Author: szabo

The focus of the Lendület research group is the Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field. So it was a no-brainer for us to start the project and make several field trips here before the colder season began, in order to build up the necessary field knowledge and, of course, sufficient rock samples to base our work on.

But why the Balaton Highland Volcanic Field?

-Because here, geologically young (8-2 million years) volcanic activity has brought to the surface rocks that originate from the lithosphere up to 10 km deep, i.e., from different parts of the Earth’s crust or even from the upper part of the Earth’s mantle.

-Because nature has revealed all this in a well-explored state (we have more than 100 potential collection points so far!) 

-Because these rocks contain a series of melt, liquid and/or gas droplets trapped in the rocks, which are a major focus of research, as we can understand the migration over several kilometres of important molecules such as CO2 or H2O

+and a non-technical point: because the juxtaposition of Lake Balaton and volcanic structures is an eye-catching sight!

We’ve been out in the field four times in 2022!

For more images, follow our Facebook page: MTA FI FLuidsbydepth Lendület Kutatócsoport

“Without science we would not be what we are. And without science we would not be what we could be”. 

With this motto from Ede Teller, we launched our research team in October. In a hybrid format (online and the meeting room of the ELKH FI Kövesligethy Radó Seismological Observatory), we discussed and defined the strategy for the first period and the initial steps for key research directions. On behalf of the host institute (ELKH Institute of Earth Physics and Space Sciences), Viktor Wesztergom – Director, István Kovács – Head of the Lithosphere Physics Unit, and Gyöngyi Brányi – representing the administration; and members of the research team: Márta Berkesi, Eszter Békési, Kálmán Török, Károly Németh, László Palcsu, Kristóf Porkoláb, Tamás Spránitz, and Mátyás Hencz participated. Let the research begin, and we will soon have another report from the Lake Balaton region.