Volcanic activity encompasses all processes associated with the movement and eruption of magma and volatiles from Earth’s interior to its surface, including effusive lava flows, explosive eruptions, degassing, and the formation of associated edifices and deposits. It is governed by magma generation in the mantle and crust, melt composition, temperature, volatile content, and tectonic setting (e.g., subduction zones, rifts, hotspots). Volcanic activity is studied through petrology, geophysics, gas geochemistry, geodesy, and remote sensing to quantify eruption dynamics, magma ascent rates, and hazard potential, and it exerts major controls on crustal growth, surface morphology, and volatile fluxes to the atmosphere and hydrosphere.
Volcanoes emit smoke. Beneath a volcano lies a huge chamber filled with liquid magma. A series of earthquakes means an eruption is imminent. And if a "supervolcano" like Yellowstone were to awaken, a global catastrophe would ...
Earth Sciences
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Spectacular images of lava flowing down the slopes of erupting Mount Etna have drawn flocks of tourists to the Italian volcano—to the worry of local guides.
Environment
Aug 12, 2026
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Activity at Guatemala's Fuego volcano that began Monday morning and caused widespread evacuations is gradually decreasing, authorities said Wednesday.
Environment
Aug 6, 2026
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Guatemala remained on alert Tuesday after evacuating villages during an eruption of the Fuego volcano, one of Central America's most active.
Environment
Aug 5, 2026
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The West Eifel Volcanic Field comprises more than 100 maars—circular lakes formed by explosive eruptions. Until now, little was known about when these volcanic eruptions occurred. A research team from Heidelberg University, ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 4, 2026
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An international team of volcanologists working on Carlingford Mountain has found that liquid "magma chambers" do not always exist beneath volcanoes. The team instead demonstrated that magma "plumbing systems" beneath Earth's ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 31, 2026
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Towering explosions, flowing bright red lava and heroic scientists battling to save communities at risk have become the defining image of volcanoes in popular culture, from disaster films to epic blockbusters. New University ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 29, 2026
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Venus is an inhospitable place, with temperatures soaring to several hundred degrees Celsius (hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit) and no oceans like those on Earth. Planetary scientists long believed Venus was geologically dormant. ...
Astronomy
Jul 24, 2026
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The moon is 384,000 kilometers (239,000 miles) away from Earth, but one of the best places to study its surface is much closer to home. Western planetary scientist Catherine Neish and PhD candidate Sashank Vanga traveled ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 23, 2026
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NASA's Juno mission has provided the first measurements of the temperature below the surface of Jupiter's moon Io, revealing significant heating within the shallow subsurface of the most volcanically active world in the solar ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 22, 2026
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