Is the most recently active volcano in the Carpathian-Pannonian Region capable of further eruptions?

Abstract

Debate on the future eruptive capability of Ciomadul (Csomád) volcano in the East Carpathians, Romania, has recently gained a new impetus and prompted wide media attention. A tentative of numerical thermal modeling claimed that the amount of magma currently present beneath the volcano is of 20–58 km3 in volume. However, these results can be challenged because the model applied considers unrealistic initial conditions and input parameters related to crustal structure and radiogenic heat production in the local area. Instead, we propose a geologically more plausible alternative hypothesis invoking the presence of relatively small amounts of fluids percolating from the upper mantle towards the surface which may explain the conducting anomalies pointed out beneath the volcano.