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Scientists believe the mystery of how the Giant’s Causeway was formed has finally been solved

Scientists believe the mystery of how the Giant’s Causeway was formed has been solved. Picture by Paul Faith/PA Wire
Scientists believe the mystery of how the Giant’s Causeway was formed has been solved. Picture by Paul Faith/PA Wire Scientists believe the mystery of how the Giant’s Causeway was formed has been solved. Picture by Paul Faith/PA Wire

SCIENTISTS believe that the mystery of how the Giant’s Causeway was formed has finally been solved.

While legend suggests the mythical giant, Fionn Mac Cumhaill may have built the towers of basalt as a bridge between Ireland and Scotland, researchers from the University of Liverpool believe they have discovered otherwise.

They have been able to reproduce in a laboratory, the process through which the hexagonal columns of the world famous Co Antrim tourist attraction were formed.

The breakthrough has been achieved through an analysis of a basalt sample from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.

The scientists obtained samples from the volcano - responsible for a similar basalt formation outside the town of Vik - which allowed them to be replicate the structures.

The 20cm-long cylinders of basalt were held in place and blasted with heat reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius until they began to melt to become lava, and were then subsequently cooled.

The study found that when they reached a temperature of between 840C and 890C, the basalt magma fractured, which suggested that these temperatures were the conditions experienced at the Giant’s Causeway when it would have formed.

Yan Lavallée, professor of volcanology at the University of Liverpool and lead author said: "This is a question that has fascinated the world of geology for a very long time.

"We have been wanting to know whether the temperature of the lava that causes the fractures was hot, warm or cold."

He added that he had "spent over a decade pondering how to address this question and construct the right experiment to find the answer to this question".

"Now, with this study, we have found that the answer is hot, but after it solidified," he said.