Slashdot Mirror
'Dark Magma' Could Explain Mystery Volcanoes
sciencehabit writes: The magma fueling the volcanoes of Hawaii and Yellowstone National Park pipes up from deep inside the planet. Scientists have struggled to understand why there are hot spots there, so far from the grinding tectonic plate boundaries at which volcanoes normally appear. New research chalks the mystery up to 'dark magma': deep underground pockets of red-hot molten rock that siphon energy from Earth's core. If the team is right, its work could illuminate a key part of Earth's geology. These plumes are one of the most important things to understand because the movement of heat powers many processes on the planet. For one, Earth's magnetic field depends on how the core spins and flows inside the planet. As a result, the way heat flows from the core to the mantle could potentially affect the way Earth's magnetic field evolves over time.
"Dark Magma" -really? no i didnt read tfa but "Dark Magma"!?
Dont you think the term "Dark ???" is being overused now?
Hey! theres something we dont know what it is.. lets call it "Dark... Meatcake!"
oldhack: "Security is a waste of money until shit hits the fan. 5 minutes later, it becomes waste of money again. "
As a geologist, in school I always postulated that hot spots were a function of the magnetic field. Rotation resistance provides the field but the field 'channels' a portion of the mantle. Tit for tat.
because it sure didn't show up in this article.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
As someone who works in Dark Matter, I have to say I am glad that the brand has now reached the point that scientists in other fields appropriate it, apparently purely as a branding mechanism. I mean, I hate to be pedantic, but magma at 3200 C will not be dark.
"Dark matter" and "dark energy" at least make some intuitive sense - we've postulated they exist, but have been unable to observe them. But, yeah, "dark magma"? We can see the magma just fine, and we know exactly where these hot spots are - we just don't completely understand why.
I guess next time I see a friend somewhere unexpected, I should refer to him as my "dark buddy".
#DeleteChrome
Could Dark Magma be responsible for global warming?
So I think that weight I put on over last winter is dark fat - I don't where it came from.
I believe the "dark" in dark energy comes from the fact that we cannot detect it, we can only see one of it's possible effects, much like Dark matter, which we cannot detect except possibly though it's gravitational effects.
XDInd
Um, New Madrid is on/near a fault. It has the cryptic name "New Madrid Fault."