Ancient rocks in Ireland suggest volcanoes pulse between mush and melt before eruptions
Geologists studying ancient volcanic rocks in Ireland have discovered that magma systems cycle between liquid and crystal-rich 'mush' states. This finding challenges traditional models of magma chambers and provides new insights into how volcanic eruptions are triggered.
Why it matters
Understanding the internal dynamics of volcanic plumbing systems can improve eruption forecasting and hazard mitigation for communities near active volcanoes.
Evidence from an ancient volcanic system in Ireland suggests magma below the surface can cycle between a more liquid condition and a crystal-rich "mush," a pattern that may help explain how eruptions get started.
On Ireland's Cooley Peninsula, Carlingford Mountain preserves the fossilized remains of the magma network that once supplied volcanoes roughly 60 million years ago. An international group of volcanologists examined those rocks, and according to Trinity College Dublin , the volcanoes originally formed above a hotspot tied to the volcanism seen in Iceland today.
Glaciers eventually wore away the rock that had covered the volcanoes, exposing deep parts of their ancient plumbing that scientists normally cannot observe. That window opened only after plate motion had already carried Ireland away from the hotspot and the volcanoes had shut down.
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