Recent Study Reveals the Explosive Power of Long-Dormant Volcanoes
A recent study of the Ciomadul volcano in Romania has shed light on just how quickly and powerfully long-dormant volcanoes can erupt. This new research, conducted by a team of European scientists, highlights the volcanic activity cycle that Ciomadul has gone through over the millennia.
Ciomadul, one of the youngest volcanoes in eastern-central Europe, has been dormant for approximately 30,000 years. Through a sophisticated geological analysis, the researchers were able to examine the change in eruption types over a lengthy period of time, from gentle effusive eruptions to dangerous explosive eruptions.
According to geochemist Szabolcs Harangi from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, “There have been several long periods of dormancy in the almost million-year life of the volcano, but even after tens of thousands, sometimes even more than 100,000 years of quiescence, volcanic eruptions started again.”
The team undertook a careful study of the crystals and minerals inside volcanic rocks around Ciomadul to gain insight into the eruption conditions and timing. Their analysis revealed the existence of two magma zones, with differences in the underlying magma explaining the shift between effusive and explosive eruptions.
The researchers believe that the crystallinity and increased water content of the magma emerging from the recharge zone played a significant role in the switch from effusive to explosive eruptions after a break of some 10,000 years. Geochemist Barbara Cserép from Eötvös Loránd University noted, “[The most recent eruptions] were formed by more dangerous, explosive eruptions compared to the previous active episode. So, it is important to know what was the reason for this change in eruption style.”
While Ciomadul doesn’t show signs of an imminent eruption, the research has important implications for understanding the signs of an impending eruption in other potentially active volcanoes. “Eruption of volcanoes – irrespective of their magnitude – poses a significant, but often underrated risk on modern society,” write the researchers in their published paper in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology.
Ultimately, this study provides valuable insights into the behavior of long-dormant volcanoes and the potential explosiveness of their eruptions, which will help in assessing the risk and implementing early warning systems for volcanic activity.