Two vulcanologists published a paper in 2008 suggesting that as climate change continues, the next decades could see more volcanic activity in regions such as Iceland that are now under ice.
Climate change could spark off more volcanic eruptions in the now frozen volcanic rim regions, Alaska, Patagonia and Antarctica and Iceland says Dr Carolina Pagli, at Leeds University; one of the authors of the research. As ice melts above volcanic rocks they are able to expand to turn into magma more readily as pressure from above is reduced.
Global warming melts ice and this can influence magmatic systems, says Dr Freysteinn Sigmundsson, the paper’s other author, at the Nordic Volcanological Centre at the University of Iceland. "Our work suggests that eventually there will be either somewhat larger eruptions or more frequent eruptions in Iceland in coming decades."
To read the full, original article click on this link: As Icecaps Melt, More Volcanic Activity in Our Future, Say Scientists: Scientific American
Author: Susan Kraemer
