Over the last few decades, melting glaciers and erupting volcanoes are two events that have captured the attention of scientists and the general public alike. But have you ever thought about how these two processes might be related?
New research presented at the Goldschmidt Conference suggests that climate change is the link between melting glaciers and exploding volcanoes. As glaciers continue to retreat due to global warming, the Earth is likely to experience more frequent and more powerful volcanic eruptions.
This isn’t the first study to make connections between the behavior of glaciers and volcanoes, as scientists have been monitoring volcanoes in Iceland for this exact thing. However, it is the first to focus on continental volcanic systems like the ones in Antarctica and North America.
“Our study suggests this phenomenon isn’t limited to Iceland, where increased volcanicity has been observed, but could also occur in Antarctica. Other continental regions, like parts of North America, New Zealand, and Russia, also now warrant close scientific attention,” said Pablo Moreno-Yaeger, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in a press release.
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To understand the relationship between melting glaciers and volcanoes, we need to look back to the last Ice Age.
During the height of the last Ice Age, about 26,000 to 18,000 years ago, there was thick ice covering much of the Earth. This thick sheet of ice kept volcanic eruptions at bay, but magma continued to build up 10,000 to 15,000 meters underground.
As the Ice Age ended and the glaciers began to quickly melt, it was as if the top had been removed from a shaken bottle of soda. With the weight of the ice released, the built-up magma was able to expand, causing volcanoes to form and explode.
“Glaciers tend to suppress the volume of eruptions from the volcanoes beneath them. But as glaciers retreat due to climate change, our findings suggest these volcanoes go on to erupt more frequently and more explosively,” said Moreno-Yaeger in the press release. “The key requirement for increased explosivity is initially having a very thick glacial coverage over a magma chamber, and the trigger point is when these glaciers start to retreat, releasing pressure — which is currently happening in places like Antarctica.”
Glacial and Volcanic Behavior
This research project focused on six volcanoes located in the Chilean Andes, where the Patagonian Ice Sheet has advanced and retreated over time. In order to track the ice sheet’s influence on volcanoes, scientists used argon dating and crystal analysis to date both previous volcanic eruptions and the rocks that were left over. This dual analysis allowed the team to understand how glaciers affected the magma deep underground.
The study also provided new understandings of volcano behavior, along with how to better predict when a volcano may become active relative to glacial melting. Volcanic eruptions caused by the removal of ice pressure may seem to occur quickly, but the many changes happening to the magma underground take centuries. The monitoring of these changes can be used to provide better early warning systems.
Volcanoes and Climate Change: A Vicious Cycle
Volcanoes and climate change have a unique relationship. The melting of glaciers can increase volcanic activity. This activity, in turn, and isolation, can temporarily cool the planet thanks to aerosols released into the air after eruptions.
However, the research team warns that the expected increase in explosive volcanic eruptions will have the opposite effect.
“Over time, the cumulative effect of multiple eruptions can contribute to long-term global warming because of a buildup of greenhouse gases. This creates a positive feedback loop, where melting glaciers trigger eruptions, and the eruptions, in turn, could contribute to further warming and melting,” said Moreno-Yaeger in the press release.
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As the marketing coordinator at Discover Magazine, Stephanie Edwards interacts with readers across Discover's social media channels and writes digital content. Offline, she is a contract lecturer in English & Cultural Studies at Lakehead University, teaching courses on everything from professional communication to Taylor Swift, and received her graduate degrees in the same department from McMaster University. You can find more of her science writing in Lab Manager and her short fiction in anthologies and literary magazine across the horror genre.
