CO2 allows volcanoes to form persistent lava lakes at the surface

  • Thread starter Thread starter Astronuc
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Co2 Form Surface
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The study conducted by the University of Utah and the University of Canterbury reveals that CO2 plays a crucial role in enabling volcanoes, such as Mount Erebus, to form persistent lava lakes at the surface. This CO2-dominated rift volcano allows magma to escape from deep underground, preventing it from being trapped and facilitating its pooling at the surface. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding both CO2 and H2O volcanoes for calculating the volatile gas budget within the Earth's mantle.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of CO2-dominated rift volcanoes
  • Knowledge of magma composition and behavior
  • Familiarity with the geological processes of the Cascade Range
  • Basic concepts of volatile gases in geology
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the geological characteristics of Mount Erebus
  • Study the differences between alkalic and arc volcanoes
  • Explore the role of volatile gases in volcanic eruptions
  • Investigate the geological history of the Cascade Range
USEFUL FOR

Geologists, volcanologists, and environmental scientists interested in volcanic activity, magma dynamics, and the role of gases in geological processes.

Astronuc
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
2025 Award
Messages
22,507
Reaction score
7,438

Antarctica's only active volcano shows how CO2 allows volcanoes to form persistent lava lakes at the surface​

https://phys.org/news/2022-05-antarctica-volcano-co2-volcanoes-persistent.html

A joint University of Utah and University of Canterbury New Zealand study shows how CO2 deep underground helps magma avoid being trapped deep in the Earth and allows it to reach and pool at the surface.

"Mount Erebus is an example of a CO2-dominated rift volcano, a complement to the more widely known arc volcanoes of the Pacific Rim and elsewhere, dominated by H2O," adds New Zealand co-investigator Graham Hill, the study's lead author."Understanding both H2O and CO2 volcanoes is important for calculating the budget of such volatile gases deep in the Earth that involves injection of material into Earth's mantle and its return to the surface to start all over again", Wannamaker says.

Erebus exemplifies a family of volcanoes with an alkalic chemical composition, with lavas relatively rich in sodium, potassium and other elements including rare Earth's elements, while being relatively poor in silica.

Alkalic volcanoes are very different from volcanoes such as in the Cascade Range extending from northern California through British Columbia to Alaska. The Cascades are found in a place where Earth's tectonic plates are pushing toward each other, with the crust of the ocean forced below the crust of the continent. As that ocean crust sinks into the Earth and partially melts, the water in the rocks becomes part of the melt and is the dominant "volatile," or molecule that easily exsolves, or bubbles out of a solution like fizz out of a carbonated drink.

That evolving magma rises into and through the crust, but typically does not make it to the surface because, as the pressure from the overlying crust diminishes with ascent, the water flashes out, sometimes explosively as in the case of Mount St Helens in 1980 or Mount Lassen in 1912. The remaining magma stalls and freezes in place, typically at a depth of around three miles (five kilometers).
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Ibix
Earth sciences news on Phys.org
Alkalic volcanoes are very different from volcanoes such as in the Cascade Range extending from northern California through British Columbia to Alaska.
Nit: AFAIK, the Cascade Range extends from the northern California volcanoes (Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta), through Oregon and Washington up to the lower portion of British Columbia, with the northernmost volcano in the range being Mt. Garibaldi.
Cascade Range - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Range
Cascade Volcanoes - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Volcanoes

Fred Beckey, author of "Cascade Alpine Guide," includes the Cascade peaks from the Columbia River to the Fraser River in lower BC in his three-volume set of route descriptions. He was an amateur geologist, but he was a consummate alpinist.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
5K