Topic description and stories

Fagradalsfjall volcano, Iceland

Lava from 2021 Icelandic eruption gives rare view of deep churnings beneath volcano

16 Sep 2022

After centuries without volcanic activity, Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula sprang to life in 2021 when lava erupted from the Fagradalsfjall volcano...

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Magma ocean and first rocky crust on the Moon

‘Slushy’ magma ocean led to formation of the Moon’s crust

13 Jan 2022

Scientists have shown how the freezing of a ‘slushy’ ocean of magma may be responsible for the composition of the Moon’s crust.

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KÄ«lauea eruption, 2018

Size matters: if you are a bubble of volcanic gas

06 Aug 2018

̽»¨Ö±²¥chemical composition of gases emitted from volcanoes – which are used to monitor changes in volcanic activity – can change depending on the size...

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̽»¨Ö±²¥Deccan Traps in western India

Did dinosaur-killing asteroid trigger largest lava flows on Earth?

12 May 2015

̽»¨Ö±²¥asteroid that slammed into the ocean off Mexico 66 million years ago and killed off the dinosaurs probably rang the Earth like a bell, triggering...

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Luck and lava

06 Oct 2014

A team of researchers from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences have recently returned from Iceland where, thanks to a bit of luck, they have...

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