A long-dormant volcano has swollen 3.5 inches in 10 months, scientists say—amid concern that it could erupt for the first time in more than 700,000 years. New research in Geophysical Research Letters, reported by the New York Post, detected a nine-centimeter uplift between July 2023 and May 2024 that has not subsided, signaling pressure building below the surface of the Taftan mountain’s summit near the Iran-Pakistan border. The work—based on Sentinel-1 satellite data—suggests either a change in the hydrothermal system or movement of magma. Locals reported sulfurous fumes in 2023, with odors detected up to roughly 30 miles away. “It has to release somehow in the future, either violently or more quietly,” volcanologist Pablo González told Live Science, stressing there is no sign of an imminent eruption but urging closer monitoring. The volcano—standing about 12,927 feet—has no confirmed eruption in the record of human history.
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