A volcano in Greece, thought to be dormant for 100,000 years, is actually accumulating magma underground
Kyiv • UNN
Scientists have discovered a continuous accumulation of magma beneath the Greek volcano Methana. This discovery forces a re-evaluation of the danger level of all dormant volcanoes in the world.
The Greek volcano Methana, which was considered dormant for over 100,000 years, is actually continuing to accumulate magma. Scientists say that this discovery could change the approach to assessing the danger of such volcanoes. This is reported by Independent, according to UNN.
Details
The Methana volcano is located approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Athens and has not shown activity for over 100,000 years, meaning there have been no eruptions, explosions, or ash clouds. However, new research has shown that a significant amount of magma is constantly accumulating underground in its magma chambers. This means that other volcanoes that appear "extinct" may remain active deep beneath the surface.
Scientists emphasize that such results force a rethinking of the threat level from similar objects.
This highlights the importance of monitoring dormant volcanoes, even in the absence of recent eruptions
Scientists evaluated tiny zircon crystals that form inside magma reservoirs in the Earth's crust as they cool. According to them, these crystals act as natural time capsules, preserving information about when and under what conditions they grew.
We can imagine zircon crystals as tiny flight recorders. By dating over 1250 of them over 700,000 years of volcanic history, we have accurately reconstructed the internal life of the volcano. We learned that volcanoes can "breathe" underground for millennia without surfacing
Analysis showed that magma was actually forming almost continuously under Methana, despite the volcano having an extremely long period of dormancy.
For volcanic hazard agencies, for example, in Greece, Italy, Indonesia, the Philippines, South and North America, Japan, etc., this means re-evaluating the threat level of volcanoes that have been quiet for tens of thousands of years but periodically show signs of magmatic unrest