Scientists Challenge 'Extinct' Volcano Classification as Methana Study Reveals 110,000-Year Dormancy Cycles

Potential for widespread displacement and casualties if dormant volcanoes near populated areas like Eifel and La Garrotxa unexpectedly erupt without adequate warning systems.

Beneath the apparent stillness of volcanoes long declared extinct, the Earth may still be gathering its breath. Research into Methana, a volcano near Athens silent for 110,000 years before erupting again, has prompted scientists to question whether the 10,000-year threshold used to classify a volcano as dead is dangerously insufficient. The study, drawing on zircon crystal records spanning 700,000 years of activity, argues that time alone is a poor guardian — and that geophysical signals, not calendars, should guide how humanity watches the ground it builds upon.

Scientists Challenge 'Extinct' Volcano Classification as Methana Study Reveals 110,000-Year Dormancy Cycles

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