volcanism


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volcanism

(vol -kă-niz-ăm) Any of various processes whereby molten material, produced by interior heating, rises along with associated gases through the crust of a planet or satellite and bursts out upon the surface in the form of volcanic eruptions, geysers, etc. Active volcanism, which produces new crustal material, occurs not only on Earth but also on the satellites Io and Triton. Volcanism on the Moon produced the lava of the maria but largely ceased some three billion years ago. Evidence for past volcanism has also been found on Mars (see Mars, volcanoes), Venus, and several outer-planet satellites, such as Europa, Ganymede, Enceladus, Tethys, Ariel, and Titania.
Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

volcanism

[′väl·kə‚niz·əm]
(geology)
The movement of magma and its associated gases from the interior into the crust and to the surface of the earth. Also known as volcanicity.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
While further research into ancient Martian volcanism could bolster this case, it is worth noting that the presence of icy cold climate doesn't affect the possibility of ancient microbial life on the red planet.
"Exceptional, massive volcanism, I am now quite sure, is the general cause of mass extinctions," he said.
and Parmentier, E.M., 1995, A model for the thermal and chemical evolution of the Moon's interior; implications for the onset of mare volcanism: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v.
Had observers been present at their formation, two very different styles of volcanism would have been apparent.
"Improving our understanding of subglacial volcanic activity across the province is important both for helping to constrain how volcanism and rifting may have influenced ice-sheet growth and decay over previous glacial cycles," the study says, "and in light of concerns over whether enhanced geothermal heat fluxes and subglacial melting may contribute to instability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet."
Volcanism, Impacts, and Mass Extinctions: Causes and Effects
They hypothesize that evacuated subsurface space during mud volcanism was an important process in cavern development.
Were they formed by impact or volcanism? Since the 1960s, the evidence has become overwhelming that the vast majority of craters on the Moon and every solid body in the solar system have an impact origin.
New surveys of Kilauea's lava flows show that in the last 2,500 years the volcano has been convulsed by periods of explosive volcanism, the most recent ending about 200 years ago.
Among the topics are ages and stratigraphy of lunar mare basalts, previously unknown large impact basins on the moon and their implications for lunar stratigraphy, insights from data since the Lunar Orbiter into the geology of Schrodinger Basin, geomorphic terrains and evidence for ancient volcanism within northeastern South Pole-Aitken basin, and the origin of nearside structural and geochemical anomalies on the moon.
In this lavishly illustrated collection of nearly two dozen overviews and topical studies, researchers describe the region's tectonic evolution in the Kamchatka-Aleutian connection, the evolution of the Kurile-Kamchatkan volcanic arcs and dynamics of the Kamchatka-Aleutian junction, the origin of the modern subduction zone, seismic characteristics of the region, and volcanism in the late Pleistocene-Holocene era, with topic studies including imagery, magnetic and seismic constraints, reflective layers, spatial relationships, geochemistry, deformation patterns, and preliminary studies of a volcano on the region's Kuril Islands.