In regions of northern Mali, the parched ground is punctuated with smoking, glowing holes that reach 750C at their rims. Locals have long attributed the appearance of these holes and the superheated ground around them to evil spirits or, in a more scientific vein, to volcanic activity. But Norwegian geologists have found that a less truculent force is at work. A seam of peat-like material is smoldering about 2 feet below the surface.
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The geologists, from the University of Oslo and the Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research group in Oslo, carried out their study at the invitation of Mali officials, who worried that a recent intensification of the phenomenon could presage a volcanic eruption.