The volcanic eruption responsible for the giant Ubehebe Crater in California's Death Valley may have occurred more recently than previously thought. This could mean that the risk of similar explosions happening today is higher than anticipated.
When magma encounters groundwater, distinctive explosions, such as those of Ubehebe, ensue. But how this could have happened in Death Valley, the driest area in North America, has been unclear. Brent Goehring at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and his colleagues dated the crater (pictured) using the rate of accumulation of beryllium-10 isotopes in rocks exposed by the eruption. They conclude that the crater probably appeared 800–2,100 years ago, during a period in which Death Valley underwent prolonged drought.
The authors suggest that there may be enough permanent groundwater to drive further explosive eruptions in Death Valley.
Geophys. Res. Lett. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011gl050130 (2012)
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Explosion in Death Valley. Nature 482, 9 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/482009d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/482009d
