Super magma reservoirs discovered beneath Tuscany
How can magma buried 5, 10 or 15 km deep be detected when there are no visible surface indications?
By using ambient noise tomography, which makes it possible to analyse natural ground vibrations with unprecedented precision.
A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (CNR-IGG) and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Italy has identified a vast reservoir containing around 6,000 km³ of magma beneath Tuscany.
Beyond the scientific achievement, this advance paves the way for faster and less costly exploration methods to locate resources such as geothermal reservoirs, lithium and rare earth elements, whose formation is closely linked to deep magmatic systems.
This work is published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
17 Apr 2026