Classroom demonstration using gelatin as a model for teaching magma injection into Earth's crust. The gelatin provides a see-through medium as an analogy for the crust. Roger Groom (teacher at Mount Tabor Middle School) discusses and shows how injecting chocolate syrup (magma) into the gelatin creates dikes and sills, similar to what can occur beneath a volcano.
Volcano deformation can provide clues about what is happening deep below the surface. Two techniques used to monitor deformation include Tiltmeters and GPS.
Earthquake activity beneath a volcano almost always increases before an eruption because magma and volcanic gas must first force their way up through shallow underground fractures and passageways. The continuous release of seismic energy is induced by the movement of magma.
