Basalt, the dominant volcanic rock along the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," is considered a melting product of the Earth's mantle. On the left is vesicular basalt, in which dissolved gases formed ...

Geoscientists have long thought that water -- along with shallow magma stored in Earth's crust -- drives volcanoes to erupt. Now, thanks to newly developed research tools, scientists have learned that ...

The magma that erupts from basaltic volcanoes in the middle of tectonic plates originates from within Earth's mantle — rather than from the outer crust — and is propelled upward by CO2, not water.

Mass extinction events throughout Earth’s history are characterized as significant disruptions to life on the planet. There have been five major extinction events that have fundamentally changed how ...

Volcanoes are grouped into four types: cinder cones, composite volcanoes, shield volcanoes and lava volcanoes. Cinder cones are circular or oval cones made up of small fragments of lava from a single ...

The Palisades cliffs west of New York City rear up from the Hudson River like the spine of some ancient beast—and that impression is not far off. Their basalt backbone is a remnant of an immense lava ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Geoscientists have long thought that water – along with shallow magma stored in Earth’s crust – drives volcanoes to erupt. Now, thanks to newly developed research tools at Cornell, ...