. Earth Science News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
Iceland volcano eruption opens a rare window into the Earth beneath our feet
by Staff Writers
Uppsala, Sweden (SPX) Jun 30, 2022

File image of the Fagradalsfjall eruption site in Iceland.

The recent Fagradalsfjall eruption in the southwest of Iceland has enthralled the whole world, including nature lovers and scientists alike. The eruption was especially important as it provided geologists with a unique opportunity to study magmas that were accumulated in a deep crustal magma reservoir but ultimately derived from the Earth's mantle (below 20 km).

A research team from University of Oregon, Uppsala University, University of Iceland, and Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) took this exceptional opportunity to collect lava samples every few days in order to construct a time-integrated catalogue of samples and to monitor the geochemical evolution throughout the eruption to a degree of detail rarely achieved before.

Usually, when volcano scientists look at past eruptions they work with a limited view of the erupted materials - for example older lava flows can get wholly or partially buried by newer ones. However, at Fagradalsfjall, the eruption was so well monitored and sampled that scientists had a chance to capture the evolution of an Icelandic eruption in near real-time.

The team were interested in oxygen isotopes. Why? Because oxygen makes up about 50% of all volcanic rocks and its isotope ratios are very sensitive tracers of mantle and crustal materials. In this way, oxygen isotopes can help scientists to determine if magma is mantle-derived or if it interacted with crustal materials as it made its way to the surface.

However, in addition to oxygen, the other vast suite of elements making up the volcanic rocks threw up some surprises. For instance, the team observed that this single eruption contains roughly half of the entire diversity of mantle-derived magmas previously recorded for the whole of Iceland.

In brief, geochemical results show that the latest Iceland eruption was supplied by magmas derived from multiple sources in the Earth's mantle, each with its own distinctive elemental characteristics. To the amazement of scientists, each of these domains had identical oxygen isotope ratios.

This result was remarkable and has never been observed before at an active eruption. The study provides new and compelling evidence for distinct mantle-sourced magmas having uniform oxygen isotope ratios, which can help us to better understand mantle dynamics and refine mantle models for Iceland.

Research Report:Diverse mantle components with invariant oxygen isotopes in the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption


Related Links
Uppsala University
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


SHAKE AND BLOW
Thousands flock to Indonesian volcano for Hindu ritual sacrifice
Probolinggo, Indonesia (AFP) June 16, 2022
Thousands of Hindu worshippers climbed an active volcano in Indonesia on Thursday to throw offerings from crops to livestock down its smouldering crater in a centuries-old religious ceremony. Every year people from the Tengger tribe gather from villages in the highlands around Mount Bromo to trek to its peak to cast goats, chickens, fruit, flowers and vegetables into its crater as part of the Yadnya Kasada festival. A chain of worshippers, some lugging goats on their backs, trekked to the edge o ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SHAKE AND BLOW
US drought exposes murky mob past of Las Vegas

12 bodies found after South China Sea typhoon shipwreck: official

Rescuers gather body parts after Italy glacier collapse

'Colossal' work ahead, as Ukraine recovery meet to open in Switzerland

SHAKE AND BLOW
Turion Space and Exolaunch announce launch agreement for DROID 001 aboard Falcon 9

A bright future for 3D printing

ICEYE expands its business to offer complete satellite missions for customers

Quantum sensor can detect electromagnetic signals of any frequency

SHAKE AND BLOW
Life in the abyss, a spectacular and fragile struggle for survival

France, Costa Rica eye next UN Ocean Conference

The world's rivers are changing, here's how

UN urges ambitious action to protect the oceans

SHAKE AND BLOW
Russia and China eye NATO's 'Arctic Achilles heel'

Dinosaurs took over amid ice, not warmth, says a new study of ancient mass extinction

Italy blames climate change for glacier collapse, 7 dead

Thawing permafrost is shaping the global climate

SHAKE AND BLOW
Wildfire threatens major Greek olive grove

Australian bee 'vampire' spreads despite lockdown

Developers let Chinese farmers pay for homes with watermelons

Dutch commune 'returns land to the people'

SHAKE AND BLOW
Iceland volcano eruption opens a rare window into the Earth beneath our feet

Tonga volcano eruption trigged atmospheric gravity waves that reached the edge of space

Tropical Storm Bonnie becomes hurricane, kills 3 in Central America

Thousands told to evacuate before 'life-threatening' Sydney flood

SHAKE AND BLOW
DR Congo politicians urge stricter weapons monitoring; Ugandan private kills two in DRC east

US warns of jihadists and Russian forces as Africa war games end

Niger says bloody jihadist attack crushed

Kenyan pilot project to put price on nature's treasure

SHAKE AND BLOW
Rainforest chimpanzees are digging wells for cleaner water

Fossils found in the 'Cradle of Humankind' may be over a million years older

Famous Sterkfontein Caves deposit 1 million years older than previously thought

Population bottlenecks that reduced genetic diversity were common throughout human history









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.