How can a "well-behaved" volcano produce explosions that dwarf Mount St. Helens? In the Season Two premiere, host Dr. Jeffrey Zurek explores the deadly volcanic paradox of Nicaragua’s Masaya Volcano.

Masaya is a "persistently active" shield volcano, yet the geologic record reveals a history of violent Basaltic Plinian eruptions. By "probing the crystals" through melt inclusion geochemistry, this episode uncovers a massive hidden magma budget and explores the "Glass Transition" trigger that turns a steady flow into a cataclysmic blast.

Inside the Episode

• The Plinian Mystery: Why fluid basaltic magma sometimes decides to fragment and explode.
• Melt Inclusions: Using tiny snapshots of magma trapped in c ...