According to volcanologists, crystals rich in crystals, such as crystal porridge, may be present in the stomachs of other volcanoes that are thought to be extinct, so they cannot be considered inactive either, they fall asleep – read the publication of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences . They assert: It’s not about hacking your grandson tomorrow or even in our lifetime. At the same time, there is no doubt that there is a possibility of future outbreaks of the disease.
Szabolcs Harangi, Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Director of the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences at Eötvös Loránd University, first heard in 2002 that the eruption of the Csomád volcano in Transylvania could not be ruled out in the future. Since there have been no volcanic eruptions in the Carpathian Basin for tens of thousands of years (the last of which was produced by Csomád 30,000 years ago), the researcher came up with this suggestion. This is the beginning of a series of research that has continued slowly for two decades, through which Hungarian volcanologists learned about Csomád’s past and present Earth history in extraordinary detail, and were able to make predictions about the future as well.
They looked down under the volcano and found something interesting
“Even our early research in Csomád provided many novelties, so when we were able to establish the MTA-ELTE Volcanology Research Group in 2013 after a successful application, we chose this as our main research area. We want to get to know all aspects of volcanology as fully as possible – he says Szabolcs Harangi – Thanks to geophysical measurements, we were able to look down beneath the volcano. We can only really learn about the nature of volcanoes if we understand the magma storage system beneath them. To do this, we need the help of igneous rocks: we study the material that surfaced during previous eruptions. At the same time, let’s take a look at the appearance and chemical composition of the crystals in it, and put together the whole story of these pieces of the mosaic. ”
As a result of new geophysical surveys published in 2015
A physical anomaly that deviated from the normal characteristics of the Earth’s crust was found.
The most telling was the electrical conductivity that grows in a rocky body when there is a liquid (like melting rocks) deep in the earth. This means that they concluded that there is still magma under the volcano today. In parallel, a series of studies was initiated to determine the timing of previous outbreaks. By studying the charred remains of plants, it was possible to find out when the last eruption occurred: 30-32 thousand years ago. But using this method, only the date of the last eruption can be determined. However, they also needed to know about previous volcanic eruptions to know if these were 30,000 years long or short given the frequency of the eruption.
Pioneering Studies
This also required a completely new approach, and to this end, the research team was among the first in the world to begin studying helium isotopes in zirconium rocks in igneous rocks.
In addition to helium, the contents of the isotopes of uranium, thorium and lead in the crystals were also measured, from which the age of formation of the crystals was determined. In the recently published paper, the study’s lead author, Réka Lukács, determined the ratio of isotopes in more than 500 zircon crystals. These crystals were isolated from rocks from several volcanic eruptions as compost, so the samples included the full history of volcanic activity.
“Based on our scientific results, we can say that the history of the eruption of Chesumad, compared to other volcanoes in the world, is one of the most explored,” says Zabolex Harangi. – In addition to determining the time of volcanic eruptions, we were also able to find evidence of very long periods of dormancy, up to 100,000 years between each eruption. Then the volcano erupted again. The last active period of Csomád began 160,000 years ago, and even then there were longer interruptions in its work. Based on all this, we have assessed that Csomád is usually a long dormant volcano. The thirty thousand years since its last eruption should be treated as if it were in the past, and then there will be more eruptions.”
Volcanic eruptions can recur over very wide boundaries. There are almost always active volcanoes, and others can wait thousands of years for the next activity. However, there can also be a seed reservoir under dormant volcanoes, which does not exactly contain liquid magma, but contains more than 50 percent solid matter, the so-called crystal pomace. It is physically unable to break to the surface, the liquid phase or melt must prevail in order to exit. As proven in the case of Ksumad,
The crystalline state in the seed tank can persist for more than 100,000 years.
Based on the study of the theoretical content of zircon crystals, the Hungarian-Roman-Swiss-German research team found that most of the zircon formed more than 160,000 years ago. And the subterranean magma reservoir may have developed much earlier, half a million years ago or even earlier, according to the website of the MTA-ELTE Volcano Research Group. Because zircon crystals that formed hundreds of thousands of years ago were mixed in eruption formations, crystal porridge was always well mixed during eruptions. That is, thaw was constantly present, even when the volcano had been stable for much longer than the current period of dormancy.
Therefore, there is every reason to suppose that the present is only a temporary period of dormancy.
His crystal porridge gathered in the granary
Using model calculations, members of the research group also found that, thanks to a continuous supply of magma, a 35-cubic-kilometre magma reservoir could be created under Csomád, which was filled with crystalline porridge at a temperature of 700 degrees Celsius. . Before volcanic eruptions, the reservoir receives large amounts of fresh magma, so the percentage of liquid melt can jump above 50 percent. The term “jump” is accurate, because the processes that lead to reactivation can occur very quickly. However, this does not mean that your Csomád will break out in the foreseeable future.
There is currently no indication that the volcano has activated.
However, this could not be ruled out in the future.
“There have been a number of large volcanic eruptions in the past that have either had no real impact. Or the signs have not been recognized. That’s why we need to look for volcanoes: so we can predict their future behavior as accurately as possible,” says Zabolex Harangi. “We should not be afraid to show the presence of magma under your group.” After all, we only revealed that this is a normal condition.
The thirty thousand years since the last eruption of the Chumad volcano has been a long time at the human level, not in the life of the volcano. At least 1,000 of Earth’s 1,500 active volcanoes have magma, but it is not currently erupting. This means that you don’t have to worry about that. However, research is needed to identify it in time for the future if we have to worry.”
Opening photo: Wikipedia / Szabi237
