Scientists have discovered an enormous ocean of bubbling magma beneath the surface of Io, one of the many moons of Jupiter.
A team of researchers studying this phenomenon says that the global ocean about 30 to 50 kilometers beneath Io’s crust helps explain the moon’s activity.
While volcanoes on Earth tend to occur in localized spots like the “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific Ocean, the volcanoes on Io are found all over its surface, producing about 100 times more lava each year than all the volcanoes on Earth.
On the Science World radio program this weekend, Dr. Krishan Khurana, from UCLA’s Institute of Geophysics & Planetary Physics, tells us why Io is considered to be the most volcanically active body in our solar system.
Listen to the interview here: [audio://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/files/2011/05/Dr.-Krishan-Khurana-Ios-Ocean-of-Magma.mp3|titles=Dr. Krishan Khurana – Io’s Ocean of Magma]
Watch related video (Courtesy of: NASA/JPL/University of Michigan/UCLA):
Other stories we’ll cover on the Science World radio program include:
- HIV-Positive Kenyans demand AIDS funding
- UN Climate Experts warn of more wild weather on warming planet
- Boom! China’s exploding watermelons (Watch related video)
- Tokyo Electric moves moves to protect groundwater around damaged nuke plant
- WHO Panel says quick action prevented serious impact from Fukushima accident
- Young scientists compete for $4 million in prizes and scholarships
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