Eoghan P. Holohan

Analysis: sinkholes like the one last month in Co Monaghan are a reminder that our place on this dynamic planet depends on the support of what lies beneath our feet By Eoghan Holohan and Fergus McAuliffe, Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences Last month saw a 100 metre-wide sinkhole open up overnight in Co. Monaghan. The sinkhole has generated national headlines, with impressive drone footage featuring spectacular brown scars and cracks arcing across the green Irish landscape.

Volcanic eruptions occur frequently, but only rarely are they large enough to cause the top of the mountain to collapse and form a caldera. Gudmundsson et al. used a variety of geophysical tools to monitor the caldera formation that accompanied the 2014 Bárdarbunga volcanic eruption in Iceland. The volcanic edifice became unstable as magma from beneath Bárdarbunga spilled out into the nearby Holuhraun lava field.