Fracturing and tectonic stress drives ultrarapid magma flow into dikes. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38330140/)

These scientists studied how magma flows underground and causes volcanic eruptions. They looked at a specific place called Grindavik in Iceland where there was a lot of magma flowing underground. They found that when there is a lot of pressure in the magma and a big opening for it to flow through, it can flow really fast into a pathway called a dike.

They also found that before the magma starts flowing, there is a lot of stress building up along the pathway. This stress helps the magma flow even faster when it finally starts moving.

In their study, they modeled a situation where the magma flowed into a 15 kilometer long dike under Grindavik really quickly. They found that the flow rate was as high as 7400 cubic meters per second! This is a lot of magma flowing very fast.

This study helps us understand how these big pathways called dikes are formed and how they can cause dangerous volcanic eruptions. It shows that when magma flows really fast into the surface, it can be very dangerous for the people living nearby.

Sigmundsson F., Parks M., Geirsson H., Hooper A., Drouin V., Vogfjord KS., Ofeigsson BG., Greiner SHM., Yang Y., Lanzi C., De Pascale GP., Jonsdottir K., Hreinsdottir S., Tolpekin V., Friethriksdottir HM., Einarsson P., Barsotti S. Fracturing and tectonic stress drives ultrarapid magma flow into dikes. Science. 2024 Feb 8:eadn2838. doi: 10.1126/science.adn2838.