Quiet for 100,000 years, Greece’s Methana volcano may be making a comeback
Methana volcano looked dead for more than 100,000 years, yet magma kept building below ground. By dating tiny crystals, scientists found a hidden system still active, raising new doubts about how safely “extinct” volcanoes are judged around the world. For more than 100,000 years, the Methana volcano in Greece appeared quiet and lifeless. No lava spilled down its slopes. No ash clouds darkened the sky. To anyone watching from the surface, the volcano seemed extinct. But deep underground, the story was very different. An international research team led by ETH Zurich has revealed that Methana was not dead at all. Instead, enormous amounts of magma continued building beneath the volcano during its long silent period. The findings challenge one of the most common assumptions in volcanology: that a volcano quiet for tens of thousands of years is no longer dangerous. The study paints a striking picture of a volcano slowly “breathing” underground while remaining calm at the surface. Researchers say this hidden growth may happen at many volcanoes worldwide, especially in regions shaped by subduction …
