Increase in volcanic eruptions at the end of the ice age caused by melting ice caps and glacial erosion

Scientists from Caltech, the University of Cambridge, the University of Geneva and ETH Zurich explain how climate change can influence the frequency of volcanic eruptions. Melting of ice and drainage of water into the oceans decreases the pressure applied on the Earth’s mantle, where magmas are generated. This in turn can enhance magma productivity at depth, which eventually intensify volcanic eruptions and degassing.

The researchers demonstrate for the first time that bedrock erosion during deglaciation can double the effect that ice melting alone has on increased volcanic activity and CO₂ emissions. These results imply that models which did not take into account sub-glacial erosion may have significantly underestimated atmospheric CO₂ release at the end of the last glaciation.

Learn more...  University of Cambridge Press Release

Contact :

For more information, please contact Prof. Luca Caricchi (Tel. +41 22 379 66 30) or Prof. Sebastien Castelltort (Tel. +41 22 379 66 16).

Reference :

Deglaciation and glacial erosion: a joint control on magma productivity by continental unloading, P. Sternai, L. Caricchi, S. Castelltort, J.-D. Champagnac, Geophysical Research Letters – Published online 2 February 2016. DOI