Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Volcanology

Travel on thin air

Pyroclastic density currents generate a basal air cushion that reduces friction with the ground, reveal laboratory experiments. This explains their ability to travel rapidly over large distances from their volcanic source.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Air lubrication in pyroclastic density currents.

References

  1. Lube, G. et al. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0338-2 (2019).

  2. Roche, O. Bull. Volcanol. 74, 1807–1820 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Yamada, M., Mangeney, A., Matsushi, Y. & Matsuzawa, T. Landslides 15, 1963–1974 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alain Burgisser.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Burgisser, A. Travel on thin air. Nat. Geosci. 12, 311–312 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0346-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0346-2

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing