Volcanos, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 30, 2009

Odd Volcano's Black Ooze Explained

The Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania oozes black goo called carbonitite lava that flows more like water instead of the hotter red stuff of most volcanoes. Now scientists think they know why. The volcano sits in the Great Rift Valley, which is sinking and will eventually sit on the sea-floor...

Oct 31, 2010

Mexican Volcano Erupts Constantly

Popocatépetl Volcano one of North America's most active volcanoes has been erupting since January 2005. The volcano, which towers over central Mexico, vents almost constantly from fumaroles, openings in the Earth's crust that emit steam or gases. This low-level background is punctuated by minor steam, gas, and ash emissions ....

Oct 31, 2010

Indonesia Eruption: Why Are Volcanic Plumes So Dangerous?

After a lull in activity, Mount Merapi in Indonesia sent a giant ash cloud barreling down its slope on Sunday (Oct. 31). Indonesian government officials continue to warn that the volcano is still dangerously active, and that nearby villages should continue to stay evacuated. The showers of pale ash spewed...

Oct 31, 2010

Volcanic Eruptions Alter Rainfall Across Broad Swath of Planet

Powerful volcanic eruptions are capable of changing rainfall patterns over large portions of the Earth, soaking some areas while depriving others of essential rain, according to newly emerging data. Tree-ring researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory showed that big eruptions tend to dry up much of central Asia but...

Sep 30, 2010

Secret Behind Formation of Volcanic 'Ring of Fire' Found

A large chunk of Earth's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in a narrow zone around the Pacific Ocean known as the Ring of Fire. Scientists are only just beginning to understand why this tectonic explosivity is so confined. A new study has uncovered part of the answer for why the...

Sep 30, 2010

Two Russian Volcanoes Erupt

Russia's Shiveluch Volcano erupted today (Oct. 28), sending an ash plume 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) into the air, which was visible from space. This natural-color satellite image shows the light brown plume rising from Shiveluch and out over the Kamchatkan coast and Kamchatskiy Zaliv (Gulf of Kamchatka) of Russia. Beneath...

Aug 31, 2010

Arabia's Largest Volcano Field

Es Safa is a striking basaltic volcanic field located to the southeast of Damascus, Syria, seen in an image released today. It lies within the larger Harrat Ash Shamah the largest volcanic field on the Arabian tectonic plate . Harrat Ash Shamah parallels the Red Sea and extends from northeastern...

Aug 31, 2010

Swarm of 30,000 Earthquakes Reveals Newfound Volcanic Potential

A swarm of thousands of earthquakes that struck the corner of Saudi Arabia nearest to Egypt in 2009 helped reveal that the area is unexpectedly volcanically active, scientists now report. The seismic readings that researchers managed to collect from these quakes could help predict when volcanoes might erupt in the...

May 31, 2010

Magma Plume Discovered Under Southern Africa

A blob of the Earth's gooey insides linked to volcanic eruptions has been detected below southern Africa. The newly discovered blob is known to geologists as a mid-mantle plume. Mantle plumes are columns of hot, gushy gunk that flow toward the Earth's surface and are a known contributor to volcanic...

Apr 30, 2010

How Much Longer Will the Eyjafjallajokull Volcanic Eruption Last?

Since the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull began exploding on March 20, the eruption has cycled from low rumblings to economy-altering detonations and then back to a gentle trickle of magma. Unlike most volcanoes, Eyjafjallajokull erupts at varying speeds and strengths. Each burst can be prolonged for years, and making predictions about...

Mar 31, 2010

Ancient Supervolcano Created Giant Underwater Mountain Chain

A supervolcano on the ocean floor might have spewed massive amounts of lava in a rapid amount of time, new findings that could help reveal the mysterious origin of some of these ancient goliaths, which may have triggered mass extinctions through Earth's history. Roughly a dozen supervolcanoes currently exist. Some...

Mar 31, 2010

Another Iceland Volcano Under Watch

News reports earlier today that another volcano on Iceland had erupted just as Eyjafjallajokull was beginning to calm down turned out to be false. But scientists are warily keeping their eye on one of Eyjafjallajokull's neighbors, which has been known to erupt following its sister. An MSNBC Twitter feed and...

May 31, 2011

Pinatubo Flashback, June 11, 1991: Before the Storm

On June 15, 1991, the largest land volcano eruption in living history shook the Philippine island of Luzon as Mount Pinatubo, a formerly unassuming lump of jungle-covered slopes, blew its top. Ash fell as far away as Singapore, and in the year to follow, volcanic particles in the atmosphere would...

Dec 31, 2010

Evidence of Lahar at the Anyuyskiy Volcano

In far eastern Russia, north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, lies Anyuyskiy Volcano. Now dormant, the volcano was once active enough to send a massive laharan avalanche of volcanic ash and rock mixed with water50 kilometers (30 miles) down the west side of the volcano summit. The dried, hardened remains of...

Dec 31, 2011

NASA Airborne Radar 'Sees' Inside Hawaii Volcano

Anyone can walk alongside the creeping lava on Hawaii's Mount Kilauea. But NASA is taking a different look at the volcano — from way overhead. From 41,000 feet (12,500 meters) above Kilauea's smoldering craters, an airborne radar developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will help measure the magma inside of...