Melting glaciers could trigger volcanic eruptions around the globe

Melting glaciers could make volcanic eruptions more explosive and frequent, worsening climate change in the process, scientists have warned. Hundreds of volcanoes in Antarctica, Russia, New Zealand and North America rest beneath glaciers. But as the planet warms and these ice sheets melt and retreat, these volcanoes are likely to become more active, according to the authors of a new study analysing the activity of six volcanoes in southern Chile during the last ice age. “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 Pablo Moreno Yaeger, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

- WORDS BEN TURNER

Scientists first theorised that melting ice could impact volcanoes in the 1970s. The underlying process is a simple one: the weight of glaciers exerts a downward force on Earth's crust and mantle, so when the ice retreats, subterranean gases and magma expand, leading to pressure buildups that fuel explosive eruptions.