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The past ten of eruptions of Hawaii ’s Kilauea volcano may have playact as a pressure - substitute valve for neighboring Mauna Loa , according to a new fashion model suggest two of the satellite ’s biggest vent connect late underground .
scientist experience each of the two Hawaiian volcanoes has its own bathymetry — freestanding , shallow magma chambers . Such chamber are the source of Kilauea’srising lava lake , which is threatening to spill over . But 50 land mile ( 80 kilometers ) down , in a part of the Earth ’s mantle layer called the asthenosphere , Mauna Loa and Kilauea are dynamically coupled , said Helge Gonnermann , a prof at Rice University in Houston , who is the lead writer of a new study show the inter-group communication .
Lava flows from Pu’u O’o Crater on Kilauea.
" It ’s like groundwater in an aquifer or oil in an crude reservoir , " Gonnermann told OurAmazingPlanet . " We know that there is melt that extends beneath both volcanoes . Changes in press can be convey to both volcanoes . "
The Hawaiian Islands are hotspot volcanoes , formed as the Pacific plate moves over aplume of hot magma in the chimneypiece . imperativeness change in the pooled magma in the mantle could chop-chop affect both volcanoes , the model indicates .
The model helps explain some challenging reflection : When one volcano inflates , the other start to bulge out about six months later . At times , such as in 2005 , both volcanoes blow up at the same , GPS data show
Lava flows from Pu’u O’o Crater on Kilauea.
The study suggests that Mauna Loa ’s and Kilauea ’s opponent pattern — when one is active , the other is smooth — go on because eruption at one volcano release pressure in the other .
The model suggest Mauna Loa , which produced its most recent clap in 1984 , had accumulated enough magma for another eruption , but its pressure was unbosom byKilauea ’s heightened action .
" The speculation coming out of this model is that if we had n’t seen this increase activity at Kilauea , then we would not have see this pressure relief , " Gonnermann aver .
The summit meeting of Kilauea has recently started inflating , giving the researchers a real - world trial . " If Kilauea continue to inflate like it is right now , and if our model holds water , we should also see another period of inflation at Mauna Loa in about half a year , " Gonnermann say .
The scientist also hope to test the poser in other hotspot volcanoes , such as those of the Galapagos .
The findings are detail in the November issue of the journal Nature Geosciences .
