Fagradalsfjall volcano Archives - Astrobiology

Wearing protective gear against toxic gases, Solange Duhamel stands next to a lava flow during an outing to collect samples of freshly deposited lava rock. Credit Christopher Hamilton

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extinction events, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return

Life On Lava: How Microbes Colonize New Habitats

by Keith CowingDecember 19, 2025December 19, 2025

Life has a way of bouncing back, even after catastrophic events like forest fires or volcanic eruptions. While nature’s resilience to natural disasters has long been recognized, not much is […]

Variation in prokaryote phyla relative abundance as a function of lava rock age and separated by eruption. Less abundant phyla were concatenated under “Others” but can be found in detail in the Supplementary Data 2. -- Communications Biology

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

Three eruptions At The Fagradalsfjall Volcano In Iceland Show Rapid And Predictable Microbial Community Establishment

by Keith CowingDecember 8, 2025December 8, 2025

How natural environments transition from uninhabited to inhabited is an incompletely understood question in ecology.

An example of the DLR airborne radar data shows elevation change of several tens of yards around the volcanically active Litli-Hrútur volcano caused by the creation of new rock. The red indicates the most change; blue, the least. Credits: DLR

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Venus

Lava World Away Team Practice: NASA’s VERITAS Science Team Studies Volcanic Iceland

by Keith CowingMay 18, 2024May 18, 2024

With its crushing atmospheric pressure, clouds of sulfuric acid, and searing surface temperature, Venus is an especially challenging place to study. But scientists know that observing its surface can provide […]

Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano erupted in 2021, and again in August 2022, giving scientists like those in BU biologist Jeffrey Marlow’s lab—including PhD student Peter Schroedl (foreground)—the perfect opportunity to conduct research on the beginning of microbial life. Photo courtesy of Schroedl

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology

Away Teams: What Microbes Can Tell Us about Life On Earth And In Space

by Keith CowingApril 27, 2023April 27, 2023

Microbes are just about everywhere, from the soil to the air to arctic ice to oceans, lakes, and rivers—not to mention all over your body and the phone or computer […]