Experts just found an enormous volcano lurking under England
Scientists have discovered a massive, ancient volcanic system buried beneath Norfolk and Lincolnshire in England. The volcano, which erupted 454 million years ago, was identified through borehole rock samples and zircon crystal analysis.
Why it matters
This discovery significantly alters the geological history of the British Isles and provides new insights into ancient volcanic activity in Northern Europe.
Buried deep in the east coast of England, scientists have discovered an enormous ancient volcano several times more powerful than Mount Etna (pictured above).
The volcano, which lies under the counties of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, erupted with the force of several thousand hydrogen bombs 454.4 million years ago, blowing ash all the way to Scandinavia.
Researchers believe it is responsible for forming the ‘Kinnekulle tephra’ – an enormous bed of volcanic ash still found today across Norway, Sweden, the Baltic region, Belarus and Poland.
This remarkable discovery is “reshaping our understanding of England’s deep geological past”, said Dr Tim Pharaoh , a geophysicist at the British Geological Survey and lead author of the study .
The clues that this previously hidden volcano existed lay in rock samples taken from two boreholes spaced 65km (40.4mi) apart in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
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