Tuscany's Hidden 6,000 km³ Magma Reservoir Mapped

An international research team has identified a massive magma system beneath Tuscany, extending across the region at depths of 8–15 km and containing roughly 6,000 km³ of volcanic material – a volume comparable to 2.4 billion Olympic swimming pools. The discovery was made using ambient noise tomography, a seismic imaging technique that treats continuous natural and human‑generated vibrations as an underground X‑ray.

The study involved scientists from the University of Geneva, Italy’s Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (CNR‑IGG) and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Researchers say the magma body poses no immediate volcanic threat, but its size could be relevant to super‑volcano formation over geological timescales. The findings also highlight potential for locating geothermal energy resources, lithium and rare‑earth deposits that are critical for clean‑energy technologies.