Discovered nearly 200 million year old volcanic clusters underground

The international team uses advanced imaging technology to detect about 100 buried ancient volcanoes in Australia.

Scientists at the University of Adelaide (Australia) and the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) find about 100 volcanoes in the low-lying Cooper-Eromanga , Australia's largest onshore oil and gas producer, Science Daily on Aug. 13. reported. They are in the ground and have never been discovered in 60 years of oil and gas exploitation at Cooper-Eromanga.

Volcanic activity often takes place at the edge of tectonic plates.(Photo: IFL Science).

The research team used advanced sub-surface imaging techniques, similar to computerized tomography, to detect craters, lava flows and magma-bearing cavities deep down. The newly discovered area is named Warnie Volcanic Region .

The volcanic cluster formed and worked during the Jurassic period, about 160-180 million years ago, then buried under hundreds of meters of rock. Cooper-Eromanga is currently a barren land but in the Jurassic period, this place has many craters and cracks that spray ash, lava heated up in the air, surrounded by numerous tributaries.

"While most of the volcanic activity on Earth takes place at the edge of tectonic plates or under the ocean, this ancient volcanic cluster formed deep within the Australian continent. The new discovery opens up the possibility of many clusters. Another volcano is underground Australia, " said study co-author Simon Holford.

Jurassic sedimentary rocks contain oil, gas and water that play an important role in the Australian economy. The discovery of the volcanic cluster at Cooper-Eromanga also shows that Jurassic volcanic activity is richer than what scientists once thought.