Just in case you’re considering a visit to the remote Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeast Iran near the border with Afghanistan, wait. ABC News reports researchers have determined that an eruption at the Taftan Volcano, dormant for at least the last 700,000 years, may be reawakening.
Startling, right? From a white paper by Mohammadhossein Mohammadnia, Man Wai Yip, A Alexander G Webb, and Pablo J Gonzalez: “We unambiguously document unrest at Taftan volcano. Summit uplift was detected using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar time series and its timing tightly constrained applying a new common mode filtering method. Uplift started and ended gradually lasting 10 months (July 2023 to May 2024). Uplift peaked at 11 cm/year rates, and during slowing-down several gas emission events occurred. Unrest was triggerless, uncorrelated with rainfall or seismic events. We favor internal driving processes with two possible scenarios: (a) dynamic hydrothermal alteration leading to permeability changes, shallow gas storage and pressurization, followed by opening of degassing pathways; or (b) a minor, undetected deep magmatic intrusion causing volatile exsolution and pore pressure increases within the hydrothermal system.”
“Lack of post-unrest subsidence suggests persistence of hydrothermal high-pressure conditions at the summit and associated hazards. Our study shows how satellite imagery reveals hidden volcanic hazards at Taftan, and the need to implement a holistic volcano risk reduction strategy.”
That wasn’t even that dense, but in even plainer English: This fucker means business and soon.