 15, 2025
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74
Hundreds of millions of people live in areas that could be affected by volcanic eruptions. Fortunately, clues at the surface, such as earthquakes and ground deformation, can indicate movement within underground magma dikes—sheets ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2025
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42
Beneath Yellowstone lies a magma reservoir, pulsing with molten and superheated rock and exsolved gases. Scientists have long known about the chamber's existence, but have yet to precisely locate its uppermost boundary and ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 16, 2025
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134
A team of geologists at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, the Institute of Space Sciences and the Shandong Institute of Geological Sciences, all in China, has found evidence in soil samples collected from the far ...
