A step forward in understanding mechanisms behind magma generation and the outbreak of earthquakes

A joint research team consisting of Hiroshi Sakuma, senior researcher, Functional Geomaterials Group, Environment and Energy Materials Division, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, and Masahiro Ichiki, assistant professor, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Japan, succeeded in theoretically determining the electrical conductivity of NaCl solution (salt water) in a high-temperature and high-pressure environment at ground depths ranging from 10 to 70 km. By comparison with electrical conductivity data collected underground, the theoretical approach indicated the presence of salt water deep underground. This discovery may reinforce the theory that underground salt water influences the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.