Scientists Discover Evidence of Active Volcanism Due to Mantle Plume Below Northern Europe

Scientists recently discovered evidence of active volcanism, with the presence of a mantle plume, near some of the most populated places in northern Europe. GPS monitoring data across western Europe tracked subtle movements on the surface believed to be due to a mantle plume rising under the ground. The study was recently published in the Geophysical Journal International.

West-central Germany is home to the Eifel region, which is between Koblenz, Trier, and Aachen cities. It has many ancient volcanic sites, which include maars, a number of circular lakes. Maars are the remnants of past violent eruptions, including a volcanic eruption that gave rise to lake Laacher See, which is the largest of the lakes in this area.

This is believed to have occurred roughly 13,000 years in the past, and its explosive power is compared to that of the cataclysmic destruction caused by Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991.

Scientists think that the ancient mantle plume is still present and extends down 400 kilometers. No one knows, however, if it's still active. The new study's lead author Corné Kreemer says that most scientists assumed that there would be no more volcanic activity in Eifel. However, he says, something is clearly developing underneath north-west Europe.

The research team, composed of Kreemer, Geoffrey Blewitt, and Paul M. Davis, came from the University of California in Los Angeles and the University of Nevada in Reno. They gathered data produced by thousands of state-owned and commercial GPS antennae in western Europe and used them to map horizontal and vertical ground movements that sheared, pushed, and stretched the planet's crust.

The study showed how the land surface of the region is going outward and upward over an enormous land area, with Eifel as its center. This encompasses the areas of Limburg, the Netherlands' southernmost province; eastern Belgium; and the nation of Luxembourg.

Kreemer noted that Eifel is the sole region in their study where motion is significantly great. He adds that a rising mantle plume is able to account for the patterns they observed and the rate of movement they measured.

The findings in this new study complement and agree with a past study published in the Geophysical Journal International which discovered seismic movement by magma under Laacher See. The two studies conclude that Eifel has an active volcano system.

The findings of the new study imply that great risk of volcanism exists in the area in question, and also a long-term risk of seismic activity or earthquakes there.

Nonetheless, the researchers still advise caution and reason. Their findings do not necessarily mean that there will be an imminent earthquake or explosion in this region of Europe. They say that it does not even mean that such things are possible.

They, along with other researchers, are planning to continue the monitoring of this area with the use of various geochemical and geophysical techniques, so that we may all understand better and be able to quantify all potential risks in the short and long term.