How the world's most active volcano was born

A new international study has described for the first time what may have triggered the birth of Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii.

It is estimated that Kilauea is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level around 100,000 years ago.

A study published today in Nature Communications shows for the first time that Hawaiian volcanoes were born from magmas that evolved in a 90 km deep magma chamber.

A pool of liquid rock is called a magma chamber.

Dr. Miller said that they obtained some of the first volcanic products.

We explored the formation of these samples through experimental work, which involved melting synthetic rocks at high temperatures, and using a new method for modeling their rare earth element concentrations.

The samples could only be formed by the removal and crystallization of garnet.

Kilauea is Hawaiian for "spewing" or "spreading" and refers to the constant flow of lava.

Dr. Miller said that the study showed the role of garnet crystallization in the formation of Hawaiian melt.

The development of a 90 km deep magma chamber is an important early stage in the birth of a Hawaiian volcano and is challenged by the current viewpoint that fractional crystallization is only a shallow process.

More information: Laura A. Miller et al, Fractional crystallisation of eclogite during the birth of a Hawaiian Volcano, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30108-x Journal information: Nature Communications Citation: How the world's most active volcano was born (2022, May 27) retrieved 27 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-world-volcano-born.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.