Scientists discover 201km wide magma reservoir under Altiplano-Puna plateau
Scientists just discovered a gigantic magma reservoir (about 201km wide and 16.09km underground) beneath the Altiplano-Puna plateau in the Andes.
It's actually the largest molten body ever imaged, and as it slowly expands, it's making one of Earth's highest volcanic regions rise even more.
The findings were published in Nature Communications.
Expanding magma lifts Andes crust
Turns out, this expanding magma is a big reason why the Andes mountains are getting taller, not just because of colliding tectonic plates like we used to think.
The pressure from all that molten rock pushes up on the crust, creating a sort of "breathing mountain dome" effect.
This fresh perspective shows that deep underground magma plays a major role in shaping Earth's surface, even forming mountains.