Our next story, which involves our own planet Earth, does want to bring the excitement, unfortunately. New research published in Geophysical Journal International and lead by Corné Kreemer finds that areas of Europe we thought were geologically pretty quiet may be hiding a growing magma chamber. Aerial photography of the Eifel region in Germany shows many volcanic features in circular lakes called maars that mark former caldera. The most recent rather explosive eruption occurred roughly 13,000 years ago and is thought to have resembled Mount Pinatubo’s 1991 eruption in size. For a long time, we’ve assumed that areas without ongoing eruptions are probably not experiencing ongoing volcanic activity. Nope. Not the case. Not at all. 

New data that looks at the changing shape of our world indicates that this region is swelling up as something grows beneath the surface. According to Kreemer, “The results indicate that a rising plume could explain the observed patterns and rate of ground movement.” This data on changing land elevation and tilt comes from GPS measurements. Additional seismic data also suggest there is magma moving under the Laacher See. 

Now, this doesn’t mean you should cancel your plans to visit the Eifel Region. Although given plague times, maybe you should, nevertheless, give it a year or two. Researchers caution, “This does not mean that an explosion or earthquake is imminent, or even possible again in this area. … We and other scientists plan to continue monitoring the area using a variety of geophysical and geochemical techniques.” Put another way – yes, there could someday be another eruption, maybe, and since we don’t know, let’s do more research and find out what is going on under the ground.

More Information

Royal Astronomical Society press release 

 “Geodetic evidence for a buoyant mantle plume beneath the Eifel volcanic area, NW Europe,” Corné Kreemer, Geoffrey Blewitt, and Paul M Davis, 2020 August, Geophysical Journal International