Carbon Dioxide, not water vapor drives volcano eruption, new study reveals startling facts

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

water vapor, rather it is carbon dioxide (CO2) that propels the eruption of basaltic volcanoes.

While studying magma at Pico do Fogo, one of the world's most active ocean island volcanoes, scientists found unusual levels of carbon dioxide that generally originate at a depth of 12 to 19 miles below the crust. This depth in much below and is within the mantle.

This newly found result can help the volcano experts in understanding and estimating the point of origin of magma, its flow, and the trigger point of the eruption and they can plan the mitigation process accordingly and in a better way. But scientists have also warned that more study is required to fully understand the nature of basaltic eruptions and the behaviors of such volcanoes.

In another experiment, conducted by the experts of Ehime University, higher levels of ferrous and ferric oxides have been found in the mantle. It has also been found that the ferric iron has been made from ferrous iron oxides under immense pressure, indicating that the magma has been created at a much greater depth below the surface than considered earlier.

Scientists have also revealed that the ferric oxide level at the magma ocean is much higher than that at the upper mantle level. It also suggests that the magma ocean was much more oxidizing than the mantle after the core formation. Thus, it suggests new thinking not only about the formation and eruption of volcanoes, but also about the formation of the earth's crust, the mantle, and the core below it. It also indicates that the formation and composition of the surface of the Earth depend on the oxidation