Scientists warn glaciers melting from global warming may trigger explosive volcanic eruptions worldwide. A study examined six Chilean volcanoes and how retreating ice sheets impacted volcanic activity. Analysis revealed that during the last ice age, glaciers suppressed eruptions, allowing magma to accumulate. The end of the ice age caused rapid ice retreat, increasing pressure on magma and potentially leading to eruptions. The phenomenon observed in Iceland may also affect other regions like Antarctica. The findings raise concerns about future volcanic activity linked to ongoing climate change.
"Glaciers tend to suppress the volume of eruptions from the volcanoes beneath them," said University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student and lead author Pablo Moreno-Yaeger in a statement. "But as glaciers retreat due to climate change, our findings suggest these volcanoes go on to erupt more frequently and more explosively."
"Our study suggests this phenomenon isn't limited to Iceland, where increased volcanicity has been observed, but could also occur in Antarctica," Moreno-Yaeger explained. "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 worldwide."
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