Хиймэл дагуулын мэдээлэлд үндэслэн судлаачид тус галт уулын газар доорх магмын урсгал болон бүтцийн нарийн төвөгтэй өөрчлөлтийг тогтоосон байна.
Pennsylvania State University-ийн эрдэмтэд Sentinel-1 хиймэл дагуулаас 2018-2024 оны хооронд авсан радар зургуудад дүн шинжилгээ хийж, Никарагуа улсын Масая галт уулын гадаргуугийн хөдөлгөөнийг судалжээ. Судалгаагаар галт уулын төв хэсэгт орших магмын камер 2018 оноос 2022 оны дунд үе хүртэл доошилж байснаа, улмаар 2024 он хүртэл дахин дээшилж эхэлснийг тогтоосон байна. Судлаач Лиззи Жонсоны тайлбарласнаар, энэхүү гадаргуугийн өөрчлөлт нь магм гадагш урсаж, дараа нь шинээр хуримтлагдаж байгаатай холбоотой байж болзошгүй юм.
Үүний зэрэгцээ Сантьяго тогооны ойролцоох гадаргуугийн хөдөлгөөн тэс өөр загвараар явагдаж байгааг илрүүлжээ. Энэ хэсэг нь судалгааны бүх хугацаанд тасралтгүй доошилж байсан нь галт уулын гүнд 200 орчим метрийн гүнд орших хоёр дахь, илүү гүехэн магмын нөөцлүүр бие даан үйлчилж байгааг харуулж байна. Энэхүү дүгнэлт нь Масая галт уулын дотоод бүтэц нь нэг камертай гэхээс илүүтэй, харилцан хамаарал бүхий нарийн төвөгтэй систем болохыг илтгэж байна.
Масая галт уул нь ойролцоогоор 2 сая орчим хүн амьдардаг бүс нутагт оршдог тул түүний идэвхжилийг хянах нь чухал ач холбогдолтой юм. Хэдийгээр тус галт уул нь 1772 оноос хойш томоохон лавын урсгал гаргаагүй ч, хүхрийн давхар ислийн ялгаруулалт ихтэй, аюултай концентраци үүсгэх эрсдэлтэй байдаг. Судлаачид одоогийн байдлаар ойр орчмын иргэдэд шууд аюул учруулах нөхцөл байдал тогтоогдоогүй гэж мэдэгдсэн бөгөөд цаашид галт уулын аюулгүй байдлыг хангах, хяналтыг сайжруулахын тулд урт хугацааны геодезийн судалгааг үргэлжлүүлэх шаардлагатайг онцолжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
New satellite data show that Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua may be taking in magma again beneath part of its surface, while another reservoir closer to the crater appears to be behaving differently. The discovery gives researchers a better look at what is happening underground at a volcano surrounded by nearly 2 million people.
Masaya is best known for the lava lake inside Santiago crater, often nicknamed the “Mouth of Hell.” Thousands of tourists visit the site every month, and Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, sits only about 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, away.
The volcano has not produced a major lava flow since 1772, but it is far from quiet. It regularly releases volcanic gases and has produced several explosions over the past five decades. That is why scientists closely track even small changes in the ground around the crater.
Something Is Shifting Beneath Masaya
A team from Pennsylvania State University studied radar images taken by the Sentinel-1 satellites roughly every 12 days over six years. The work, published in Geophysical Research Letters, followed changes in the volcano’s surface between 2018 and 2024.
One area stood out: the Masaya Central Reservoir, a magma chamber just north of Santiago crater. From 2018 to mid-2022, the ground above this reservoir moved around 3 centimeters, or 1.2 inches, away from the satellite. Researchers read that movement as subsidence, meaning the surface was slowly sinking.
That kind of deflation can happen when magma moves away from a reservoir. Then the pattern flipped. From around mid-2022 to 2024, the same area started rising again. For the researchers, that movement may mean magma was flowing back into the reservoir.
“When it’s subsiding, that means that there’s probably magma draining away from the volcano, but once the ground starts uplifting again, that can mean that there’s potentially new magma moving in,” lead author Lizzie Johnson said.
A Second Magma Reservoir Near The Crater
What happened around Santiago crater was different. While the central reservoir shifted from sinking to rising, the ground directly around the crater kept sinking throughout the full 2018–2024 period.
That separate movement points to another part of the volcanic system behaving on its own. Johnson said the pattern shows that Masaya’s underground plumbing is more complicated than a single reservoir.
“At the same time, the area directly around the active Santiago crater deflated over the entire study period independently of the transition to inflation of the main reservoir,” she said. “This indicates that the plumbing system is more complex and could be due to decreasing magma in a second, shallower reservoir.”
The team estimates that this second reservoir is located about 200 meters, or 656 feet, below the surface. Two different magma storage zones appear to have been active at the same time, but not in the same way.
Why Scientists Are Watching It So Closely?
The new findings matter because so many people live and travel near the volcano. Masaya continues to release large amounts of sulfur dioxide, and Johnson noted that these emissions can reach dangerous concentrations. They can also contribute to acid rain and may be harmful to human health.
The volcano has also produced several explosions over the past five decades, although very few people have been injured. Even with the renewed uplift, the researchers do not report any immediate danger to nearby communities.
Instead, the study helps build a clearer picture of how magma moves beneath Masaya and how its different reservoirs interact over time.
“Having a thorough understanding of Masaya’s volcanic activity and its related hazards is critical,” adding that: “Further long-term geodetic and modeling studies will provide a more thorough understanding and allow for effective hazard monitoring and mitigation at Masaya and other lava-lake hosting basaltic volcanoes.”
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