volcano Archives

A schematic illustrating the different planetary models under study. In both models, (A) and (B), the planet has a molten core that contributes negligibly to the tidally dissipated energy (this also stands if the core is differentiated into a solid inner and fluid outer parts). On top of the core lies a viscoelastic solid mantle which can be stratified and further divided into layers of uniform physical properties. Tidal dissipation in this mantle is computed in the solid tidal formalism using ALMA3 (Section 2.1). The solid mantle is enveloped by a fluid magma ocean of unperturbed uniform thickness H, which is the focus of our study. Under tidal forcing of the ocean and the mantle, the ocean’s bottom (top) is displaced vertically by ζ ↓ (ζ ↑ ). This forcing also leads to heating (by virtue of several dissipative mechanisms in reality, but mainly due to friction at the ocean-solid mantle interface, as shown in the sketch). The heating is counteracted by convective cooling. This molten layer can either be the outermost layer of the planet (A), or it can live under a solidified crust (B). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Venus

Tides on Lava Worlds: Application to Close-in Exoplanets and the Early Earth-Moon System

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2024December 11, 2024

Understanding the physics of planetary magma oceans has been the subject of growing efforts, in light of the increasing abundance of Solar system samples and extrasolar surveys. A rocky planet […]

This image was processed from archived Mariner 10 data by JPL engineer Kevin M. Gill.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Venus

A Dry Venusian Interior Constrained By Atmospheric Chemistry

by Keith CowingDecember 9, 2024December 9, 2024

Venus’s climatic history provides powerful constraint on the location of the inner-edge of the liquid-water habitable zone. However, two very different histories of water on Venus have been proposed: one […]

a, Mantle melting is predicted to last 5 Myr or more. b, A rheological transition in the crust on timescales of ~105 years throttles ascent of magmas from deeper storage regions. c, SCION sensitivity tests for the end-Permian with median Siberian Traps co-eruptive outgassing and cryptic degassing ranging from 1013 to 3 × 1013 mol CO2 yr−1 for 2, 4, 6 or 8 Myr, showing that maintaining a given level of warming requires a minimum CO2 flux; if cryptic degassing satisfies this flux, the duration of warming depends on the duration of cryptic degassing and cumulative emissions. d, The combined influence of prolonged mantle melting and declining surface volcanism decouples CO2 flux from volcanic output, with high cryptic CO2 fluxes during early and waning phases of LIP emplacement. During early emplacement, magmas solidify in the cold lithosphere, exsolving gas. During late emplacement, the rheologic shift shown in b inhibits eruptions, but cryptic degassing continues from magmas solidifying in the lower crust and mantle lithosphere.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Carbon Dioxide Release From Magma Deep Beneath Ancient Volcanoes Was A Hidden Driver Of Earth’s Past Climate

by Keith CowingOctober 31, 2024October 31, 2024

An international team of geoscientists led by a volcanologist at Rutgers University-New Brunswick has discovered that, contrary to present scientific understanding, ancient volcanoes continued to spew carbon dioxide into the […]

The Carboxysulfitic Scenario. A conceptual diagram linking the carboxysulfitic reaction network and a geochemical environment. Volcanic outgassing supplies SO2 and CO2 to the atmosphere which can then dissolve in mildly alkaline lakes. Dissolution leads to the formation of bicarbonate (HCO3-) and sulfite (SO32-). Photochemical reactions involving UV photons and SO32- can lead to the production of solvated electrons. These solvated electrons can then be used to reduce CO2 . The effective rate constant for this multi-step reaction is denoted as keff. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Habitable Zones, Mars, Sample Return, Status Report

Shedding A Light On The Kinetics Of The Carboxysulfitic Scenario

by Keith CowingOctober 31, 2024October 31, 2024

One way in which we can attempt to relate chemical pathways to geochemical environments is by studying the kinetics of a given sequence of reactions and identifying the conditions under […]

Kristen Bennett setting up a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (ground-based LiDAR) to acquire detailed topographic information for a complex esker system. The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier is visible in the background. -- USGS

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

USGS Away Team: A Martian Landscape Right At Home

by Keith CowingOctober 18, 2024October 18, 2024

Sitting in the middle of a vast landscape, bordered by a ridge and filled with loose rocks, Lauren Edgar held a hand lens to her eye as she peered at […]

The plume from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai behaved like a mega-thunderstorm that rose 58 kilometers (38 miles) into the atmosphere. NASA Earth Observatory images and video by Joshua Stevens, using data courtesy of Kristopher Bedka and Konstantin Khlopenkov/NASA Langley Research Center, and GOES-17 imagery courtesy of NOAA and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). Story by Sofie Bates, NASA’s Earth Science News Team, with Mike Carlowicz. Larger image

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

X-Raying Neutral Density Disturbances in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere induced by the 2022 Hunga-Tonga Volcano Eruption-Explosion

by Keith CowingOctober 16, 2024October 16, 2024

We present X-ray observations of the upper atmospheric density disturbance caused by the explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) volcano on 15 January 2022.

Panel A: crust age and thickness for 15 different zones of Loki Patera. Panel B: location of the zones chosen for the analysis. The color of the zones is coded according to the age of the crust, as indicated by the color bar to the right. The reference time for the crust age is set to the final observation epoch: April 9, 2024. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Volcano World Survey: Observations Of Loki Patera By Juno During Close Flybys

by Keith CowingOctober 15, 2024October 15, 2024

We used data from the Juno spacecraft to investigate both the spatial and temporal properties of Loki Patera on Io, acquired in two infrared bands between December 2022 and April […]

This artist’s concept depicts a potential volcanic moon between the exoplanet WASP-49 b, left, and its parent star. New evidence indicating that a massive sodium cloud observed near WASP-49 b is produced by neither the planet nor the star has prompted researchers to ask if its origin could be an exomoon. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release

Does Distant Planet WASP-49 b Host Volcanic Moon Like Jupiter’s Io?

by Keith CowingOctober 10, 2024October 10, 2024

New research done at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reveals potential signs of a rocky, volcanic moon orbiting an exoplanet 635 light-years from Earth. The biggest clue is a sodium cloud […]

Gravity map of Mars. The red circles show prominent volcanoes on Mars and the black circles show impact crates with a diameter larger than a few 100 km. A gravity high signal is located in the volcanic Tharsis Region (the red area in the centre right of the image), which is surrounded by a ring of negative gravity anomaly (shown in blue). Credit: Root et al.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Gravity Study Gives Insights into Hidden Features Beneath Lost Ocean of Mars and Rising Olympus Mons

by Keith CowingSeptember 17, 2024September 17, 2024

Studies of gravity variations at Mars have revealed dense, large-scale structures hidden beneath the sediment layers of a lost ocean. The analysis, which combines models and data from multiple missions, […]

Scientists put on “bunny suits” before they collect samples at one of the selected sites. The suits protect the area and collected samples from contamination when investigating biological processes. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Lora Bleacher larger image

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Career Opportunities, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Practice: Sample Collection On A Hawaiian Volcano

by Keith CowingJuly 10, 2024July 7, 2024

In June 2017, five student journalists from Stony Brook University packed their hiking boots and hydration packs and joined a NASA-funded science team for 10 days on the lava fields […]

volcano

Tides on Lava Worlds: Application to Close-in Exoplanets and the Early Earth-Moon System

A Dry Venusian Interior Constrained By Atmospheric Chemistry

Carbon Dioxide Release From Magma Deep Beneath Ancient Volcanoes Was A Hidden Driver Of Earth’s Past Climate

Shedding A Light On The Kinetics Of The Carboxysulfitic Scenario

USGS Away Team: A Martian Landscape Right At Home

X-Raying Neutral Density Disturbances in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere induced by the 2022 Hunga-Tonga Volcano Eruption-Explosion

Volcano World Survey: Observations Of Loki Patera By Juno During Close Flybys

Does Distant Planet WASP-49 b Host Volcanic Moon Like Jupiter’s Io?

Gravity Study Gives Insights into Hidden Features Beneath Lost Ocean of Mars and Rising Olympus Mons

Away Team Practice: Sample Collection On A Hawaiian Volcano

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,206 2 July 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)

Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) Concerns

Bridging Astrobiology Research and Education Through Interactive Learning Frameworks

Viking In The History And Future Of Astrobiology Programs

Collaborating With Artists In The Search For Life