These are not the ashes you were expecting...
The Cooper-Eromanga Basin is situated at the meeting of the Queensland and South Australian borders and is best known for being the largest gas and oil region in Australia.
But no longer.
An international team from the University of Adelaide and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland have discovered a 'Jurassic World' of approximately 100 ancient volcanoes beneath the surface, despite a large amount of human interaction with the area.
The team used advanced subsurface imaging similar to the common CT scan to identify and follow the rivers of lava and volcanic craters pooling between them.
And what do you name a crusty, piping hot mess with a fiery temper after?
Shane Warne.
Officially titled the 'Warnie Volcanic Province' as Warnie is set to have his milestone 50th birthday next month.
University of Adelaide geoscientist Simon Holford was quoted as saying:
"We've discovered a province of about 100 volcanoes—that's a conservative estimate—located in the north-eastern part of South Australia and south-western part of Queensland. [And] we felt we couldn't miss the opportunity to nod to the fiery temperament and explosive talent of Australian cricket legend Shane Warne,”
He went on to divulge that the reason Warnie became the namesake of the monumental discovery was something of a lark.
"It happened to be during a warm-up game for the 2017 Ashes, I took my colleagues to watch the cricket, and the Aberdeen supervisor and I were horrified to hear the Scottish PhD student had never heard of Shane Warne.
"We felt that the volcanoes he'd discovered had to be named after him."
Some might think that this is a reckless way to name a significant Australian scientific discovery, but those who feel this way underestimate the privilege it is for the generations to come to relate via science back to one of the greatest Australian athletes to define a generation.
To the team who blessed this discovery we say, thank you.
#Space_Aus
