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Magma speed record set by Icelandic volcano
The ancient event was the geologic equivalent of a sprinting cheetah—and it may help researchers better understand how to detect future eruptions.
Iceland, a land famous for its resplendent waters, glacial scenery, and bubbling hot springs, is not usually top of mind when it comes to breaking speed records. But the chilly island nation in the North Atlantic is also famous for its volcanological prowess, and as new research reveals, it once hosted the fastest magma ascent ever recorded for a basaltic volcano.
Reported in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists examined the remnants of the 7,000- to 10,500-year-old Borgarhraun eruption in Iceland, and they found that the molten rock there rose 15 miles, from the base of the crust to the surface, in a mere 10 days.
That may not sound particularly speedy, and to be clear, it’s not technically the fastest