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Experts have issued a warning that the melting of glaciers may result in an increase in both the frequency and intensity of volcanic eruptions, which could further accelerate climate change.
Numerous volcanoes situated beneath glaciers in areas such as Antarctica, Russia, New Zealand, and North America are likely to see heightened activity as global temperatures rise and glaciers continue to recede. This insight is drawn from a new study that investigated six volcanoes in southern Chile during the last ice age, as reported by Live Science.
The research team intends to present their discoveries at the 2025 Goldschmidt Conference in Prague on Wednesday, July 8.
According to Pablo Moreno Yaeger, the lead author of the study and a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Glaciers generally suppress the volume of eruptions from the volcanoes below them. However, with glaciers retreating due to climate change, our research indicates that these volcanoes tend to erupt more frequently and with greater force.”
As early as the 1970s, scientists suggested that melting glaciers could influence volcanic behaviors. The reasoning is quite simple: glaciers apply significant pressure on the Earth’s crust and mantle, and when this weight is alleviated as the ice melts, magma and gases underground have the opportunity to expand. This accumulation of pressure can then lead to more explosive eruptions.
This occurrence has already been documented in Iceland, which is positioned on the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Research conducted in 2002 revealed that volcanic activity in Iceland significantly escalated as the glaciers melted at the conclusion of the last ice age around 10,000 years ago. During this timeframe, the rate of eruptions was observed to be 30 to 50 times higher than before or after this melting period.
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