The Earth's largest volcanic eruptions have a lot in common with bubbles rising up in a glass of soda or beer.
New experiments and computer simulations show that gigantic eruptions like those which blasted open the Yellowstone caldera are caused by vast pools of hot magma so buoyant they press incessantly on the rocks above until they break through with incredible eruptive force.
The new research, presented by two teams in two papers in the Jan. 5 issue of Nature Geoscience, suggests the magma's buoyancy triggers these rare super eruptions rather than some local trigger like an earthquake or an injection of more magma into the magma chamber from below.
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