Volcano in northeast China may be ‘recharging’ for eruption, study finds
- Researchers say they discovered two huge magma chambers under Wei Mountain, which last erupted more than 500,000 years ago
- But an earthquake administration official says it’s too early to say for sure that they exist, and more long-term seismic data is needed
A volcano in northeast China could be “recharging” for an eruption, with a vast amount of magma believed to be rising up underneath it, according to a team of geophysicists.
The researchers say they discovered two huge magma chambers under Wei Mountain in the Wudalianchi volcanic field in Heilongjiang, near the border with Russia and North Korea. Their modelling suggests the chambers dwarf the volcano, which is 100 metres (328 feet) tall and 5km (3.1 miles) wide.
It was a surprise discovery, since the volcano last erupted more than 500,000 years ago and was considered extinct. Geologists have been more focused on Changbai, or Paektu Mountain, to the south, whose eruption in 946AD was one of the most powerful volcanic events ever recorded, its fallout zone spanning from Japan to Greenland.
But the volcanic fields of Changbai and Wei “would be linked to some degree”, according to the peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Geology this month.
Geophysicist Zhang Haijiang and a team from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui, visited nearly 100 sites across Wei Mountain for the study.