With deserts and rainforests, deep oceans and high mountain peaks, urbanised cities and barren land, there’s no question that our planet is a geologically and geographically fascinating place.

And central to that intrigue for many people is one of the most mighty and unpredictable parts of the natural world: volcanoes.

After all, they are just sitting there under the surface, bubbling away and waiting for their moment to blast magma or ash or hot air, or whatever is their preference, all over the planet – and there’s little we can do about it.

Scary? Yes. Unpredictable? Less so, now that we can measure them scientifically. Fascinating? Absolutely.

To truly understand volcanoes – including keeping ourselves safe when they’re active – we need vulcanologists. And volcanologists need to actually study volcanoes, in order to amass new knowledge – but doing so can understandably be a dangerous and unpredictable venture in itself.

So what exactly happens if you, by accident of cause, find yourself drilling into the magma of an active volcano?

It doesn’t sound good, does it? However, back in 2009 this exact thing happened to researchers who were drilling in Iceland’s Krafla Geothermal Field at a depth of 2,100 meters.

Fortunately, the results weren’t as explosive as you might expect. Instead of suddenly exploding out of the drill site, the magma cooled rapidly thanks to the drilling fluids, with fresh volcanic glass retrieved as a result.

In the years since, this volcanic glass has been studied deeply, since this was magma fresh from the Earth’s crust. And this valuable information has allowed researchers to publish a study in the journal Nature.

And as countries around the world look to harness the heating power of volcanoes for geothermal activity, these shards of volcanic glass that were created and retrieved by accident, have become pivotal, as Professor Ben Kennedy explains in a statement:

“These fragments act like time capsules. They help us determine the pressure, temperature and gas content of magma beneath active volcanic systems. This data shows why it could be safe to drill into the Krafla magma chamber and build a research facility to support high-temperature drilling. That’s highly relevant as New Zealand explores superhot geothermal drilling. This is a great example of how international collaboration can deliver real benefits back home. What we learn in Iceland is directly helping us better understand New Zealand’s volcanic hazards and energy future.”

This little incident could pave the way for sustainable benefits in the future.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?