ch lower rate.
"Satellite data and computer models allowed us to make the important link between what's observed at the surface and what's happening with the magma body at depth," said Fialko.
Fialko said the sombrero uplift could provide insights into the initial stages of massive magmatic events leading to the formation of large calderas. Such "super-volcano" events erupt thousands of cubic kilometers of magma into the atmosphere and can affect local and global climates. Compared with the Icelandic volcano eruption in 2011 that spewed large amounts of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted global air travel, Fialko said, a super-volcano event would be thousands of times greater.
"Those were truly disaster-type events," said Fialko. "Fortunately such events haven't happened in human history, but we know they did happen in the Altiplano-Puna area in the past."
University of California - San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu
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