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.
Up to 30% of life, by weight, is underground. Seismic activity may renew the energy supply for subterranean ecosystems. Published in PNAS Nexus, Eric Boyd and colleagues chronicled the ecological changes in subsurface microbial ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 25, 2025
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The Hayli Gubbi volcano in northeast Ethiopia, believed to have been dormant for up to 12,000 years, erupted on 23 November 2025, sending a massive plume of ash and sulfur dioxide high into the atmosphere.
Earth Sciences
Nov 25, 2025
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A long-dormant volcano erupted in northern Ethiopia over the weekend, sending ash plumes across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman.
Environment
Nov 24, 2025
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A mysterious swarm of earthquakes that occurred near the Greek island of Santorini in early 2025 was caused by rebounding sheets of magma slicing through Earth's crust, according to a new study by an international team involving ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 20, 2025
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The massive 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano on Hawai'i Island lasted for months, destroyed neighborhoods, and was associated with 60,000 earthquakes.
Earth Sciences
Nov 18, 2025
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Earth scientists have discovered how continents are slowly peeled from beneath, fueling volcanic activity in an unexpected place: the oceans.
Earth Sciences
Nov 11, 2025
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89
Jupiter's moon Io stands alone among the solar system's moons. It has more than 400 active volcanoes, and its surface is home to more than 100 massive volcanic mountains, some of which are taller than Mt. Everest. Its surface ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 6, 2025
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Trapped in a gravitational push and pull between Jupiter and other Jovian moons, Io is constantly being stretched and compressed. Heat generated by these contortions has melted pockets of the moon's interior so much that ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 4, 2025
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144
Located on the island of Sicily, in Italy, Mount Etna is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Documentation of its many eruptions stretches back as far as 2,700 years ago, with the most recent occurring in June 2025. ...
Nearly 600 years ago, a massive volcanic eruption sent clouds of sulfurous gas and ash high into the atmosphere. The blast known as the 1458/59 CE event was so huge that it triggered decades of cooling, especially in the ...
