A VOLCANO thought to be dead has roared into life and risen from the ground – sparking fears of its first eruption for 700,000 years.
Mount Taftan – a volcano in Iran near the Pakistani border – ominously rose up by four inches in a year, and locals are now on high alert
This suggests a massive build-up of gas or magma, with enough pressure to force thousands of tons of rock skyward.
And some of the gases are already escaping.
Researchers have noticed more matter spurting from the vents on top of Taftan.
Enough gas has been pouring out that plumes have been seen from over 30 miles away.
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Photos show large clouds of ash and smoke hanging over the 13,000ft peak.
Locals have been reporting sulphurous smells since 2023 – and fear this is only the beginning of their problems.
Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters volcanologists said there was “unambiguously” rumbling unrest beneath Taftan.
At some point, all that gas will have to break free, they warned.
Senior author Pablo González told Live Science: “It has to release somehow in the future, either violently or more quietly.
“This study doesn’t aim to produce panic in the people.
“It’s a wake-up call to the authorities in the region in Iran to designate some resources to look at this.”
Mount Taftan is a massive 12,927 feet high and surrounded by a cluster of smaller mountains and vents formed by the Arabian oceanic crust.
It hasn’t erupted during humanity’s known existence, according to the study.
No GPS is able to provide a fully accurate picture of what is going on with the volcano because it is so remote.
It is from satellite images, analysed by student Mohammadhossein Mohammadnia working alongside González, which revealed the growing peak.
Mohammadhossein said researchers have ruled out many theories on what’s causing the slow rise, including earthquakes or freak heavy rainfalls.
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It’s believed the uplift is caused either by a change in the hydrothermal plumbing below the volcano or clumps of magma shifting also beneath the vent.
The research is still ongoing and the pair will be partnering with scientists who do gas monitoring at volcanoes further down the line, González said.
HOW DO VOLCANOES ERUPT?
Here’s what you need to know…
Volcanoes are formed when a hot liquid-like substance called magma breaks through the Earth’s crust.
Once the magma reaches the surface and gushes onto the Earth’s surface or into the atmosphere, this is known as a volcanic eruption.
Volcanic eruptions can release lava, rocks, dust, volcanic ash, and toxic gases into the atmosphere.
Some eruptions and huge and very deadly – but others can result in very small flows of lava that are easily avoided.
Volcanoes normally give off warning signs before an eruption, which might include tremors, or the release of gases.
This can give people nearby time to evacuate.
Picture Credit: Getty – Contributor
