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The volcano in southern Iran, previously thought to be extinct for around 710,000 years, has shown signs of activity. According to scientists, the ground near the summit of Taftan rose by 9 centimeters over 10 months, from July 2023 to May 2024. This sustained uplift indicates increasing gas pressure beneath the surface, reports Live Science.
Pablo González, a volcanologist at the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology, part of Spain’s National Research Council (IPNA-CSIC), emphasized the need for careful monitoring of the volcano, which was previously considered safe. Volcanoes are classified as extinct if they have not erupted during the Holocene epoch, which began 11,700 years ago. Given Taftan’s recent activity, González suggested it would be more accurate to describe it as dormant.
“In the future, it will likely release pressure either violently or more quietly,” González said, adding that there is no immediate danger of an eruption, but the volcano should be closely observed.
Taftan is a stratovolcano standing 3,940 meters tall in southeastern Iran. It lies among mountains formed by the subduction of the Arabian Plate beneath the Eurasian continent. Today, the volcano hosts an active hydrothermal system and fumaroles emitting sulfur, but no eruptions have been recorded in human history.
Mohammadhossein Mohammadnia, a graduate student working under González at IPNA-CSIC, first examined satellite images of the volcano from 2020 and found no signs of activity. However, in 2023, social media users reported gas emissions from the volcano, with the smell noticeable even in the city of Hash, located 50 kilometers away.
A closer look at Sentinel-1 satellite imagery from the European Space Agency revealed minor ground uplift, indicating rising pressure beneath the surface. Mohammadnia calculated that the source of this uplift lies at a depth of 490 to 630 meters. Scientists ruled out earthquakes or rainfall as causes. The volcano’s magma chamber is located much deeper, over 3.5 kilometers below the surface.
The uplift is likely caused either by changes in the hydrothermal system, leading to gas accumulation, or by a small volume of magma moving beneath the volcano, allowing gases to rise through the rock, increasing pore pressure and causing slight ground deformation.
