Gas from the ‘zombie’ volcano in Iran can be smelled 30 miles away, and it’s so pungent that people are talking on social media – it could explode in the Middle East’s first eruption in 800 years
A “dead” volcano could be coming back to life after 700,000 years after showing signs of waking up, sparking fears that an eruption is on the horizon.
Boffins have said that the ground near the Taftan volcano in Iran has swelled, suggesting that there is a build up of gas pressure below the surface. The gas can be smelled from the city of Khash about 31 miles away, and locals have taken to social media to talk about it.
The gas will have to get out at some point, potentially the first volcano eruption the Middle East has seen since the year 1256. Volcanologist Pablo González told Live Science: “It has to release somehow in the future, either violently or more quietly.” There is no reason to fear an imminent eruption, he said, but the volcano should be more closely monitored.
When it last erupted, humans were living a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle, developing stone tools and building simple shelters. The world had far fewer people back then, and if it blows soon then it could trigger great destruction of life.
It’s a stratovolcano, meaning it’s built up of alternate layers of lava and ash. Other stratovolcanoes include Mount St. Helens and Mount Vesuvius.
Volcanoes are considered extinct if they haven’t erupted in the Holocone era, which started 11,700 years ago. Now, it could be described as dormant instead.
One of González’s doctoral students first examined satellite images of the volcano in 2020 and didn’t notice anything to write home about.
After people started chatting on social media about the sulphur smell in 2023, Mohammadhossein Mohammadnia took another look and noticed that the volcano had actually crept upwards by 3.5 inches. For a mountain that’s been silent since the Stone Age, that’s a lot.
The team traced the activity to a depth of around 500 to 600 meters, suggesting that gases might be shifting through the rocks or that small pockets of magma are moving.
The next step, according to González, will be to collaborate with scientists who do gas monitoring at volcanoes.
“This study doesn’t aim to produce panic,” he said. “It’s a wake-up call to the authorities in the region in Iran to designate some resources to look at this.”
Iran is not alone. The news comes as another “zombie” volcano – called Ulturuncu – in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia was reported to have experienced increased seismic activity and gas emissions this year.
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