January 27, 2015
Down to Earth With: Pat Pringle
After finishing a master’s degree in geology at the University of Akron in 1982, Pat Pringle left the relative flatlands of Ohio’s Allegheny …
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86 articles · Page 2 of 4
January 13, 2015
Down to Earth With: Volcanologist Stephen Sparks
From the Caribbean to Iceland to the Andes, volcanologist Stephen Sparks has spent a lifetime studying volcanoes. As a professor of geology at …
January 5, 2015
Mantle plume alternative explains Australian volcanism
Magma often finds its way to the surface along Earth’s crustal boundaries as tectonic plates crash together, rift apart or grind past each other. …
December 18, 2014
Down to Earth With: Terry Plank
“You’re a genius! Now here’s half a million dollars to use however you please.” That, in essence, was what geochemist and volcanologist Terry …
December 17, 2014
Down to Earth With: James Balog
Photographer James Balog is known for his groundbreaking environmental photography that examines intersections of humans and nature. His work has …
December 8, 2014
Comment: Preparing for the volcano in your backyard: New Zealand sets an example
Globally, one in 10 people live within 100 kilometers of a geologically “active” volcano — meaning one that has probably erupted in the last …
December 8, 2014
Travels in Geology: Lentils, lace and lava: France's Massif Central
Tucked between the Pyrenees and the Alps in south-central France is a little-known highland called the Massif Central. This rugged and secluded …
October 31, 2014
Link between volcanoes and drought cools geoengineering prospects
The realization that large volcanic eruptions can trigger climatic cooling has inspired some to call for stratospheric geoengineering projects, …
October 3, 2014
Travels in Geology: Bali beckons
In Indonesia — a vast archipelago of more than 18,000 islands stretching more than 5,000 kilometers between the Indian and Pacific oceans — Bali …
September 3, 2014
First building blocks in Oahu found
The Hawaiian Islands that jut above the waves are merely the tops of a string of towering volcanoes known as the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. …
August 29, 2014
Kilauea eruptions could shift from mild to wild
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is famously effusive: Low-viscosity lava oozes out of the main caldera and two active rift zones along the southern …
August 29, 2014
Santiaguito Volcano's clockwork behavior provides an exceptional laboratory
If Earth breathes, Santiaguito Volcano in the Western Highlands of Guatemala could be its mouth. Roughly every half hour, like volcanic …
August 21, 2014
Infrasound reveals lava lake levels
The rises and falls of volcanic lava lakes are not easily tracked, especially when the lakes aren’t visible from crater rims. But recently, …
August 11, 2014
Benchmarks: August 15, 1984 & August 21, 1986: African killer lakes erupt
Only three lakes in the world are known to explosively release dissolved gases from their bottom waters. All three are in Africa; two have …
August 8, 2014
Volcanic ash feed southern ocean plankton
Ash plumes from volcanoes in South America and elsewhere may spur large blooms of plankton in otherwise barren parts of the Southern Ocean, but …
August 8, 2014
New model predicts pumice drift patterns
In July 2012, the Havre volcano in the remote southwestern Pacific erupted, creating a raft of pumice that covered more than 400 square …
August 7, 2014
Living in the shadow of Mauna Loa: A silent summit belies a volcano's forgotten fury
Earth’s largest active volcano is taking a nap. And after 30 years, no one is quite sure when Hawaii’s Mauna Loa will reawaken. Odds are that it …
July 28, 2014
Augustine Volcano's earthquakes and explosive eruption caused by a clogged conduit
Located 280 kilometers southwest of Anchorage, Augustine is one of the most active volcanoes in the volcanically active state, erupting every 10 …
June 23, 2014
Shifting winds blow away Taupo's 'Ultraplinian' title
Today, all that remains of the Taupo Volcano is a lake-filled caldera on New Zealand’s North Island that was blasted out during the Oruanui …
June 9, 2014
Magma mobilizes quickly beneath Mount Hood
The term “magma chamber” might evoke thoughts of a roiling mass beneath a volcano, ready to blow at any moment. But in a recent study in Nature, …
April 7, 2014
Resolving a misplaced source of volcanism in the Galapagos
Geological models have long suggested the mantle plume that built the Galápagos islands lies below Fernandina Island. Using a novel combination …
March 19, 2014
Volcanic lightning generated in a bottle
In A.D. 79, during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Pliny the Younger wrote of a “blaze of lightning” illuminating the ash plume, …
February 20, 2014
GPS measurements of ground inflation help forecast ash plumes
When Grimsvötn Volcano in Iceland erupted in May 2011, northern European airspace was closed for seven days and about 900 passenger flights were …
July 16, 2013
Alaskan volcano doesn't just huff and puff, it screams
In March 2009, Alaska’s Mount Redoubt awoke from two decades of silence with something to say: A series of small earthquakes leading up to the …