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| CREDIT: Nina B |
Experiments with plain old corn syrup have revealed that giant jets of magmarising up from near the Earth's core might explain supervolcanic activity seen at Yellowstone.
Mantle plumes, as these jets are called, are thought to be titanic pillars of hot molten rock that penetrate overlying material like a blowtorch. As the tectonic plates that make up Earth's surface drift over the plumes, lines of volcanoes are born. Most volcanoes are found near the edges of tectonic plates that are violently either pushing or pulling at each other, but mantle plumes were thought up as a way to explain the existence of volcanic chains such as the Hawaiian Islands, which lie far away from the borders of tectonic plates.
Mantle plumes, as these jets are called, are thought to be titanic pillars of hot molten rock that penetrate overlying material like a blowtorch. As the tectonic plates that make up Earth's surface drift over the plumes, lines of volcanoes are born. Most volcanoes are found near the edges of tectonic plates that are violently either pushing or pulling at each other, but mantle plumes were thought up as a way to explain the existence of volcanic chains such as the Hawaiian Islands, which lie far away from the borders of tectonic plates.
