Volcanic

Mysterious Signal of Hidden Lakes on Mars May Not Be What We Thought

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The likelihood of lakes of liquid water hidden under Mars‘ southern polar ice cap is receding before our very eyes. Last year, a paper found that temperatures were likely far too cold for water to remain unfrozen in the region. Now, a new study has found that the radar signal interpreted as liquid water was … Read more

Mars water: Spots at south pole thought to be lakes could be volcanic rock

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Radar images of Mars’s southern ice cap indicated that there could be a lake there – but a new set of simulations hints that it could be volcanic rock instead Space 24 January 2022 By Leah Crane The icy cap over Mars’s south pole, photographed by Mars Express ESA/DLR/FU Berlin / Bill Dunford There may … Read more

News at a glance: A volcanic eruption, a fired president, and long-distance hares | Science

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VOLCANOLOGY Eruption in Tonga is biggest in 30 years As officials assessed the extent of death and damage caused by last week’s rapid, violent volcanic eruption in Tonga, scientists began to piece together the global impact of the rare event. The explosion at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai on 15 January caused a tsunami and likely created … Read more

The Tonga Volcanic Eruption Was So Powerful It Sent Ripples Out Into Space

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The ongoing volcanic eruption in Tonga began in December 2021, but it wasn’t until 5:15 pm local time on January 15, 2022, that the powerful explosion occurred. It generated an enormous cloud of ash, earthquakes, and tsunamis that reached as far as the distant coastlines of Peru on the other side of the Pacific.   … Read more

Why Was The Volcano Explosion in Tonga So Violent, And What to Expect Now?

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The Kingdom of Tonga doesn’t often attract global attention, but a violent eruption of an underwater volcano on January 15 has spread shock waves, quite literally, around half the world.   The volcano is usually not much to look at. It consists of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga, poking about 100 meters (328 … Read more

Volcanoes: Plumes of rock that feed volcanic hotspots are surprisingly cold

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Geologists may need to come up with a new explanation for the sources of volcanic activity in places like Iceland and Hawaii Earth 6 January 2022 By Alex Wilkins Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupting in 2018 U.S. Geological Survey via Getty Images The plumes of rock feeding Earth’s volcanic hotspots are much cooler than previously thought, … Read more

Volcanic disaster settles a blanket of ash across La Palma

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By Gege Li Emilio Morenatti/AP/Shutterstock Photographer Emilio Morenatti Agency AP/Shutterstock THIS apparently wintery scene seems fitting for many at this time of year, if somewhat extreme. Yet this isn’t snow. It is a deep layer of ash deposited by the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands. The image … Read more