Volcanic Smoke Signals

Most volcano research focuses on the strong eruptions that threaten human lives, said Simona Scollo, a volcanologist. But “we want to understand how our volcanoes work,” she said. She and her team investigated the rings of vapor that waft near their craters. In their findings, published last month in the journal Scientific Reports, ring emissions may say something about a volcano’s magma. Volcanoes that release hoops of vapor have liquid rock that is more likely to flow.