PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Before the explosion -- volcano's warning tremors explained

Before the explosion -- volcano's warning tremors explained
2011-02-24
(Press-News.org) New Haven, Ct. - No matter their size or shape, explosive volcanoes produce tremors at similar frequencies for minutes, days or weeks before they erupt. In the Feb. 24 issue of the journal Nature, researchers at Yale University and the University of British Columbia (UBC) describe a model that explains this strange phenomenon – and may help forecast deadly eruptions.

When such volcanoes erupt they can shoot hot ash up to 40 kilometers into the atmosphere and cause devastating destruction when the ash column collapses and spreads as "pyroclastic flows." Prior to most of these explosive eruptions the volcanoes shake slightly but measurably, and the shaking becomes more dramatic during the eruption itself. This tremor is one of the primary precursors and warnings used by volcanologists for forecasting an eruption.

"Tremor is very mysterious, most notably because it shakes at pretty much the same frequency in almost every explosive volcano, whether it's in Alaska, the Caribbean, New Zealand, or Central America," said David Bercovici, professor and chair of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale, and co-author of the research. "That it's so universal is very weird because volcanoes are so different in size and character. It would be like blowing on five different musical wind instruments and having them all sound the same."

For minutes to weeks before eruptions, tremors in nearly all volcanoes stay in a narrow band of frequencies from about 0.5 to 2 HZ. Just before and during the eruption, the frequency climbs to a higher pitch, and the range spreads out to between 0.5 and 7 HZ. This similarity in tremors has been hard to explain because each volcano differs in many variables such as physical structure, magma composition or gas content.

The mathematical model developed by Bercovici and his colleague Mark Jellinek at UBC suggests these similarities can be explained by "magma wagging" – or the rattling that occurs from the interaction of rising magma and the foamy jacket of gas that surrounds it. The factors that control this rattling or wagging vary little between volcanoes, which explains why the same tremors occur in very different volcanoes.

"Explosive eruptions are some of the most spectacular and destructive phenomena in nature, and tremor is both a warning of the event and a vital clue about what is going on in the belly of the beast," Bercovici said. "This model will provide a much-needed framework for understanding the physics of tremors, and this can only help with the prediction and forecasting of destructive eruptions."



INFORMATION:

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Before the explosion -- volcano's warning tremors explained

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers use genomics to investigate TB outbreak

2011-02-24
Vancouver, BC - Scientists supported by Genome BC have set a new standard for studying outbreaks of infectious disease by combining advanced genomics with a detailed map of the social relationships between cases to investigate a recent outbreak of tuberculosis in a BC community. The study tracked 41 individuals who developed tuberculosis: patient interviews revealed a tightly-knit community where most patients knew one another, while DNA fingerprinting of the bacterial samples from each individual showed them to be identical to each other. These two factors together ...

Stanford study shows how metaphors shape the debate about crime fighting

2011-02-24
Imagine your city isn't as safe as it used to be. Robberies are on the rise, home invasions are increasing and murder rates have nearly doubled in the past three years. What should city officials do about it? Hire more cops to round up the thugs and lock them away in a growing network of prisons? Or design programs that promise more peace by addressing issues like a faltering economy and underperforming schools? Your answer – and the reasoning behind it – can hinge on the metaphor being used to describe the problem, according to new research by Stanford psychologists. ...

Convenient blood test not as effective for diagnosing diabetes in children

2011-02-24
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Doctors are increasingly using a convenient blood glucose test for diagnosing diabetes and pre-diabetes, but a study by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital shows it's not the best way to diagnose diabetes in children. The hemoglobin A1c test has become the preferred way to diagnose diabetes among the millions of Americans who have diabetes but show no symptoms. The simple test measures longer-term blood sugar levels -- without requiring patients to fast overnight. But U-M researchers say more study is needed before doctors ...

Americans and Canadians get different drug information online: UBC study

2011-02-24
Americans and Canadians are getting vastly different search results when they look up prescription drug information online, says a study by researchers at the University of British Columbia. Residents of the United States searching on Google for both brand and generic drug names get directed to the government-run National Library of Medicine. However, Canadians performing the same searches end up getting Wikipedia for generic drug searches, and drug company sites for brand searches, according to the study, published online yesterday by the Annals of Pharmacotherapy. "The ...

Simpler way of making proteins could lead to new nanomedicine agents

Simpler way of making proteins could lead to new nanomedicine agents
2011-02-24
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers have developed a simple method of making short protein chains with spiral structures that can also dissolve in water, two desirable traits not often found together. Such structures could have applications as building blocks for self-assembling nanostructures and as agents for drug and gene delivery. Led by Jianjun Cheng, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois, the research team will publish its findings in the Feb. 22 edition of the journal Nature Communications. Materials scientists have been interested ...

Semporna may have richest marine biodiversity in the world

2011-02-24
The preliminary results of the Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition (December 2010) indicate that Semporna may have the world's highest marine biodiversity. The expedition yielded a record number of 43 species of mushroom corals. Furthermore, some new species were discovered, among which at least two shrimps and possibly a number of gall crabs. The health of the reefs was judged to be relatively poor: 36% of the transects had fair, another 36% had poor live coral cover. Eighteen scientists from Malaysia, the Netherlands and the USA spent three weeks examining the reefs ...

Review highlights need for more education and guidance on CAM use in midwifery

2011-02-24
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly popular in maternity care, but healthcare professionals need formal evidence-based education and guidance about its use, according to a review in the March issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing. There is also need for greater respect and cooperation between conventional and alternative practitioners and improved communication with patients about the growing use of CAM. University-based members of the Network of Researchers in the Public Health of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NORPHCAM) reviewed ...

New vaccine technology protects mice from hepatitis C virus

2011-02-24
Immunology: Three percent of the world's population is currently infected by hepatitis C. The virus hides in the liver and can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer, and it's the most frequent cause of liver transplants in Denmark. Since the virus mutates strongly, we have no traditional vaccine, but researchers at the University of Copenhagen are now the first to succeed in developing a vaccine, which provides future hope for medical protection from this type of hepatitis. "The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has the same infection pathways as HIV," says Jan Pravsgaard Christensen, ...

The world's first surfboard with integrated technology

2011-02-24
Pukas Surf (the leading manufacturer and distributor of high-performance surfboards in Europe) and Tecnalia Research & Innovation have presented their research work into the mechanical behaviour of surfboards. Surfing is still a sport governed by feelings. Most innovations in board design and manufacture, as well as analysis of surfing technique, have been the result of "trial and error" procedures and the experiences of shapers, trainers and surfers. The driving forces behind this joint project aim to "turn feelings into facts and figures" and provide as yet unquantified ...

New hypothesis explains why drugs increase risk of heart attacks and strokes

2011-02-24
CLEVELAND – February 21, 2011 – New research shows that medications which have raised safety concerns over heart attack and stroke risks may not have gotten approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if the cardiovascular effects of fluid retention had been better understood. Fluid retention may explain the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes of medications such as Vioxx®, Bextra®, and Avandia®. The research published in Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation (IOS Press, ISSN 1386-0291), calculates the effects of fluid retention upon the velocity ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Scientists uncover key protein in cellular fat storage

Study finds significant health benefits from gut bugs transfer

UC Riverside pioneers way to remove private data from AI models

Total-body PET imaging takes a look at long COVID

Surgery to treat chronic sinus disease more effective than antibiotics

New online tool could revolutionize how high blood pressure is treated

Around 90% of middle-aged and older autistic adults are undiagnosed in the UK, new review finds

Robot regret: New research helps robots make safer decisions around humans

Cells ‘vomit’ waste to promote healing, mouse study reveals

Wildfire mitigation strategies can cut destruction by half, study finds

Sniffing out how neurons are made

New AI tool identifies 1,000 ‘questionable’ scientific journals

Exploring the promise of human iPSC-heart cells in understanding fentanyl abuse

Raina Biosciences unveils breakthrough generative AI platform for mRNA therapeutics featured in Science

Yellowstone’s free roaming bison drive grassland resilience

Turbulent flow in heavily polluted Tijuana River drives regional air quality risks

Revealed: Genetic shifts that helped tame horses and made them rideable

Mars’ mantle is a preserved relic of its ancient past, seismic data reveals

Variation inside and out: cell types in fruit fly metamorphosis

Mount Sinai researchers use AI and lab tests to predict genetic disease risk

When bison are room to roam, they reawaken the Yellowstone ecosystem

Mars’s interior more like Rocky Road than Millionaire’s Shortbread, scientists find

Tijuana River’s toxic water pollutes the air

Penn engineers send quantum signals with standard internet protocol

Placebo pain relief works differently across human body, study finds

New method could monitor corrosion and cracking in a nuclear reactor

Pennington Biomedical researchers find metabolic health of pregnant women may matter more than weight gain

World’s first custom anterior cervical spine surgery

Quantum Research Sciences developing AI platform to help Air Force more efficiently connect with industry

MERIT grant awarded to study cure for HIV

[Press-News.org] Before the explosion -- volcano's warning tremors explained