Geologists Find Magma ‘Conveyor Belt’ That Fuelled Earth’s Longest Supervolcano Burst
A subterranean ‘conveyor belt’ of magma, pushing up to Earth’s surface for millions of years, was responsible for the longest stretch of erupting supervolcanoes ever seen on the planet, according to new research.
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Tau.Neutrino said:
Geologists Find Magma ‘Conveyor Belt’ That Fuelled Earth’s Longest Supervolcano BurstA subterranean ‘conveyor belt’ of magma, pushing up to Earth’s surface for millions of years, was responsible for the longest stretch of erupting supervolcanoes ever seen on the planet, according to new research.
more..
> This all took place on the Kerguelen Plateau, which now sits under the Indian Ocean. It’s what’s known as a large igneous province or LIP, a widespread accumulation of magma and lava.
Oh, Heard Island.This is well away from any mid-ocean ridge.
> extensive period of eruptions lasting from around 122 million years ago to 90 million years ago; exceptional, considering that typically these types of flows lasted just 1-5 million years. Other volcanoes would stop erupting because, when temperatures cooled, the channels became clogged by ‘frozen’ magmas.
I’ll say exceptional. 1-5 million years looks about right to me for normal flood basalts.
> Across the 30 million or so years of intense activity, the Kerguelen Plateau rose by about 20 centimetres a year.
> The volcanism lasted for so long because magmas caused by the mantle plume were continuously flowing out through the mid-oceanic ridges, which successively acted as a channel, or a ‘magma conveyor belt
> the rate dropped significantly about 90 million years ago, and scientists still aren’t sure why. Associated volcanic activity continues to this day, on a much smaller scale.
It does indeed continue to this day.
Is this period of eruption, from 122 to 90 million years ago, not necessarily at a constant rate, associated with any extinction events?
mollwollfumble said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
Geologists Find Magma ‘Conveyor Belt’ That Fuelled Earth’s Longest Supervolcano BurstA subterranean ‘conveyor belt’ of magma, pushing up to Earth’s surface for millions of years, was responsible for the longest stretch of erupting supervolcanoes ever seen on the planet, according to new research.
more..
> This all took place on the Kerguelen Plateau, which now sits under the Indian Ocean. It’s what’s known as a large igneous province or LIP, a widespread accumulation of magma and lava.
Oh, Heard Island.This is well away from any mid-ocean ridge.
> extensive period of eruptions lasting from around 122 million years ago to 90 million years ago; exceptional, considering that typically these types of flows lasted just 1-5 million years. Other volcanoes would stop erupting because, when temperatures cooled, the channels became clogged by ‘frozen’ magmas.
I’ll say exceptional. 1-5 million years looks about right to me for normal flood basalts.
> Across the 30 million or so years of intense activity, the Kerguelen Plateau rose by about 20 centimetres a year.
> The volcanism lasted for so long because magmas caused by the mantle plume were continuously flowing out through the mid-oceanic ridges, which successively acted as a channel, or a ‘magma conveyor belt
> the rate dropped significantly about 90 million years ago, and scientists still aren’t sure why. Associated volcanic activity continues to this day, on a much smaller scale.
It does indeed continue to this day.
Is this period of eruption, from 122 to 90 million years ago, not necessarily at a constant rate, associated with any extinction events?
> Is this period of eruption, from 122 to 90 million years ago, not necessarily at a constant rate, associated with any extinction events?
I’ve got an idea that massive undersea eruptions are not generally associated with major extinction events, in which case the extinctions would be limited to the latest phase where the basalt broke up through the surface of the water.
Fantastic work
