Researchers are nearing a solution regarding the enigma of Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano. This colossal peak in Sicily, standing approximately 3400 meters tall, erupts multiple times annually, spewing out unusual alkaline lava whose origin remained puzzling for a significant period. The findings of this research were published in the journal Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
The recent investigation revealed that Etna operates distinctively compared to most volcanoes. Magma typically originates from the melting of the mantle in areas characterized by faults or subduction zones. Nevertheless, the chemical makeup of Etna’s lava bears a stronger resemblance to magma sourced from so-called “hotspots,” despite the absence of such features nearby.
An analysis spanning the last half-million years of rock samples indicated that the volcano is sustained by ancient magma reservoirs situated roughly 80 kilometers down—in the region situated between the mantle and the tectonic plates. As the African Plate descends beneath the Eurasian Plate, this magma is forced upward through fissures within the crust.
According to the scientists involved, this specific process had only previously been documented in the case of smaller, submarine volcanoes. Etna may well be the sole major terrestrial volcano utilizing such a feeding system.
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