• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

A More Volcanic Earth

SerpentSun

Dreamer
My fictional world is the same size and basic mineral makeup of Earth. It is also the third planet from its sun, the same distance we are from our sun. Except my Earth is much more volcanic. Or rather, it is more geologically active in general.

But how? If a planet was the same size, composition, etc of Earth, what would have to be different to contribute to a greater degree of volcanism? More silicon, uranium, sulfur, etc? Less plants? Less water? Would the planet have to be bigger, smaller, or closer to the sun?

I really like volcanoes. Always have, always will. My world will have as many volcanoes as safely possible. And the "how" might not matter to some authors, but additional requirements like more uranium or less distance from the sun may fuel the plot.

So what makes one earthlike planet more volcanic than another?
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
My fictional world is the same size and basic mineral makeup of Earth. It is also the third planet from its sun, the same distance we are from our sun. Except my Earth is much more volcanic. Or rather, it is more geologically active in general.

But how? If a planet was the same size, composition, etc of Earth, what would have to be different to contribute to a greater degree of volcanism? More silicon, uranium, sulfur, etc? Less plants? Less water? Would the planet have to be bigger, smaller, or closer to the sun?

I really like volcanoes. Always have, always will. My world will have as many volcanoes as safely possible. And the "how" might not matter to some authors, but additional requirements like more uranium or less distance from the sun may fuel the plot.

So what makes one earthlike planet more volcanic than another?

I'm thinking a different tectonic plate setup (smaller plates and thus more of them) would be the way to go. This page seems to cover the basics of volcanic formation: What causes Volcanoes? - Geoscience Australia
 

TheKillerBs

Maester
The amount of volcanic activity in a planet is not fixed. There have been periods in the Earth's history when there have been more eruptions. The end of the last ice age, for example, was marked by a massive increase in volcanic activity.
 

SerpentSun

Dreamer
The amount of volcanic activity in a planet is not fixed. There have been periods in the Earth's history when there have been more eruptions. The end of the last ice age, for example, was marked by a massive increase in volcanic activity.

Which was due (at least in part) to the quick shift in pressure on Earth's crust, if I do recall correctly. Interesting. I was wondering if more extreme weather would be a result of increased volcanism, a cause of it, or just overkill. Pehaps a more rapidly changing climate might be in order....

I'd thank your post, but the button doesn't work on this electronic device. :)
 

SerpentSun

Dreamer
I'm thinking a different tectonic plate setup (smaller plates and thus more of them) would be the way to go. This page seems to cover the basics of volcanic formation: What causes Volcanoes? - Geoscience Australia

I'll have to read that when I have a minute. And yes, but what would predispose an Earthlike planet to have smaller tectonic plates? I'm thinking maybe more currents in the mantle.

The axial tilt and whatnot are the same as Earth, so there are no changes in centrifugal force. That leaves convection from heat transfer. Presumably, a hotter core and mantle would lead to increased volcanism.

A warmer belly made Earth more volcanic when it was younger. But my story takes place in 2017 AD, or at least the geological equivalent. That inner heat dissipates over billions of years. Maybe if Earth had more radioactive isotopes, it would stay hot longer.

Which is why I wondered if more uranium might make more volcanoes. And maybe if the crust was less flexible, it would crack more readily into smaller tectonic plates. Thus lava would spew forth.

It really seems to me that the mineral composition would have a correlation with volcanic frequency. But my world being otherwise Earthlike, I'm not entirely sure what ratio of elements would allow a crispier crust and more melty core. Perhaps that article covers it! :)
 

K.S. Crooks

Maester
Tidal forces. The pull of gravity in different directions is a huge factor. Earth has moderate volcanic activity due to our moon and sun pulling on us, often in different directions. The most volcanically active body in our system is Jupiter's moon Io. It is pulled so much by Jupiter's gravity that of another of Jupiter's moons Europa its core is in constant turmoil. give your planet a few moons and then it will have more volcanic activity.
 
Top