How everything we knew about volcanoes is a lie

Summary of Textbook theory behind volcanoes may be wrong by California Institute of Technology

CalTech reported that what a National Geographic might tell you about volcanoes is wrong. The previous theory for the creation of the lava-spitting ground lumps was attributed to thin jets in the mantle of the earth. These jets of magma were supposed to push up through the core, shooting out of the ground and creating the fiery death mountains that we see on the surface today. However, a new theory suggests that volcanoes are not caused by underground magma jets, but rather by the large-scale rise of fire juice from the depths of the mantle. It's explained that when the material in the mantle near the crust manages to cool, it sinks. These sinking chunks of rock-stuff force the magma they pass by upwards, causing it to press up against the tectonic plates above it. When some of this magma manages to slip through fissures or cracks in the plates, they surge forth through the crust in a fiery spectacle, becoming the deadly earth pimples that we know so well (CalTech, 2014).

I found this article interesting because it shows that what we know from a scientific viewpoint is always changing. The theory on the creation of volcano's was something that was previously accepted as scientific fact. Geographic websites and magazines alike turned the theory into general knowledge, which I ate up as a child like children do. Even still, the theory was torn down like paper by the power of a new theory, with new data backing it up. I feel like this is a real testament to the fact that while all the evidence in the world can't prove a theory, a single piece can disprove one.

California Institute of Technology. (2014, September 8). Textbook theory behind volcanoes may be wrong. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 11, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140908152924.htm