New evidence of long-term volcanic, seismic risks in northern Europe


Date:
July 9, 2020
Source:
University of California - Los Angeles
Summary:
An ancient European volcanic region may pose both a greater
long-term volcanic risk and seismic risk to northwestern Europe
than scientists had realized, geophysicists report. The densely
populated area is centered in the Eifel region of Germany, and
covers parts of Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
An ancient European volcanic region may pose both a greater long-term
volcanic risk and seismic risk to northwestern Europe than scientists
had realized, geophysicists report in a study in the Geophysical Journal International.


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The scientists are not predicting that a volcanic eruption or earthquake
is imminent in the densely populated area, which is centered in the
Eifel region of Germany, and covers parts of Belgium, the Netherlands,
France and Luxembourg. But the study revealed activity that is uncommon
for the region.

"Our findings suggest this region is an active volcanic system, and much
more seismically active than many of the faults in Europe between the
Eifel volcanic region and the Alps," said Paul Davis, a UCLA research
professor of geophysics and a senior author of the study.

Davis and his co-authors report subtle, unusual movements in the surface
of the Earth, from which they conclude the Eifel volcanic region remains seismically active. The region has a long history of volcanic activity,
but it has been dormant for a long time; scientists think the last
volcanic eruption there was some 11,000 years ago.

The geophysicists report that the land surface in that region is lifting
up and stretching apart, both of which are unusual in Europe. Although
the uplift is only a fraction of an inch per year, it is significant in geological terms, Davis said.

The geophysicists analyzed global positioning system data from across
Western Europe that showed subtle movements in the Earth's surface. That enabled them to map out how the ground is moving vertically and
horizontally as the Earth's crust is pushed, stretched and sheared.

The dome-like uplift they observed suggests those movements are generated
by a rising subsurface mantle plume, which occurs when extremely hot rock
in the Earth's mantle becomes buoyant and rises up, sending extremely
hot material to the Earth's surface, causing the deformation and volcanic activity. The mantle is the geological layer of rock between the Earth's
crust and its outer core.

Corne' Kreemer, the study's lead author, is a research professor at the University of Nevada, Reno's Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. He said
many scientists had assumed that volcanic activity in the Eifel was a
thing of the past, but the study indicates that no longer seems to be
the case.

"It seems clear that something is brewing underneath the heart of
northwest Europe," he said.

The Eifel volcanic region houses many ancient volcanic features, including circular lakes known as maars -- which are remnants of violent volcanic eruptions, such as the one that created Laacher See, the largest lake
in the area. The explosion that created Laacher See is believed to
have occurred approximately 13,000 years ago, with an explosive power
similar to that of the spectacular 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in
the Philippines.

The researchers plan to continue monitoring the area using a variety of geophysical and geochemical techniques to better understand potential
risks.

The research was supported by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences,
the United States Geological Survey, the National Earthquake Hazard
Reduction Program and NASA.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_Los_Angeles. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


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Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200709172834.htm

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