Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 23, 2024

Heat bursts from Iceland's recent eruptions in eerie NASA satellite image

Eerie new NASA images have revealed the intense heat still emanating from the recently awakened volcano in Iceland. On Jan. 14, a volcano in Iceland's southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula erupted again after a massive eruption in December. In the nearby fishing town of Grindavík, newly opened fissures spewed lava that triggered...

Jan 26, 2024

Underwater Santorini volcano eruption 520,000 years ago was 15 times bigger than record-breaking Tonga eruption

Deep beneath the Mediterranean seabed circling the Greek island of Santorini, scientists have discovered the remnants of one of the most explosive volcanic eruptions Europe has ever seen. A giant layer of pumice and ash, which is up to 500 feet (150 meters) thick, revealed that around half a million...

Jan 26, 2024

Iceland villages in danger of 'crack collapse,' ground swelling following volcanic eruption

The ground beneath Grindavík, a small fishing town on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, is so fissured following a volcanic eruption on Jan. 14 that it could collapse, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) has warned. This crack collapse may occur in places where the ground is already unstable, according to a translated...

Jan 27, 2024

'Hunter-gatherers must have gazed in horror': What would Toba's supereruption have been like for our ancient relatives?

In this excerpt from Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes (The University of Chicago Press, 2023) by Clive Oppenheimer, the author looks at the supereruption of Toba 74,000 years ago, and what impact it could've had on the ancient humans — or their relatives — living...

Feb 2, 2024

'Nothing is out of the question': Iceland volcano primed to erupt again, Grindavík still in danger zone

Another volcanic eruption could take place in Iceland in a matter of days or weeks, authorities have warned. According to experts with the Icelandic Met Office (IMO), 230 million cubic feet (6.5 million cubic meters) of magma has now entered the chamber sitting beneath Svartsengi, around 2.5 miles (4 kilometers)...

Feb 6, 2024

Iceland volcano: Mass of magma pooling beneath ground north of Grindavík indicates imminent eruption

UPDATE: The volcano in Iceland erupted for the third time at around 6:00 a.m. local time on Thursday (Feb. 8). The risk of a volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula is once again growing as magma continues to pool in the area 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) north of the fishing...

Feb 8, 2024

Iceland volcano erupts for 3rd time, triggering lava fountains over 200 feet tall

A volcano in the southwest of Iceland has erupted for the third time in three months on Thursday (Feb. 8), opening up a new 2-mile-long (3 kilometers) fissure and spewing out large plumes of lava and ash. At present, the eruption poses no risk to local people, but has caused...

Feb 8, 2024

'We were very surprised': Magma under Reykjanes Peninsula rushed into Grindavík dike at a shockingly fast rate

Magma flowed into the dike beneath Grindavík at an unprecedented rate of 261,000 cubic feet per second (7,400 cubic meters per second) before the volcano first erupted in Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, according to a new study. We were very surprised, lead author Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of...

Feb 9, 2024

Lava bleeds from Iceland volcano into the frozen landscape in incredible satellite image

Lava flowed like crimson blood from a massive tear in Earth's surface during the latest volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, a dramatic new satellite image reveals. The image, taken by the European Union's Copernicus' SENTINEL-2 satellite seven hours after the 1.9 mile (3 kilometers) fissure appeared, shows lava flows...

Feb 13, 2024

Scientists may have accidentally found mystery magma reservoir in volcanoless region of Alaska

Scientists may have accidentally discovered magma bubbling beneath a volcanoless region of Alaska. Many geologists have long thought that the highest peak in North America, Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), should be a volcano, because it's positioned just 60 miles (100 kilometers) above one of the most active fault...

Feb 26, 2024

'It is not very wise to spend the night in Grindavík': Iceland volcano gears up for another eruption

Another volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula is imminent, with experts predicting another fissure to open in the coming days — potentially within the town of Grindavík. Magma is once again accumulating beneath Svartsengi at a rate that could trigger a new eruption in the coming days, according to the...

Feb 28, 2024

Underwater volcano eruption 7,300 years ago is the largest in recorded history

Scientists have identified the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history — an explosion 7,300 years ago that ejected more than twice as much rock and ash as the previous record-holding eruption of Indonesia's Mount Tambora in 1815. The earth-shattering blast, known as the Kikai-Akahoya eruption, occurred south of Japan's Kyushu...

Feb 29, 2024

Mexico's most dangerous active volcano erupts 13 times in 1 day

Mexico's most dangerous active volcano has erupted 13 times in the past day, hurling columns of ash and smoke into the sky. The volcanic activity is disrupting flights in the area and prompted officials to warn people not to climb the volcano. Popocatépetl — which means smoking mountain in the...

Mar 4, 2024

Iceland volcano: Grindavík evacuated over eruption threat, residents warned they 'enter the town at their own risk'

Icelandic police have advised anyone entering Grindavík to exercise extreme caution and warned there is a danger of cracks opening up outside fenced-off areas in the town. Grindavík and the surrounding area were evacuated on Saturday (March 2) due to the risks posed by an imminent volcanic eruption on Iceland's...

Mar 12, 2012

Deep Ocean Floor Can Focus Tsunami Waves

As the waves of a tsunami approach a coastline, the topography of the seafloor near the coast plays a major role in determining how large those waves become and what places get hit harder than others. For example, when the waves of the massive tsunami generated by last year's magnitude...