Melting glaciers could wake up volcanoes

NEWS CENTER

Created: July 11, 2025 16:01

The world is not currently facing an imminent threat of intense volcanic activity, but evidence suggests that rapid glacial melt could increase the risk of volcanic eruptions in the future.

This impact is expected to occur over hundreds, even thousands, of years. However, taking precautions is crucial, especially in regions like Antarctica, where more than 100 hidden volcanoes lie beneath the ice.

NEW RESEARCH PRESENTS INTERESTING FINDINGS

The research examines the state of the Patagonian ice sheet, which once covered the southern tip of South America, 18,000 years ago. At that time, magma beneath the thick ice sheet was trapped 10-15 kilometers below the surface and crystallized.

As the climate warmed and the glaciers melted, this pressure decreased, the Earth's crust moved upward, and the gases in the magma expanded, creating the conditions that led to volcanic eruptions.

Scientists analyzed samples from six volcanoes in Chile to examine past eruptions. They found that the activity of the currently dormant Mocho-Choshuenco volcano is significantly influenced by the movement of glaciers in the region. They noted that volcanic eruptions occurred approximately 3,000 to 5,000 years after the glaciers retreated.

The rapid melting of glaciers in Patagonia and the unexpectedly rapid rise of some land masses in the region are worrying scientists.

" Glaciers generally reduce the eruptive volume of volcanoes beneath them," said Pablo Moreno-Yaeger, a volcanologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "But as glaciers melt due to climate change , we think these volcanoes could erupt more frequently and more violently."

ALSO OBSERVED IN ICELAND

Scientists studying volcanoes and glaciers in Iceland have observed a similar phenomenon, but this new study is one of the first to show the same effect occurring on a continental scale.

"Our research shows that this situation is not limited to Iceland but can also occur in Antarctica," Moreno-Yaeger said. " Continental regions like North America, New Zealand, and Russia are now places that scientists need to monitor more closely."

Simulations in Antarctica show that excessive ice melt could increase future volcanic eruptions. Even if magma doesn't completely break through the ice sheet, it could cause it to melt from within.

"The cumulative effect of multiple eruptions over time could trigger long-term global warming by increasing greenhouse gases. This creates a vicious cycle in which melting glaciers trigger eruptions, which in turn trigger further warming and melting," Moreno-Yaeger said.

Scientists aim to detect such disaster scenarios as early as possible and take precautions.