In their study, the scientists noted that melting glaciers caused by the climate crisis could lead to more destructive volcanic eruptions than previously seen.
A study presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Prague says that ice loss from rapid melting of glaciers reduces pressure on magma chambers beneath the Earth's surface, which could lead to more frequent and violent volcanic eruptions.
“As glaciers retreat due to climate change, our results show that these volcanoes are starting to erupt with greater frequency and intensity,” said lead researcher Pablo Moreno of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The study used crystallographic analysis of six volcanoes in Chile to find out how changing ice sheets in Patagonia affected the strength and frequency of previous volcanic eruptions.
Previous studies have linked the effects of climate change to volcanic activity in Iceland, but this study is the first to assess the link with continental volcanic systems.
“Our results show that this phenomenon is not limited to Iceland, where there is increased volcanic activity, but may also occur in Antarctica,” Moreno said. “Other continental regions, such as parts of North America, New Zealand and Russia, also require more in-depth scientific analysis.”
“We found that after the glaciers disappeared, the volcanoes started erupting much more frequently and changed their composition,” Moreno said. The composition changed as magma melted crustal rocks while eruptions were suppressed. This made the molten rock more viscous and dangerous when it erupted.
Scientists have found that during the last ice age, a thick layer of ice covered volcanoes and held them back. Then, as the Earth's temperature rose, volcanic activity increased two to six times.
“Glaciers typically constrain the volume of eruptions from the volcanoes beneath them. However, as glaciers retreat due to climate change, our data suggests that these volcanoes are starting to erupt more frequently and with greater explosive force,” said Dr Moreno. “The key to this increase in explosive force is having a very thick ice sheet over the magma chamber to begin with, and the trigger is when these glaciers start to retreat, releasing the pressure, as is currently happening in Antarctica, for example.”
Sourse: www.upi.com
