Ice Volcanoes Are Real, and They Are Called Cryovolcanoes

Ice volcanoes, called cryovolcanoes, can erupt water, gases, and hydrocarbons instead of the molten rock we associate with volcanoes.

Astronomy

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Volcanoes do not always need molten rock. Cryovolcanoes, sometimes called ice volcanoes, are volcanic features that can release volatile materials such as water, ammonia, and hydrocarbons from beneath the surface. On cold worlds, these materials can behave as the volcanic equivalent of magma and lava, then freeze rapidly after reaching the surface. Scientists have found evidence of cryovolcanic activity or possible cryovolcanic features on several icy worlds and dwarf planets. Pluto, for example, has enormous mountain-like features that may have formed from icy material rising from below, while Ceres has evidence for a cryovolcanic dome linked to salty material. The energy driving this activity can come from heat retained inside a world, radioactive decay, or tidal heating on some moons. Cryovolcanism is especially interesting because it can reshape otherwise frozen surfaces and provides clues about what may be happening beneath them. Direct eruptions are difficult to observe, so some proposed cryovolcanoes remain uncertain rather than confirmed active volcanoes. The basic idea, though, is strikingly simple: in the right conditions, a cold world can have a volcano whose erupting material is made largely from substances that would be frozen on Earth.

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