A volcano's song could contain clues to its future eruptions, scientists hope

Scientists have recorded a song coming from a volcano. They think the musical notes may someday be useful for predicting when a dangerous eruption might occur.

Transcript

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KARLSTROM: These are big rock falls - like, bus-sized.

BRUMFIEL: These giant boulders would plunge into the lava lake several times a week for the next 10 years. And scientists were listening to the splashes they made as they fell.

BRUMFIEL: This audio recording is what your ears would have heard. But researchers also used seismographs placed around the crater to record low-frequency vibrations. And when Karlstrom and graduate student Josh Crozier sped up those recordings, it made music.

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BRUMFIEL: Now, that's pretty cool. But what's even cooler is that the song actually reveals something important about the makeup of the molten rock deep inside the volcano. Karlstrom says the notes of the song depend on how many bubbles of gas are in the liquid rock.

KARLSTROM: The speed of sound of a bubbly mixture is actually very significantly different.

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BRUMFIEL: The sounds at Kilauea matter to volcano scientists because they care a lot about bubbles.

KARLSTROM: Bubbles are the primary driver of volcanic eruptions generally, actually.

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