Melting Glaciers Could Wake Up Sleeping Volcanoes

Climate change is already creating problems for us in the way of rising sea levels, floods, and heatwaves. Now, astronomers are identifying another threat that climate change causes. We need to think of melted glaciers having negative consequences for humans and wildlife. However, scientists think they are about to make some volcanoes active again after thousands of years of dormancy.

Melted glaciers may awaken volcanoes. This finding was declared as alarming in a conference in Prague.

Other impacts include wildfires, as explored in Climate-Driven Wildfires Account for Thousands of American Deaths.

The Connection Between Melting Glaciers and Volcanoes

Glaciers are large masses of ice that rest on the surface of the Earth in some of the coldest parts of the planet. The glacial ice may weigh hundreds of thousands of pounds and hence keep magma from rising to erupt. For many years, glaciers have melted and receded while sitting above volcanoes, providing a significant 'lid' on the volcanic opening to allow magma to rise but not erupt.

Piercing the weight of glacial ice, due to climate change, glaciers are finding their way to melt at a quickened pace. Melting glaciers release hundreds of thousands of pounds of ice, and the melted weight is released from the ice to allow the inner magma to move more freely as the glaciers melt. With melted ice, volcanoes have a higher likelihood of erupting.

To better understand how eruptions work, see Fuming Terrors – An Introduction To Volcanic Eruptions.

What Did the Scientists Find?

An assembled team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with scientists from other institutions looked at six active volcanoes located in central Chile. They studied the rate of ruptures when glaciers sat atop the volcanoes to compare the activity levels relative to glaciers melting.

Here is what they found:

• Volcanoes were inactive because they could not get magma to the surface due to thick ice.
• Instead, once the ice cover melted after the last Ice Age the volcanoes on Earth became explosive and have been explosive and more active.
• The eruptions during the last melt water pulse phase of the last Ice Age, beginning around 18,000. This is the time when glaciers were melting rapidly.

Where Could This Occur Now

This is not just about Chile. Scientists now think similar scenarios could happen in other locations where volcanoes are beneath ice.

Here are some locations at risk:

• Antarctica
• Alaska and other parts of North America.
• New Zealand and Russia.

Melting Glaciers and Volcanoes

Glaciers are a little like a weighted blanket on top of a volcano. They push down with pressure on the magma and keep it deep underground. However, as climate change causes glaciers to lose their weight, the pressure being applied starts to go away. Subsequently, or induced by climate change, the magma can ascend more readily, which may contribute to volcanism. Scientists suggest that this is happening in Iceland currently, and may soon be happening in Antarctica and other cold places.

How Eruptions Affect Climate

Gases are leaked in the atmosphere when the volcano erupts. Ash can result in cooling, and ultimately short term blockage of sunlight, while gases (greenhouse gases especially) ultimately warm our planet. If many volcanoes begin erupting more frequently, volcanoes may help to accelerate global warming. This creates a feedback loop to primarily indicate that melting glaciers lead to eruptions, and eruptions lead to climate change, and that climate change leads to glaciers melting faster.

Conclusion

The melting of glaciers isn’t only about more sea, or even less ice. It can wake up very powerful volcanoes that have slept for a long time.

It is a helpful reminder that climate change can also come with unexpected surprises to the planet. Scientists are curious because they wish to study the risks first, and there may still be time to save the planet.

For other hidden risks, read Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters.